SynBERC is sponsoring the first SynBiOSIS (Synthetic Biology Ownership, Sharing & Innovation Symposium) to be held at Stanford University on January 27-28, 2012. Participants will comprise a collection of leading experts in intellectual property law and representatives from across various institutions who are facing property rights challenges in the development of tools and applications of synthetic biology.

To encourage new collaborative projects that promote the safe and constructive growth of synthetic biology, the SynBERC Scholars of Practice Program welcomes outstanding scholars and practitioners at all career stages and from a broad range of fields to work with us in addressing interdisciplinary challenges in advancing synthetic biology.

A web of Federal laws and guidelines regulates the engineering of biology. With authors Rocco Casagrande and Jennifer Byers of Gryphon Scientific, SynBERC Human Practices researcher Kenneth Oye has helped assemble a practical guide to synthetic biology regulations for academic and industry researchers that explains how the various regulations pertain to our daily research activities.

President Obama's Bioethics Commission was convened to examine the safety and ethical issues around the emerging field of synthetic biology. The Commission offered its assessment to President Obama on December 16, 2010. Among the Commission's eighteen key recommendations:

The New York Times is running a long piece on one team's efforts in the 2009 International Genetically Engineered Machines (iGEM) competition at MIT:

Ars Synthetica, led by Paul Rabinow, has received an NSF informal science communication grant for $75,000 to develop multiple means for exploring bioethics, biosecurity, and how cutting-edge bioscience is organized, governed, and funded. Ars Synthetica is a web-based multimedia forum for engaging specialists and non-specialists in an informed, ethical, and democratic dialogue on the emerging field of synthetic biology.

SynBERC’s Program Director, Sohi Rastegar, appeared on the Kojo Nnamdi Show on a segment focused on synthetic biology. Dr. Rastegar explained the nature of synthetic biology, especially in comparison to natural biology, and talked about SynBERC’s flagship role in NSF’s effort to advance synthetic biology. A short but frank and civil discussion took place regarding the security and safety issues that novel biological systems pose. Appearing with Dr.

July 26, 2009: Synthetic biology portends big changes in our lives by ushering in a dizzying array of applications in everything from medicine to biofuels, environmental remediation to agriculture. Though many of these applications haven’t yet come on line, researchers are hard at work to synthesize new drugs and devices made from genetic parts.

SynBERC Investigators Drew Endy and Paul Rabinow were featured speakers at a recent Washington, D.C. meeting on Opportunities and Challenges in the Emerging Field of Synthetic Biology, co-hosted by the National Academies, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and the Royal Society. Presentations, audio and transcripts from the meeting are available on the National Academies website.

In collaboration with multimedia designers from the Berkeley’s Townsend Center for the Humanities, the San Francisco Exploratorium, as well as with researchers in the synthetic biology community, SynBERC researchers Paul Rabinow and Gaymon Bennett are designing and development of a web-based multimedia platform for public understanding and critical debate of synthetic biology: Ars Synthetica.