European Parliament publishes the Science and Technology Options Assessment (STOA) – Options Brief No 2012-08, about “Making Perfect Life: European Governance Challenges in 21st Century Bio-engineering”.
The Assessment was carried out by a number of European Technology Assessment Experts, including a contribution by Biofaction with respect to synthetic biology.
The general aim of the STOA project ‘Making Perfect Life’ was to identify major overarching trends that are visible in the development of four selected fields of 21st-century bio-engineering, and the societal and political challenges related to these trends, thus fulfilling the function of horizon scanning for weak signals and early warning of upcoming long-term-policy challenges. A number of specific developments were studied, which exemplify the major trends in the four fields of bioengineering in more detail, with the purpose to alert politicians that, despite the long-term character of the megatrends, near-term policy challenges and regulatory questions in these specific developments are already imminent.
The report assessed four cutting edge technologies:
- Whole genome sequencing
- Neuromodulation
- Biocybernetic adaptation
- Synthetic biology
Download short Executive summary (2 pages)
Download Full Report (248 pages)