Human Practice

Safety Icon Project

Parts are one of the most important things for iGEM teams.

It is important whether the parts in registry are safety or not.

We would like to propose that we introduce a safe concept for parts by easy and revolutionary method.

That is addition of icon which showed biosafety level and danger to Project and parts Registry.

We suggest to put Project of the new parts of the following icons to be able to look which level you make a project and put Registry.

　　

Ex)If the safety level at your project was BSL1,please use BSL1 icon.

If the new BioBrick part which you made have something problem about safety,please use icon as following and put parts Registry.

Safety:This icon shows that the parts is safety.

　Environment:This icon shows that the parts may release a toxic substance in environment.

Ex)It releases toxic material and endocrine-disrupting chemical...

Biocenosis:This icon shows that the parts do any harm biocenosis.

Ex)It injure animals or plants. It disrupt a food chain by an abnormal increase.

Human body:This icon shows that the parts has a harmful effect on the body.

Ex)It make carcinogenesis. It injures a cell. It causes disease...

Mutant:This icon shows that the parts mutate.

If you know mutated parts have effect on the outside,use another or more icon.

Ex) It do any harm biocenosis.

It has a harmful effect on the body.

As a result,we understand safety deeply and prevent an accident.

Main

1.Overview

We did questionary survey about the gene recombination to a university student. As a result of questionnaire, we could know that there were many people who had a bad image for gene recombination.

“How do you think of gene recombination?”

Answer result

• It is adverse effects to a body.
• It might change ecosystem.
• It is untrustworthy.
• It is difficult.

We thought that we wanted many people to know the good point of genetic modification and the synthetic creature.

2.Posters

We want to convey that experiment of a gene recombination is not a dangerous thing. We made the poster of the question and answer form to make general people understand it.

At first we felt that understanding about the reason why experiment of a gene recombination is dangerous for general people didn't have enough information. Therefore we commented on the risk of the gene recombination experiment from a point of view of the diffusion the recombination creature to the environment. And we gave the following examples and explained that there was an international decision for nonproliferation of the gene recombination creature to the environment.

• There are P1, P2, P3 level in the laboratory where we experiment of gene recombination.
• There is Cartagena Protocol about the handling of the gene recombination creature.　

Our university has the laboratory of P1 and P2 level. We explained to a general person that we abide for nonproliferation of the genetically-modified creature to the environment.

And we made the poster about the activity contents of the iGEM.

Poster(pdf)

3.Questionnaire

Our survey consisted of the following questions:

• Q1. Did you know the words “gene recombination ”?
• Q2.Did you know the words “synthetic biology”?
• Q3.How do you think of composing a creature by gene recombination ?
• Q4.Do you think about genetic modification, is it terrible?
• Q5.Please write an opinion about a thing and the genetic modification that you felt after having listened presentation.

65 people answered these questions. Here is the results we obtained.

Questionnaire(pdf)

4.Conclusions

As a result of our Human Practice, we conveyed gene recombination as a right knowledge and were able to change the consciousness of many people. We strongly think that synthetic biology will greatly develop in the near future.