Perspectives in 2017

An analysis of biotech and pharma stock prices since 1930 reveals sharp differences in the risk-adjusted returns of the two sectors.

Recent developments in bioengineering promise the possibility of new diagnostic and treatment strategies, novel industrial processes, and innovative approaches to thorny problems in fields such as nutrition, agriculture, and biomanufacturing. As modern genetics has matured and developed technologies of increasing power, debates over risk assessments and proper applications of the technology, and over who should have decision-making power over such issues, have become more prominent. Recently, some scientists have advocated that ethicists “step out of the way,” whereas others have called for greater ethical scrutiny, or even for moratoria on some lines of research^1,2. As a community, however, we must together determine the proper application of these powerful biological tools. This paper, a consensus statement of a group of interdisciplinary delegates drawn from the top biotech-producing countries of the world, offers a set of ethical principles to contribute to the ethical conversation about human cellular biotechnological research moving forward.

Standards for sequencing the microbial 'uncultivated majority', namely bacterial and archaeal single-cell genome sequences, and genome sequences from metagenomic datasets, are proposed.

A community-led initiative will enable users to design, share, refine and innovate fluidic devices.

Recent progress in delivering RNA therapeutics to the inside of cells might lead to more success in clinical applications.