Synthetic biology & human health: some initial thoughts on the ethical questions and how we ought to approach them.

The emerging field of synthetic biology aims to move beyond our current state of being able to read and manipulate genetic code to being able to write it. Drawing on the other disciplines such as engineering it will allow scientists to create new artificial biological systems as well as modify and redesign systems which already exist in nature. This is likely to result in a range of new and innovative applications. This essay has three aims. First, it provides a brief introduction to synthetic biology, explains what it is, some of the ways in which it has been defined and some of its possible future applications. Second, the essay considers some of the ethical questions which synthetic biology may raise. Finally, the essay reflects on how we ought to answer these sorts of questions and suggests a more reflective, philosophical approach.