Prominent Stanford scientist Drew Endy is denouncing a secret meeting held at Harvard University this week to discuss creating a synthetic human genome — essentially, constructing human life from scratch using chemicals.

In an essay criticizing the proposed project, Endy and Northwestern University bioethicist Laurie Zoloth said human genome synthesis is a scientific development with enormous moral implications, so discussions “should not occur in closed rooms.”

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“Genomics is in the middle of four revolutions: sequencing, editing, synthesizing and understanding,” said Hank Greely, director of Stanford’s Center for Law and the Biosciences. “The first is well-advanced, the second coming on strong, the third just starting and the fourth — and most important — still scratching the surface.”

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“I don’t think whether a genome, human or otherwise, is synthesized or edited is, itself, likely to be important,” Greely said. “The crucial questions will be what changes are made, with what results?”

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“Closed meetings have a place — in very early, and usually small, discussions of a sensitive topic,” said Stanford’s Greely. “At a reported 130 attendees, and after an earlier small meeting, I’m not sure closing this meeting made sense.”