title: A priority paper for the societal and ethical aspects of synthetic biology.
abstract: As synthetic biology develops into a promising science and engineering field, we need to have clear ideas and priorities regarding its safety, security, ethical and public dialogue implications. Based on an extensive literature search, interviews with scientists, social scientists, a 4 week long public e-forum, and consultation with several stakeholders from science, industry and civil society organisations, we compiled a list of priority topics regarding societal issues of synthetic biology for the years ahead. The points presented here are intended to encourage all stakeholders to engage in the prioritisation of these issues and to participate in a continuous dialogue, with the ultimate goal of providing a basis for a multi-stakeholder governance in synthetic biology. Here we show possible ways to solve the challenges to synthetic biology in the field of safety, security, ethics and the science-public interface.
authors.affiliation: Biosafety Working Group, Organisation for International Dialogue and Conflict Management, Kaiserstr. 50/6, 1070, Vienna, Austria, markus.schmidt@idialog.eu.
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schmidt
authors.forename: Agomoni
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ganguli-Mitra
authors.forename: Helge
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Torgersen
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kelle
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Deplazes
authors.forename: Nikola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Biller-Andorno