Abbott, ZackAdelman, Zach N.Elani, YuvalFreemont, PaulKiattisewee, Cholpisit IceMolla, Kutubuddin A.Murray, Richard M.Rudenko, Larisa2025-06-032025-06-032025Abbott, Z., Adelman, Z., Elani, Y., Freemont, P., Kiattisewee, C., MOLLA, K.A., Murray, R., & Rudenko, L. (2025). 4.3 Synthetic Cells for Environmental Release. Rice University. https://doi.org/10.25611/TRA2-AT67https://hdl.handle.net/1911/118558This entreaty was created as part of The Spirit of Asilomar and the Future of Biotechnology summit (February 23-26, 2025) in Pacific Grove, CA.This report summarizes discussions about the intersection of synthetic cells and beyond-containment biotechnologies, highlighting the need to differentiate between replicating/evolving and non-replicating/non-evolving synthetic cells due to their varying risk profiles and containment challenges. It emphasizes the potential of non-replicating synthetic cells as a safer, more controllable platform with minimized genetic instability and enhanced biosafety features, while still acknowledging the potential for DNA transfer to environmental organisms. The report calls for developing methods to characterize risks associated with synthetic cell deployment, establishing a classification framework based on potential harms, and fostering public trust through proactive engagement, transparency, and appropriate regulatory guidelines.engThis work is protected by copyright and is made available here for research and educational purposes. Permission to reuse, publish, or reproduce the work beyond the bounds of fair use or other exemptions to copyright law must be obtained from the copyright holder.ReportSOA_2025.4.3_Synthetic_Cells_for_Environmental_Releasehttps://doi.org/10.25611/TRA2-AT67https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9859-078Xhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-5901-7171https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9603-2490https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5658-8486https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6351-7352https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9897-7906https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5785-7481https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6074-8676