Team:Goettingen/Human Practice

Why Human Practice?

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 understanding of Synthetic Biology:

• Newspaper article to publicate Synthetic Biology and our project
• Public survey of the topic Synthetic Biology
• Panel discussion of the topic Synthetic Biology
• Public letter to the Ministry of Science
• Bilingualism of the homepage (German / English)
• Illustration of our project with Flash coli
• Fun factor: Flash coli - The game

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