They added that the project will also help in engineering cancer resistance into new therapeutic cell lines and accelerating high-productivity, cost-efficient vaccine and pharmaceutical development using human cells and organoids.
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Furthermore, Reuters noted that scientists unaffiliated with this endeavor acknowledged that there were additional benefits that could arise from this research, like locating undiscovered parts of the human genome or learning why there is an abundance of genetic variation in individuals and human populations.
It was rumored last month that the scientists are planning to create a synthetic human genome, however the project was not confirmed until now.
The ambitious undertaking, called Human Genome Project-write, could be the key to understanding human disease better than ever before, and it could also greatly reduce the cost of genetic sequencing.
Scientists will work on HGP-Write over a decade-long period, and the Center of Excellence for Engineering Biology – the non-profit that coordinates the whole affair – will seek to raise $100 million this year. “To this end, we propose the Human Genome Project-Write (HGP-write)”.
“It is very important to make a clear distinction between synthesizing a human genome in somatic cell lines as is proposed, and modifying human germline cells that could be hereditably transmitted, which is not in the scope of this project”. The largest genome synthesis project to date is Sc 2.0, which aims to create an entirely synthetic yeast in the next five years. They just mentioned that it would be probably below the Human Genome Project’s $3 billion. Today, top-of-the-line sequencing machines can analyze an entire genome in less than a day, and the NIH estimates the cost of such a scan at about $1000. He expects to develop living “yeast cells” with redesigned chromosomes. The genome of this bacterium is one million base pairs long, while the human genome is about 3,000 times longer.
But critics are saying that the problem is that the proposal laid out in Science still really doesn’t deal with the ethical concerns that it brings up. Instead, they said in interviews, human genomes would be used in lab experiments aimed at things like identifying the effects of genetic mutations. Rather, the collective is open to having the public involved and will take into advisement concerns about possible social, ethical, and legal issues.
The fact that journalists weren’t allowed to be at the meeting was met with criticism, and now 25 of the researchers have outlined their proposal in Science – although it hasn’t done much to relieve concerns. “If you want to do this, it’s going to be on the same scale as the Human Genome Project, it’s going to need some big funding agencies and hundreds and hundreds of researchers around the world”, Paul Fremont, a synthetic biologist at Imperial College London and attendee at the meeting, said.
Controversy surrounding the project made headlines a few weeks ago, when it was reported that an invite-only meeting that was closed to the press was held to discuss the proposal.
George Church from Harvard Medical School, and one of the co-founders of the new initiative. They have also given more details about their intended applications for the synthetic DNA – but not everyone is convinced by their approach. There is little confidence that the production of complex life forms like a human life can actually be a reality, even with the complete genome structure.
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This response to the CRISPR conundrum provides us with a roadmap to address advances in synthetic genomic technology.
