A really, really good headline!

We wanted to get an idea of what was happening around the social issues involved in synthetic biology in the UK, so we carried out background research into several areas.

POST

Biotechnology often requires extensive regulatory debate and policy because developments often change ideas of what constitutes legal concepts such as life, person, and safe.

We are interested in how synthetic biology is being discussed in our government by politicians and how information is presented to our members of parliament. It is vital to understand these elements of the regulatory process, as subtleties in communication can direct or 'frame' later discussions about synthetic biology.

In the United Kingdom, the government relies on the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST) to provide impartial information and advice on developments that might affect the population. The department produces four-page POSTnotes, designed to give a concise explanation of an area of science or technology and a consideration of its relevance to society.

In July, Louis undertook an internship in the department to get an inside look at the process of collating and presenting scientific and social research for government. He spent time exploring issues around neurosciences and the law, recreational drug regulation, and synthetic biology.

We wanted to find out what types of impacts are considered in creating regulation, and how closely these correlated to those discussed in news media and the work of iGEM teams in prior years. We hoped to be able to analyse these discussions to see if there was a link between the way that information reaches government and the eventual regulation in our country compared to others.

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHg5SJYRHA0 Here is a link to a POSTnote on synthetic biology produced in 2009.]

Science Question Time – Science Education.

Science question time is a collaborative venture between the biochemical society, the campaign for science and engineering (CaSE) and staff at imperial college London. The fourth science question time in London invited speakers and the audience to discuss science and higher education. Members from the UCL iGEM team attended this event in order to investigate the role science plays in education at all levels from primary to higher institutions. Involving ourselves in such policy discussion has allowed us to consider how effective primary science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) teaching really is. Louis Coiffait policy manger within the Pearson Centre for Policy and Learning raised the point that there has been very little evidence presented that demonstrates investments in STEM teaching at a primary level have made any difference to participation in higher education. The situation is compounded by the current system where teachers are constrained by the rigidity of the national curriculum, agenda setting and meeting target. Such constrains pose a major issue that needs to be tackled through policy reform. Such issues need to be addressed before effective and creative STEM teaching can be allowed to take place.