Was the meeting on the ethics of a synthetic human genome too secretive? 

Last week, news broke that a group of biotech industry insiders had met behind closed doors to discuss the potential for a “synthetic human genome,” stirring up a firestorm. 

In the wake of public outrage, some bioethicists and scientists have questioned whether this meeting should have been private in the first place. If it were open to the public, would it have stirred up so much fear? And shouldn’t we be having these important conversations out in the open? 

If you need secrecy to discuss your proposed research (synthesizing a human genome) you are doing something wrong. pic.twitter.com/SN1X8zlPH8

— Drew Endy (@DrewEndy) May 9, 2016

@chrissyfarr @HankGreelyLSJU To be fair, there is value in nonpublic (& thus maybe more open) deliberation at times & this isn’t a govt body

— Patti Zettler (@pzettler) May 14, 2016

More here on the ethics of creating a synthetic human genome. CF