BIODEFENSE Synthetic |
Committee on Strategies for Identifying and Addressing Potential Biodefense Vulnerabilities Posed by Synthetic Biology
Board on Chemical Sciences and Technology
Board on Life Sciences
Division on Earth and Life Studies
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
Washington, DC
www.nap.edu
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS 500 Fifth Street, NW Washington, DC 20001
This project was supported by Contract No. HQ0034-16-C-0062 between the National Academy of Sciences and the U.S. Department of Defense. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the view of any organization or agency that provided support for the project.
International Standard Book Number-13: 978-0-309-46518-2
International Standard Book Number-10: 0-309-46518-4
Library of Congress Control Number: 2018911261
Digital Object Identifier: https://doi.org/10.17226/24890
Copyright 2018 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America
Suggested citation: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. Biodefense in the Age of Synthetic Biology. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: https://doi.org/10.17226/24890.
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COMMITTEE ON STRATEGIES FOR IDENTIFYING AND ADDRESSING POTENTIAL BIODEFENSE VULNERABILITIES POSED BY SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY
Members
MICHAEL IMPERIALE (Chair), University of Michigan Medical School
PATRICK BOYLE,1 Ginkgo Bioworks
PETER A. CARR, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lincoln Laboratory
DOUGLAS DENSMORE, Boston University
DIANE DIEULIIS, National Defense University
ANDREW ELLINGTON, University of Texas at Austin
GIGI KWIK GRONVALL, Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security
CHARLES HAAS, Drexel University
JOSEPH KANABROCKI, University of Chicago
KARA MORGAN, Quant Policy Strategies, LLC
KRISTALA JONES PRATHER, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
THOMAS SLEZAK, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
JILL TAYLOR, New York State Department of Health
Staff
MARILEE SHELTON-DAVENPORT, Study Director
KATHERINE BOWMAN, Senior Program Officer
JENNA OGILVIE, Research Associate
JARRETT NGUYEN, Senior Program Assistant
___________________
1 See Appendix E, Disclosure of Conflict of Interest.
BOARD ON CHEMICAL SCIENCES AND TECHNOLOGY
Co-Chairs
DAVID BEM, PPG Industries
JOAN BRENNECKE, NAE, University of Texas, Austin
Members
GERARD BAILLELY, Procter and Gamble
MARK A. BARTEAU, NAE, Texas A&M
MICHELLE V. BUCHANAN, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
JENNIFER SINCLAIR CURTIS, University of California, Davis
RICHARD EISENBERG, NAS, University of Rochester
SAMUEL H. GELLMAN, NAS, University of Wisconsin–Madison
SHARON C. GLOTZER, NAS, University of Michigan
MIRIAM E. JOHN, Sandia National Laboratories (retired)
ALAN D. PALKOWITZ, Eli Lilly and Company (retired)
JOSEPH B. POWELL, Shell
PETER J. ROSSKY, NAS, Rice University
RICHMOND SARPONG, University of California, Berkeley
TIMOTHY SWAGER, NAS, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Staff
TERESA FRYBERGER, Board Director
MARILEE SHELTON-DAVENPORT, Senior Program Officer
CAMLY TRAN, Senior Program Officer
ANNA SBEREGAEVA, Associate Program Officer
JARRETT I. NGUYEN, Senior Program Assistant
JESSICA WOLFMAN, Senior Program Assistant
SHUBHA BANSKOTA, Financial Associate
BOARD ON LIFE SCIENCES
Chair
JAMES P. COLLINS, Arizona State University
Members
ALONSO AGUIRRE, George Mason University
ENRIQUETA C. BOND, Burroughs Wellcome Fund
DOMINIQUE BROSSARD, University of Wisconsin-Madison
ROGER D. CONE, University of Michigan
NANCY D. CONNELL, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School
SEAN M. DECATUR, Kenyon College
JOSEPH R. ECKER, Salk Institute for Biological Studies
SCOTT V. EDWARDS, Harvard University
GERALD L. EPSTEIN, National Defense University
ROBERT J. FULL, University of California, Berkeley
ELIZABETH HEITMAN, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
JUDITH KIMBLE, University of Wisconsin–Madison
MARY E. MAXON, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
ROBERT NEWMAN, Independent Consultant
STEPHEN J. O’BRIEN, Nova Southeastern University
CLAIRE POMEROY, Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation
MARY E. POWER, University of California, Berkeley
SUSAN RUNDELL SINGER, University of California, Berkeley
LANA SKIRBOLL, Sanofi
DAVID R. WALT, Harvard Medical School
Staff
FRANCES SHARPLES, Director
KATHERINE BOWMAN, Senior Program Officer
ANDREA HODGSON, Program Officer
JO HUSBANDS, Senior Scholar
KEEGAN SAWYER, Senior Program Officer
AUDREY THEVENON, Program Officer
JESSICA DE MOUY, Senior Program Assistant
KOSSANA YOUNG, Senior Program Assistant
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Acknowledgment of Reviewers
This Consensus Study Report was reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in making each published report as sound as possible and to ensure that it meets the institutional standards for quality, objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process.
We thank the following individuals for their review of this report:
JAMES BURNS, Casebia Therapeutics
MICHAEL DIAMOND, Washington University School of Medicine
JAMES DIGGANS, Twist Bioscience
DREW ENDY, Stanford University
CAROLINE GENCO, Tufts University School of Medicine
JACQUELINE GIBSON, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
KAREN E. JENNI, U.S. Geological Survey
MICHAEL JEWETT, Northwestern University
GREGORY KAEBNICK, The Hastings Center
MARGARET E. KOSAL, Georgia Institute of Technology
KAREN E. NELSON, J. Craig Venter Institute
MICHAEL OSTERHOLM, University of Minnesota
TARA O’TOOLE, In-Q-Tel
PAMELA A. SILVER, Harvard Medical School
DAVID WALT, Harvard Medical School and Harvard University
Although the reviewers listed above provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations of this report nor did they see the final draft before its release. The review of this report was overseen by MICHAEL LADISCH, Purdue University, and RANDALL MURCH, Virginia Polytechnic and State University. They were responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with the standards of the National Academies and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content rests entirely with the authoring committee and the National Academies.
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Contents
Understanding Synthetic Biology
Assessing Potential Biodefense Concerns
Mitigating Potential Biodefense Concerns
2 BIOTECHNOLOGY IN THE AGE OF SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY
Implications of the Age of Synthetic Biology
Specific Synthetic Biology Technologies and Applications
3 FRAMEWORK FOR ASSESSING CONCERN ABOUT SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY CAPABILITIES
Approach to Developing the Framework
Applying the Framework in the Assessment of Concern
4 ASSESSMENT OF CONCERNS RELATED TO PATHOGENS
Making Existing Pathogens More Dangerous
5 ASSESSMENT OF CONCERNS RELATED TO PRODUCTION OF CHEMICALS OR BIOCHEMICALS
Manufacturing Chemicals or Biochemicals by Exploiting Natural Metabolic Pathways
Manufacturing Chemicals or Biochemicals by Creating Novel Metabolic Pathways
Making Biochemicals via In Situ Synthesis
6 ASSESSMENT OF CONCERNS RELATED TO BIOWEAPONS THAT ALTER THE HUMAN HOST
Modifying the Human Microbiome
Modifying the Human Immune System
Barriers to the Use of Bioweapons
Relevant Convergent Technologies
8 OPTIONS FOR MITIGATING CONCERNS
Current Mitigation Approaches and Infrastructure
Mitigation Challenges Posed by Synthetic Biology
Potential Opportunities to Advance Mitigation Capabilities
9 MOVING FORWARD: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Concerns Posed by Synthetic Biology–Enabled Capabilities
Biodefense Implications of the Age of Synthetic Biology
A Specific Synthetic Biology Concepts, Approaches, and Tools
B Selected Prior Analyses Used to Inform the Framework
C Questions to Stimulate Consideration of Framework Factors