Team:Exeter/Human Practices

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<p>Human practices are the potential ethical, societal, environmental and business impacts that our synthetic biology project may have. Everything that could be affected by our project has been considered and the benefits and risks to each area discussed. From the beginning we imagined how our project may impact upon society, evolving our project with human practices in mind. It is one of the most important aspects of our project and determines the success of our project if it were to continue forward. Therefore we throughly considered human practices through our panel and regular meetings and discussions with a wide range of people, from environmentalist experts to people with a wealth of experience concerning impact-led research.</p>
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<p>Only by knowing the reality of our project could we know its potential for impact, so one key aim of our human practices exploration has been to investigate this possibility.</p><br>
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<p>We believe our project could lead to technology that will not only revolutionise glycobiology, but could have a huge impact on all levels of society. We have therefore talked to industry-leading companies including DSTL, ISCA Biochemicals Ltd and people in food and cosmetic manufacture. Talking about our project and the importance of Synthetic Biology has emphasised the relevance of this work. Even at the current stage of our project, it is clearly thought to be of significance to industry highlighting the huge potential of the project. Please read on to discover more detail about how we engaged with the wider community in this respect.</p>
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<p>Our project is a gateway to developing technology that will revolutionise glycobiology and consequently have a huge impact on all levels of society. The potential impact of novel polysaccharides on medical, industrial and social sectors is vast and it is this we have been considering. We wanted to explore our ideas and whether they were commercially possible, testing if our idea had genuine, real world impact. We engaged with industry-leading businesses including the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL), a leading local food manufacturer, ISCA Biochemicals Ltd. and Avon Cosmetics. Please see <a href=”https://2012.igem.org/Team:Exeter/Human_Practices/impact";style="color:#57b947">here</a> to read more about our experiences with this. Discussing our project and the importance of synthetic biology has emphasised the relevance of this work: even at the level of an undergraduate competition project it is clearly thought to be of significance to industry.</p><br>
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<p>A new generation of young people is needed to drive a responsible, boundary-seeking future in synthetic biology and we believe that we have passed on a legacy by inspiring several work experience students over the summer. You can read the thoughts of our work experience students <a href="http://medblog.medlink-uk.net/chrishack/";style="color:#57b947">here</a> and <a href="https://2012.igem.org/Team:Exeter/Outreach/WorkExp";style="color:#57b947">here</a>. We engaged with the public through Cafe Scientifique, talking about the impact of synthetic biology and by using our project as one of the examples, we were able to get direct feedback on this. Our write up for this is <a href="https://2012.igem.org/Team:Exeter/Outreach/cafe"; style="color:#57b947">here</a>. We ran an A-level master class about the power of synthetic biology and caught the imagination of more than 80 students who had the chance to explore potential projects and impacts. Please find out more about this <a href="https://2012.igem.org/Team:Exeter/Outreach/alevel"; style="color:#57b947">here</a>. We have engaged the interest of people from all walks of life, from school children to industry leading companies, such as those mentioned above. We believe that synthetic biology is more than just the science. Synthetic biology incorporates all elements of human practices.</p>
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In addition to this work we have engaged the interest of a new generation of young people by inspiring numerous work experience students over the summer. Details can be found through our <font face="Verdana" color="#57b947" size="2">
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      <b><u><a href="https://2012.igem.org/Team:Exeter/Outreach"; style="color:#57b947">outreach</a></u></b></font> section. Briefly, we ran an A-level master class about the power of synthetic biology as part of a University open day and caught the imagination of more than 80 students. A synthetic biology club is being set up in the University and run by members of our own team to inspire other undergraduates to realise the potential, not just of our own project but the field in general. We believe that synthetic biology is more than just the science. Synthetic Biology can affect everyone and incorporates all elements of human practices.</p>
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Revision as of 21:54, 26 September 2012

Human Practices

Human Practices

Only by knowing the reality of our project could we know its potential for impact, so one key aim of our human practices exploration has been to investigate this possibility.


Our project is a gateway to developing technology that will revolutionise glycobiology and consequently have a huge impact on all levels of society. The potential impact of novel polysaccharides on medical, industrial and social sectors is vast and it is this we have been considering. We wanted to explore our ideas and whether they were commercially possible, testing if our idea had genuine, real world impact. We engaged with industry-leading businesses including the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL), a leading local food manufacturer, ISCA Biochemicals Ltd. and Avon Cosmetics. Please see here to read more about our experiences with this. Discussing our project and the importance of synthetic biology has emphasised the relevance of this work: even at the level of an undergraduate competition project it is clearly thought to be of significance to industry.


A new generation of young people is needed to drive a responsible, boundary-seeking future in synthetic biology and we believe that we have passed on a legacy by inspiring several work experience students over the summer. You can read the thoughts of our work experience students here and here. We engaged with the public through Cafe Scientifique, talking about the impact of synthetic biology and by using our project as one of the examples, we were able to get direct feedback on this. Our write up for this is here. We ran an A-level master class about the power of synthetic biology and caught the imagination of more than 80 students who had the chance to explore potential projects and impacts. Please find out more about this here. We have engaged the interest of people from all walks of life, from school children to industry leading companies, such as those mentioned above. We believe that synthetic biology is more than just the science. Synthetic biology incorporates all elements of human practices.
Human Practices Panel >>

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