Shaping ecological risk research for synthetic biology

T. Kuiken (), G. Dana, K. Oye and D. Rejeski

Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, 2014, vol. 4, issue 3, 199 pages

Abstract: Synthetic biology is an interdisciplinary field that brings together biology and engineering at its core. Understanding and evaluating the ecological effects of synthetic biology applications also require broad interdisciplinary convergence and the ability to adapt to rapid technological developments. This article describes a series of workshops designed to provide a space for interdisciplinary groups of synthetic biologists, natural and social scientists, and other stakeholders to identify priority ecological hazards and to begin to design research programs to inform ecological risk assessments and risk management of synthetic biology applications. Participants identified gene flow, fitness, and competition as the key hazards of synthetic biology applications using engineered microorganisms. The rapid pace of synthetic biology research and product development, the potential environmental release of numerous applications, and the diffuse and diverse nature of the research community are prompting renewed attention on how to design robust ecological risk research programs to investigate such hazards. Copyright AESS 2014

Keywords: Synthetic biology; Ecological risk; Genetically modified organisms; Gene flow; Trading zones (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

Downloads: (external link)
http://hdl.handle.net/10.1007/s13412-014-0171-2 (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:jenvss:v:4:y:2014:i:3:p:191-199

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.springer.com/economics/journal/13412

DOI: 10.1007/s13412-014-0171-2

Access Statistics for this article

Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences is currently edited by Walter A. Rosenbaum

More articles in Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences from Springer, Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().