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By transforming microbes into miniature chemical factories, synthetic biology could lead to cheaper medicines, greener fuels and, to the distress of some in the field, cleaner weapons. Last month, the US military asked synthetic biologists to look for more environmentally friendly ways to manufacture explosives, prompting a round of soul-searching about the field’s dependence on defence dollars and whether some applications should be off-limits.
A ‘statement of need’ from the Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (a partnership between the US Department of Defense, Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency) calls for research on adapting biological systems so that they can be used in place of the current chemical methods for making explosives, which can involve toxic compounds such as heavy metals.
But manufacturing munitions is anathema to some scientists. “I can’t look my kids in the eyes and tell them my ideas are being tossed around by generals. I’d rather they were thrown around by doctors or global-health researchers,” says Eric Klavins, a synthetic biologist at the University of Washington in Seattle.
The ‘green explosives’ project also...
A ‘statement of need’ from the Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (a partnership between the US Department of Defense, Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency) calls for research on adapting biological systems so that they can be used in place of the current chemical methods for making explosives, which can involve toxic compounds such as heavy metals.
But manufacturing munitions is anathema to some scientists. “I can’t look my kids in the eyes and tell them my ideas are being tossed around by generals. I’d rather they were thrown around by doctors or global-health researchers,” says Eric Klavins, a synthetic biologist at the University of Washington in Seattle.
The ‘green explosives’ project also...
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