Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36388962›Full record

ReviewiScience2022

Direct and indirect impacts of synthetic biology on biodiversity conservation.

Nicholas B W Macfarlane, Jonathan Adams, Elizabeth L Bennett, Thomas M Brooks, Jason A Delborne, Hilde Eggermont, Drew Endy, Kevin M Esvelt, Bartlomiej Kolodziejczyk, Todd Kuiken and 8 more

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in iScience, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

8 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Review
  3. Review
  4. Review
  5. Bending the curve of global freshwater biodiversity loss: what are the prospects?Biological reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society · 2025
    Review
  6. Review
  7. Article
  8. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

18 authors.

Nicholas B W MacfarlaneIUCN, 1630 Connecticut Avenue NW. Ste 300., Washington, DC 20009, USA.
Jonathan AdamsPangolin Words, Inc., 10301 Nolan Drive, Rockville, MD 20850, USA.
Elizabeth L BennettWildlife Conservation Society, 2300 Southern Boulevard, Bronx, NY 10460, USA.
Thomas M BrooksIUCN, 28 rue Mauverney, 1196 Gland, Switzerland.
Jason A DelborneDepartment of Forestry and Environmental Resources, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA.
Hilde EggermontBelgian Biodiversity Platform, WTC III Simon Bolivarlaan 30 Bus 7, 1000 Brussels, Belgium.
Drew EndyStanford University, 443 Via Ortega, Shriram Center RM 252, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
Kevin M EsveltMassachusetts Institute of Technology, Media Lab, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02464, USA.
Bartlomiej KolodziejczykUniversity of Gothenburg, 405 30 Gothenburg, Sweden.
Todd KuikenGenetic Engineering and Society Center, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA.
Maria Julia OlivaUnion for Ethical BioTrade (UEBT), De Ruijterkade 6b, 1013 AA Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Sonia Peña MorenoIUCN, 28 rue Mauverney, 1196 Gland, Switzerland.
Lydia SlobodianGeorgetown University Law Center, 600 New Jersey Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20001, USA.
Risa B SmithIUCN World Commission on Protected Areas, 19915 Porlier Pass, Galiano, BC V0N1P0, Canada.
Delphine ThizyImperial College London, Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London SW7 2BX, UK.
Daniel M TompkinsPredator Free 2050 Limited, PO Box 106040, Auckland 1143, New Zealand.
Wei WeiState Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 20 Nanxincun, Xiangshan, Beijing, China.
Kent H RedfordArchipelago Consulting, Portland, ME 04112, USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The world's biodiversity is in crisis. Synthetic biology has the potential to transform biodiversity conservation, both directly and indirectly, in ways that are negative and positive. However, applying these biotechnology tools to environmental questions is fraught with uncertainty and could harm cultures, rights, livelihoods, and nature. Decisions about whether or not to use synthetic biology for conservation should be understood alongside the reality of ongoing biodiversity loss. In 2022, the 196 Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity are negotiating the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework that will guide action by governments and other stakeholders for the next decade to conserve the worlds' biodiversity. To date, synthetic biologists, conservationists, and policy makers have operated in isolation. At this critical time, this review brings these diverse perspectives together and emerges out of the need for a balanced and inclusive examination of the potential application of these technologies to biodiversity conservation.

Indexed as

BiotechnologyEnvironmental BiotechnologyEnvironmental managementGlobal changeNature conservation

Identifiers

PMID36388962
PMCPMC9641226

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.