Ethical, Legal, and Social Issues in the Earth BioGenome Project

Sherkow, Jacob S.; Barker, Katharine; Braverman, Irus; Cook-Deegan, Bob; Durbin, Richard; Easter, Carla; Goldstein, Melissa; Hudson, Maui; Kress, W. John; Lewin, Harris; Mathews, Debra J.H.; McCarthy, Catherine; McCartney, Ann; da Silva, Manuela; Torrance, Andrew W.; Greely, Henry T.

doi:10.2139/ssrn.3840280

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Ethical, Legal, and Social Issues in the Earth BioGenome Project

University of Illinois College of Law Legal Studies Research Paper No. 21-10

University at Buffalo School of Law Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2020-013

7 Pages Posted: 6 May 2021 Last revised: 29 Sep 2022

See all articles by Jacob S. Sherkow

Jacob S. Sherkow

University of Illinois College of Law; Carle Illinois College of Medicine; University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign - European Union Center; University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign - Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology

Katharine Barker

The Smithsonian Institution

Irus Braverman

University at Buffalo Law School

Bob Cook-Deegan

Arizona State University (ASU) - School for the Future of Innovation in Society

Richard Durbin

University of Cambridge - Department of Genetics

Carla Easter

National Institutes of Health (NIH) - National Human Genome Research Institute

Melissa Goldstein

George Washington University - Milken Institute School of Public Health

Maui Hudson

University of Waikato

W. John Kress

The Smithsonian Institution

Harris Lewin

UC Davis

Debra J.H. Mathews

Johns Hopkins University - Berman Institute of Bioethics

Catherine McCarthy

Wellcome Sanger Institute

Ann McCartney

National Institutes of Health (NIH) - National Human Genome Research Institute

Manuela da Silva

Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (FIOCRUZ)

Andrew W. Torrance

University of Kansas School of Law; MIT Sloan School of Management

Henry T. Greely

Stanford Law School

Date Written: March 25, 2021

Abstract

The Earth BioGenome Project (EBP) is an audacious endeavor to obtain whole genome sequences of representatives from all eukaryotic species on earth. In addition to the Project’s technical and organizational challenges, it also faces complicated ethical, legal, and social issues. This paper, from members of the EBP’s Ethical, Legal, and Social Issues (ELSI) Committee, catalogs these ELSI concerns arising from EBP. While we do not— and cannot—provide simple, overarching solutions for all of the issues raised here, we conclude our Perspective by beginning to chart a path forward for EBP’s work.

Keywords: genomics, ELSI, EBP, ABS, biodiversity

Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation

Sherkow, Jacob S. and Barker, Katharine and Braverman, Irus and Cook-Deegan, Robert M and Durbin, Richard and Easter, Carla and Goldstein, Melissa and Hudson, Maui and Kress, W. John and Lewin, Harris and Mathews, Debra J.H. and McCarthy, Catherine and McCartney, Ann and da Silva, Manuela and Torrance, Andrew W. and Greely, Henry (Hank) T., Ethical, Legal, and Social Issues in the Earth BioGenome Project (March 25, 2021). University of Illinois College of Law Legal Studies Research Paper No. 21-10, University at Buffalo School of Law Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2020-013, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3840280 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3840280