Sharing public health data: necessary and now.

On May 20, 2010, after 15 years of research that cost US$40 million, Gibson and colleagues reported the creation of a synthetic bacterial cell at the J Craig Venter Institute (Rockville, MD, and San Diego, CA, USA) in Science. In this proof-of-principle study, the researchers used a computer to design a synthetic genome sequence that was based on the genome sequences of two laboratory strains of Mycoplasma mycoides subsp capri. The synthetic genome was transplanted into Mycoplasma capricolum subsp capricolum to create a synthetic M mycoides cell. The properties manifested by the recipient bacterium were controlled by the donor bacterium’s modifi ed genome. Although the cost of synthetic biology—ie, the cellular and genetic research used to create the synthetic cell—was expensive, the researchers at the J Craig Venter Institute have received funding to design new pathways for the synthesis of antibiotics that are too diffi cult to make chemically, new vaccine candidates for known infl uenza viruses, and cells that can effi ciently incorporate carbon into fuel molecules and food oils. Like genetic engineering, synthetic biology might become an essential part of our everyday existence—eg, for synthesis of drugs and creation of modifi ed plants for food. Careful regulation and monitoring will be needed to ensure that practical applications are thought through and unintended dangers to existing forms of life are prevented. With such concerns in mind, on May 20, 2010, in a letter, President Barack Obama asked the Presidential Com mission for the Study of Bioethical Issues, Washington, DC, USA, to investigate “...the potential medical, environmental, security, and other benefi ts of this fi eld of research, as well as any potential health, security or other risks”. Such a recommendation might apply in all countries where this type of research is in progress. ■ The Lancet Sharing public health data: necessary and now