Team:Edinburgh/Practices

Human Practices

Introduction

The field of Synthetic Biology is relatively new and its potential to shape biotechnology of the future is widely recognised. But what is the best approach to take with new scientific fields? With synthetic biology, despite its great potential, there are many areas of concern. Edinburgh's iGEM project is no different.

How will synthetic biology impact our environment, the future of how we source our food, and society in general? And is synthetic biology a genuine solution to a problem, or just a solution in search of a problem?

If our project is to have both credibility and longevity it is important that we ask these questions. The answers may challenge us, but this process is necessary if we are to deepen our understanding and advance the field. With that in mind, we have chosen to conduct our whole project as a feasibility study, not only into the biology, but also into the design, economics, and social implications of biorefineries making use of that biology.

Biorefineries: design and economics

It is not enough to simply show that the biology can work. The project must also be economically viable, and a practical design for a biorefinery must be created. For this, see the biorefinery page.

Biorefineries: social implications

Secondly, the broader social implications of the project must be considered. We have made contact with and interviewed a number of different figures from various fields: environmentalism, business, academia, politics, and the Church. All of these people are involved, one way or another, in the debate surrounding Synthetic Biology. For this, see:

• Interviews: Overview
• Interviews
• Interview Analysis

Edinburgh and the iGEM Community

An altogether different society is the Synthetic Biology community, and we have naturally interacted with other members of it.

Early on, we created our Wiki Watch page, which we hope has been of assistance to other teams looking to collaborate on similar projects. Later, we collaborated with another team debugging and assaying a BioBrick. We also helped update the Registry with information on previous years' parts. See the Collaboration page.