Big Ideas

Powerful new genetic tools allow scientists to alter the DNA of any organism—with tests on human embryos already underway. Even more ambitious, synthetic biologists on the verge of creating the genetic material for a living organism from scratch are setting their long-term sites on fashioning a fully synthetic human genome. With bold promises of disease resistance and controlling human evolution, this explosive progress has ignited ethical debate. As we rewrite our code of life, how will we revise the code we live by? Join a panel of distinguished scientists and bioethicists wrestling with the moral challenges of altering the human genome. This program is part of the Big Ideas Series, made possible with support from the John Templeton Foundation.Learn More

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TOPICS: Art & Science, Biology & Origins of Life, Earth & Environment, Mind & Brain, Physics & Math, Science in Society, Science Unplugged, Space & The Cosmos, Technology & Engineering, Your Daily Equation, Youth & Education

TAGS: 2016, climate change, creating super armies, DNA, Drew Endy, fully synthetic human genome, genome proposal, George Church, Gregory E. Kaebnick, human embryos, Human evolution, human genome, Life in Our Image, New York City, NYC, physics, reduce birth rates, S. Matthew Liao, salon, string theory, synthetic biologists, The Ethics of Altering the Human Genome, 2016, climate change, creating super armies, DNA, Drew Endy, fully synthetic human genome, genome proposal, George Church, Gregory E. Kaebnick, human embryos, Human evolution, human genome, Life in Our Image, New York City, NYC, physics, reduce birth rates, S. Matthew Liao, salon, string theory, synthetic biologists, The Ethics of Altering the Human Genome

PLAYLISTS: Big Ideas, Salons

Video Duration: 01:27:38

Original Program Date: Saturday, June 4, 2016

Moderator: Amy Harmon

Participants: George Church, Drew Endy, Gregory E. Kaebnick, S. Matthew Liao

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