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| | == Ethics == | | == Ethics == |
| | <p style="text-align: justify;"> | | <p style="text-align: justify;"> |
| - | <b>The ethical part of our project will focus on two major points:</b>
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| - | 1) The safety/security issues.
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| - | What can be done to prevent malign use? What are we doing to protect ourselves and the environment when we work with bacteria in the lab? What does the law require that we do?
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| - | 2) Making synthetic biology known to the public
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| - | The public will need certain information and learning, to be able to make decisions about their own stands and thoughts about synthetic biology. Will they welcome GMO foods? Bacterial products in general? Or will the idea about bacteria as a source to disease overrule all the positive aspects? This depends largely on how these topics are addressed, and we are going to address them in a way that makes room for personal reflection.
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| - | <b> It is important for us that we can make a very concrete product, so that this will be more than just papers on the topic. These are our ideas so far:</b>
| + | Abstract |
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| + | We have chosen to put a great deal of effort into making our project as safe as possible. This safety paper represents our thoughts and ideas, as well as throughout assessments of the safety and security of the project. We have, in addition to assessing the safety and security, attempted to create a new safety standard in the form of a watermarking standard. |
| - | 1) An interactive computer program or computer game. Could be used in schools as a teaching tool, or could be a fun way of involving the public in the world of bacteria, genetic modification and bioethics.
| + | We have taken care, throughout the process of electing a project, not to create a potentially pathogenic bacteria. This made us abandon our initial project as we foresaw some issues concerning the pathogenicity of our construct. |
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| + | We have blasted all genes and proteins for homologs in pathogenic bacteria, and performed a risk-assessment of each bio-brick, as well as an assessment of the entire project. |
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| + | We have taken care to uphold the laws and safety guidelines laid out by the UN as well as by the Danish Government, especially concerning assessing the risks of our project, as well as the properties of the individual parts, such as substitution of potentially pathogenic material, and the guidelines for personal safety. We have enlisted the help of our local bio-safety group, associated with the university, to help us better grasp the potential risks of our project as well as offering a lab-safety course, that all participating students passed. |
| - | 2) Event in public. This is a loose idea, and it contains various possibilities.
| + | Finally, to further the safety of the world at large, we have created a watermarking standard. We propose to insert watermarks into synthetically engineered parts. The watermark consists of a licence associated with the creating team, accessible from the parts-registry, containing information on how to contact the creating team, as well as all relevant information and characterizations of the parts involved. |
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| - | :a) competition
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| - | :b) speech
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| - | :c) iGEM presentation as part of a larger public event?
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| - | 3) Visiting schools and making theme days about bioethics. Some of the ideas listed could be part of this idea. F.ex. the computer program, but see also below.
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| - | 4) Folder that can be given at theme days/ public events/ other, so that people have something to bring home and remind them of what they learned. It would also include references for those who wanted to learn more.
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| - | 5) Art. Some piece of art which has either a shocking, provoking or humoristic effect. If we could make it directly relevant for people in their personal lives this would also work, and make them remember. The important part here is to have people REMEMBER this even after they've gone home. We want them to tell their friends about it.
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| - | 6) Web
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| - | :a) We will be putting stuff on our wiki so this is for sure a part of it, but how do we want to present our case? making it possible for the visitors to get a quick overview will be essential, but then we will also need deeper articles about the topics and references to other articles, books, web pages, movies(?) etc. and links.
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| - | :b) A 'test yourself' facility on our page would be really cool, and something that could have people telling their friends. Maybe we want a "tell a friend"-button so that it's easy for visitors to do this?
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| - | 7) Articles for newspapers/magazines/other. Another way to get the message out.
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| - | 8) Uses. Examples of where bacteria and genetically modified organisms are successfully used already in our world, will give a milder and more positive view on synthetic biology. This idea should probably be incorporated in one or more of the others, f.ex. the theme day, public event, articles, on the web, in the test, in the computer game etc.
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| - | 9) Apocalyptic scenario with bacteria as the saving heroes. A story?
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| - | 10) Full teachers package to run an educational theme on synthetic biology.
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| - | </p>
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| - | </div>
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| - | <div id="rightcolumn">
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| - | The ethical part of our project.
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| - | </div>
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| - | </div>
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Ethics
Abstract
We have chosen to put a great deal of effort into making our project as safe as possible. This safety paper represents our thoughts and ideas, as well as throughout assessments of the safety and security of the project. We have, in addition to assessing the safety and security, attempted to create a new safety standard in the form of a watermarking standard.
We have taken care, throughout the process of electing a project, not to create a potentially pathogenic bacteria. This made us abandon our initial project as we foresaw some issues concerning the pathogenicity of our construct.
We have blasted all genes and proteins for homologs in pathogenic bacteria, and performed a risk-assessment of each bio-brick, as well as an assessment of the entire project.
We have taken care to uphold the laws and safety guidelines laid out by the UN as well as by the Danish Government, especially concerning assessing the risks of our project, as well as the properties of the individual parts, such as substitution of potentially pathogenic material, and the guidelines for personal safety. We have enlisted the help of our local bio-safety group, associated with the university, to help us better grasp the potential risks of our project as well as offering a lab-safety course, that all participating students passed.
Finally, to further the safety of the world at large, we have created a watermarking standard. We propose to insert watermarks into synthetically engineered parts. The watermark consists of a licence associated with the creating team, accessible from the parts-registry, containing information on how to contact the creating team, as well as all relevant information and characterizations of the parts involved.
"
