Team:Tuebingen/freiburg
Giving lectures at the Theatre Freiburg
On the 3rd of July we went to Freiburg to participate at "RE-ENGINEERING LIFE oder WOLLEN WIR UNENDLICH SEIN?", an event organized by a group of artists to help the dialogue between science and the interested proceed.
In addition to many informational lectures and events, we were invited to take over the role of scientific experts in a speed-dating like conversation: Many different people with various backgrounds sat down and started a conversation about synthetic biology, our motivations, iGEM, and the big picture behind our actions. It was very interesting to see that people had different approaches to get in touch with synthetic biology and we were surprised that this topic is accepted by a greater percentage of people than recent studies report.
At the end, there was a panel discussion with international professors and the artists about synthetic biology and art, which was the main theme of this event. They, among others, examined the difference between design and art; in which way is the synthetic biologist an artist?
Generally speaking they came to the conclusion that bioengineering is more design than art, because it is 'engineered' and therefore not supposed to depict the things art is supposed to do. However, we left the discussion with mixed feelings about it. For us, bioengineering is a kind of art.