Synthetic Human Genome Proposed

On June 2nd 2016, it was announced in the journal Science that a group of 25 scientists have proposed the building of a synthetic human genome. The meeting which took place at Harvard University, consisted of scientists who work at various academic and other institutions around the US. The project will be called the Human Genome Project-write (HGP-write) after the original Human Genome project which ended in 2003.

Jef Boeke of the New York University Langone Medical Center said, "The new project will include whole-genome engineering human cell lines and other organisms of agricultural and public health significance, or those needed to interpret human biological functions." The project would essentially synthesize the three billion letter chemical blueprint of human life.

Some concerns have been raised about the possibility of humans being made entirely in the laboratory. George Church, who is an organizer of HGP-write and a professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School, says that the project is not aimed at creating people. Church and his colleagues say that their hope is by synthesizing human genomes from scratch, they may spur rapid developments in human organ transplants and cancer resistance.

The project is still in the idea phase, but the scientists are hoping to get $100 million in public and private funds in order to begin HGP-write some time in 2016. They expect that the total cost of the project will be less than $3 billion, which is the actual cost of the original Human Genome Project.