Harvard Scientists To Create Synthetic Human Genome

Around 150 researchers got together at the Harvard Medical Center last week to talk about the idea of creating a synthetic human genome. The meeting was a hush-hush affair and the attendees had reportedly received clear instructions to not post anything related to the discussion on twitter or contact the news media.  As per reports, the scientists had gathered to explore the probability of using chemicals to create the entire DNA in human chromosomes.

Going ahead with a project like this would mean the creation of human beings without biological parents, using synthetic genome instead. The project has raised ethical concerns and led to a heated debate among the life sciences community. The organizers of the secretive meeting said that it would be a follow up of the original Human Genome Project that was facilitated to read the three billion base pairs in human DNA; however it reportedly seems the new procedure will involve synthesizing all the base pairs with the use of chemicals.

Top scientists are already denouncing the project due to ethical concerns, as per a report. In addition the project raises numerous questions. Can scientists create human life from scratch? Is it all right to synthesize Albert Einstein's genome? However, according to George Church an organizer of the program, the aim of the closed door meeting was misunderstood. The project does not look towards creating humans but only cells, and the technique could be applied to various animals, plants and other species instead of just being restricted to humans. Church further added that the meeting was cordoned off from news media because discussing an idea publicly before it has been published was out of question.

Normally, parents pass on human genomes to their child, which transfers inheritable traits. The creation of such a genome could be possible in as little as 10 years from now, according to the organizers of the meeting. However, it is a different thing to create an entire synthetically formed human being altogether, even if the development of such a genetic code is a success in the following years. As per reports, the creation of a synthetic sequencer can only be placed within a cell to test the genome.