Any ethical issues? Any? It's full of them. Basically biotechnology gives you the power to (re)design life forms to order. I don't think anyone has yet built an entirely synthetic virus for example (though they have built copies of at least the polio virus, and they WORK  . .  ) but it can't be more than a few years away. So what happens when one such 'invention' gets out of control? I think we need a lot of controls both regulatory and  voluntary on what is done and under what circumstances. The genetic code of lethal viruses is only of the order of megabtyes, and when you have the ability for members of the public to access gene machines and build their own DNA (almost there now) then I think we will be faced with some hard choices balancing academic freedom versus practical caution. What do other people think?

Sure, Tony, lets ban the dangerous human inventions. Fire and electricity killed many people. Many other people were killed by knifes or hammers.

Let'sgo back to the jungle, climb to the tree and try to hunt deer when we can not find fruits.

Dear Tony,

Biotechnology is not just about tinkering with DNA and building lethal pathogens. It has lot of branches and mainly serves the well being of people.

Industrial biotechnology produces enzymes which can make our life easier ("clever" washing powders, white paper, blue jeans... just for example). They also produce biofules (biogas, bioethanol ect.) which are more environmental friendly. Where do you see ethical issues in this?

Medical biotechnology takes a roll in production of biomolecules which can be used for the treatment of different diseases (hormones, antibodies ect.). What do you think where does your granny's insuline come from? Ethical concerns? Yes there are some but not in the technology part rather in the "health is business" part.

Environmental biotechnology fights against pollutants by using living organism or their products (plants, microorganisms, enzymes) to clear the environment. So we can protect our beloved planet and preserv it for our grandchildren. I do not see anything wrong in it either.

We have agricultural biotechnology. If you think about GM crops they serve to feed people in regions where normal crops can not be cultivated because of the climate or region specific bugs or pathogenes. Nothing unethical here either. Well, the price could be.

If we want to be precise we can count cheese and wine making and beer brewing as biotechnology. Do you have any ethical concernes against beer?

Of course I agree with that we should not research and use bioweapons, but we should prepare to protect ourselfs if someone else does. And it can be acheaved by understanding the potential candidates for bioweapons under strict regulations and with extreme precautions.

Real ethical concerns come into view when we discuss human related experiments. Selecting the eye color, hair color, gender ect. of your future child for example. Should we clone people. If we did so would they have the same rights as we have? Should we identify one's etnicity based on his/her DNA? At this part we can ask the question how fahr we should go?  We have unlimited possibilities, but should we really play god?

Sorry for the sarcasm, but we have to put things in order. As conclusion I can tell you that biotechnology is not full of ethical issues. There are some things that should be regulated but ultimetally biotechnology can make our lifes easier, safer and better.

I don't think we have been talking about quite the same thing . . . of course all the agricultural and food related applications of biotechnology are necessary parts of our modern environment, and based on existing organisms are very unlikely to cause problems. I am specifically nervous about the ability to manufacture substantially novel self reproducing organisms, and potentially pathological ones at that (whether intentionally or not!). Surely this is a major area which biotechnology research (the application of technology to life) will be focussing on in the years to come, and which I think should be regulated carefully. I'm glad we agree there!