Paper short abstract:

This paper will explore how synthetic biology – which takes an engineering approach by editing DNA to alter nature – might challenge, change or bolster Indigenous Australian multi-species relations, and vice versa, to explore concepts of kin, care, and ethical responsibilities for the future.

Paper long abstract:

As an emerging novel technology, synthetic biology (synbio) takes an engineering approach to biology by editing DNA. Synbio applications may offer creative approaches to existing environmental challenges such as invasive species management or making native species more resilient to a warming climate. But what happens when a multi-species lens is applied to synbio? What we can learn from Indigenous Australian ontologies that see plant and animal species not as separate to, but rather an extension of, human kin? How might cuts and changes in DNA be perceived in Indigenous understandings of continuity, kin and care? This paper will explore how synbio techniques that alter nature might challenge, change or bolster Indigenous Australian multi-species relations and identity. Conversely, a multi-species lens may challenge existing synbio assumptions by collapsing human/non-human categories to reshape ethical as well as regulatory responsibilities for the future.