GP resource for pre-university students: How will biotechnology change human life?
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The revolutionary potential of biotechnology has also been accompanied by question marks over the ethical implications of its application.
PHOTO: ST FILE
- Singapore’s bioethics committee warns against heritable gene editing due to ethical concerns about altering future generations’ DNA.
- AI chatbots have shown potential dangers by providing detailed instructions on creating biological weapons, raising biosecurity issues.
- Singapore launches a synthetic biology lab to develop eco-friendly products and vaccines, while South Korea faces ethical debates over skin boosters made from donated human skin.
AI generated
This is a special Straits Times resource for pre-university students as part of The Straits Times-Ministry of Education News Outreach Programme.
The team behind the ST-MOE News Outreach Programme has compiled a series of news resources for you. This week, we look at biotechnology and its implications.
Singapore’s bioethics advisory committee urges caution on heritable gene editing
The Ministry of Health has not approved heritable gene editing as there is currently insufficient evidence of its safety.
PHOTO: UNSPLASH
Recent advancements in gene-editing technologies have made it easier to modify a person’s DNA, offering hope for treating serious inherited conditions or diseases like cancer.
But complex ethical issues are raised.
Among these technologies, heritable gene editing is the most controversial because it changes the genetic make-up of future generations.
AI bots told scientists how to make biological weapons
Even when AI models are updated with safer controls, the older versions are often readily available.
ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH
One evening last summer, Dr David Relman went cold at his laptop as an AI chatbot told him how to plan a massacre.
A microbiologist and biosecurity expert at Stanford University, Dr Relman had been hired by an artificial intelligence company to pressure-test its product before it was released to the public. That night in the scientist’s home office, the chatbot explained how to modify an infamous pathogen in a lab so that it would resist known treatments.
Singapore opens synthetic biology lab to grab share of potential $80b global market
(From left) A*STAR SIFBI executive director Sze Tan; Jay Keasling, lead principal investigator of the new lab; A*STAR CEO Beh Kian Teik; NUS deputy president for academic affairs and provost Aaron Thean; and NUS Synthetic Biology for Clinical and Technological Innovation director Matthew Chang at the launch of the lab on June 11.
ST PHOTO: JASEL POH
A new laboratory has been launched in Singapore to transform recent breakthroughs in synthetic biology into commercial products, from eco-friendly cosmetics to affordable vaccines.
At the heart of the new lab’s mission is the use of bioengineered yeast and fungi as “cell factories” to convert simple nutrients into complex molecules for the production of everything from vaccines to biofuels.
Skin boosters made from cadavers raise ethical concerns in South Korea
The skin boosters work by injecting extracellular materials such as collagen taken primarily from donated cadavers.
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION: UNSPLASH
Human-derived materials in South Korea’s aesthetics industry are attracting criticism, as companies launch extracellular matrix or ECM skin boosters made from donated human skin.
The number of these products, often positioned as alternatives to synthetic or bioengineered injectables, has been rising, with up to seven products expected to launch in South Korea by the end of 2026, following their debut in 2024.
However, the products remain in a regulatory gray area. Critics have raised concerns over safety and ethics, while the authorities maintain a cautious stance.
