Team:Goettingen/Human Practice

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Our Human Practice projects

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Synthetic biology includes the construction of genetically altered DNA, which is inserted into living cells. The bringing of “man-made” DNA into organisms is a controversially discussed topic. Especially the part of the society, which is not familiar with genetic engineering, shows vehement disapproval. This can be the result of multifarious reasons. Some might fear the unforeseen consequences others refuse the idea of “playing god”. Whatever the underlying causes are, it is necessary to basically elucidate the population to avoid misunderstandings. However, it is still in the responsibility of each researcher to be aware of possible consequences and to act in an appropriate manner.

And this is exactly what human practice is about. The iGEM participants are encouraged to give the community an understanding of the principle and intentions of the competition and to present their own project. For the team Göttingen it is a matter of particular concern to get an idea of the peoples fears, doubts and general impressions regarding synthetic biology and related scientific fields.

Our effort to give people an opinion about Synthetic Biology and iGEM

  • Newspaper article to publicate Synthetic Biology and our project
  • We have participated in the national Synthetic Biology Day to inform the people about Synthetic Biology and iGEM
  • Public survey of the topic Synthetic Biology to figure out, what the people think about synthetic biology and biotechnology
  • Panel discussion of the topic Synthetic Biology to discuss with experts and people about synthetic biology
  • Public letter to the Ministry of Science to influence politics
  • Bilingualism of the homepage (German / English) to show our work to all german people
  • Illustration of our project with Flash Coli. An Introduction which is funny and easy to understand, for all generations!
  • Fun factor: Flash Coli - The game - learning biology in a funny way

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