Team:USC/Human Outreach

Overview

Although most iGEM members fully understand the concepts that drive synthetic biology, especially after applying our knowledge during summer research, we often forget how ignorant we were of such topics before learning about them in class or even through iGEM. Caught up in our own excitement of “doing science,” many of us do not consider the public’s awareness of synthetic biology and its ethical or physical implications. Even our own iGEM members often fail to realize the global or moral effects of synthetic biology on a broader scope.

The truth, however, is clear - synthetic biology is controversial. And we as the executors of synthetic biology, must educate the general public of the benefits and potential doubts of our research so the public can take an informed stance on the issues of synthetic biology.

Goal

To spread an understanding of what synthetic biology is and awareness of the advances and their socio-ethical implications.

How We Did It

A discussion session was held where USC community members could learn about synthetic biology, learn about iGEM's role in synthetic biology, and discuss their views and concerns with others and the team. The discussion session began with a quick survey on the students’ current knowledge of synthetic biology. We then introduced our team and played a short video clip of background information on synthetic biology.

After the video, our team began our discussion about the effects and implications of synthetic biology. The students spoke of numerous benefits of synthetic biology, including discoveries of new antibiotics against malaria and agricultural creations, such as the “grapple.” However, they also mentioned some worries about the effects of synthetic biology research on the development of biological weapons and even the possibility of creating a “super human.” Threats of bioterrorism and the sociopolitical implications of who should regulate and control these emerging technologies was a serious contention point. To conclude our meeting, we asked the students to fill out the same survey distributed in the beginning of the discussion to compare their opinions of synthetic biology after they participated in our discussion.

Results