Organised by the Advisory Board of Biotechnology, the seminar took place in the Ministry of Environment and gathered scientists, students, government officers as well as other stakeholders. Prof. Teemu Teeri, from the University of Helsinki, kicked off the seminar with a speech on new plant breeding techniques, followed by a presentation by Dr. Kirmo Wartiovaara about gene editing in biomedicine. The guest speaker, Prof. Ken Oye from the USA, shared ethical considerations, especially with regard to synthetic biology. The seminar ended with a panel discussion featuring representatives from the Finnish Environment Institute, the Universities of Helsinki and Aalto and the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health.