Difference between revisions of "Team:UChicago/Practices"

Line 3: Line 3:
 
<html>
 
<html>
  
−
<h2> Human Practices </h2>
+
<head>
 +
<meta http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=windows-1252">
 +
<meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 15 (filtered)">
 +
<style>
 +
<!--
 +
/* Font Definitions */
 +
@font-face
 +
{font-family:"MS Mincho";
 +
panose-1:2 2 6 9 4 2 5 8 3 4;}
 +
@font-face
 +
{font-family:"Cambria Math";
 +
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;}
 +
@font-face
 +
{font-family:Calibri;
 +
panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;}
 +
@font-face
 +
{font-family:Cambria;
 +
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;}
 +
@font-face
 +
{font-family:Times;
 +
panose-1:2 2 6 3 5 4 5 2 3 4;}
 +
@font-face
 +
{font-family:"Lucida Grande";}
 +
@font-face
 +
{font-family:Garamond;
 +
panose-1:2 2 4 4 3 3 1 1 8 3;}
 +
@font-face
 +
{font-family:"\@MS Mincho";
 +
panose-1:2 2 6 9 4 2 5 8 3 4;}
 +
/* Style Definitions */
 +
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
 +
{margin:0in;
 +
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
 +
font-size:12.0pt;
 +
font-family:"Cambria",serif;}
 +
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
 +
{color:blue;
 +
text-decoration:underline;}
 +
a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed
 +
{color:purple;
 +
text-decoration:underline;}
 +
p
 +
{margin-right:0in;
 +
margin-left:0in;
 +
font-size:10.0pt;
 +
font-family:"Times",serif;}
 +
p.MsoAcetate, li.MsoAcetate, div.MsoAcetate
 +
{mso-style-link:"Balloon Text Char";
 +
margin:0in;
 +
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
 +
font-size:9.0pt;
 +
font-family:"Lucida Grande";}
 +
span.BalloonTextChar
 +
{mso-style-name:"Balloon Text Char";
 +
mso-style-link:"Balloon Text";
 +
font-family:"Lucida Grande";}
 +
.MsoChpDefault
 +
{font-size:12.0pt;
 +
font-family:"Cambria",serif;}
 +
@page WordSection1
 +
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
 +
margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in;}
 +
div.WordSection1
 +
{page:WordSection1;}
 +
-->
 +
</style>
  
−
<p>iGEM teams are unique and leading the field because they "go beyond the lab" to imagine their projects in a social/environmental context, to better understand issues that might influence the design and use of their technologies.</p>
+
</head>
−
<p>Teams work with students and advisors from the humanities and social sciences to explore topics concerning ethical, legal, social, economic, safety or security issues related to their work. Consideration of these Human Practices is crucial for building safe and sustainable projects that serve the public interest. </p>
+
−
<p>For more information, please see the <a href="https://2015.igem.org/Practices_Hub">Practices Hub</a>.</p>
+
  
−
<div class="highlightBox">
+
<body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple>
−
<h4>Note</h4>
+
−
<p>You must fill out this page in order to be considered for all <a href="https://2015.igem.org/Judging/Awards">awards</a> for Human Practices:</p>
+
−
<ul>
+
−
<li>Human Practices silver medal criterion</li>
+
−
<li>Human Practices gold medal criterion</li>
+
−
<li>Best Integrated Human Practices award</li>
+
−
<li>Best Education and Public Engagement award</li>
+
−
</ul>
+
−
</div>
+
  
 +
<div class=WordSection1>
  
−
<h5>Some Human Practices topic areas </h5>
+
<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><span
−
<ul>
+
style='font-size:26.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#C00000'>Human
−
<li>Philosophy</li>
+
Practices</span></p>
−
<li>Public Engagement / Dialogue</li>
+
−
<li>Education</li>
+
−
<li>Product Design</li>
+
−
<li>Scale-Up and Deployment Issues</li>
+
−
<li>Environmental Impact</li>
+
−
<li>Ethics</li>
+
−
<li>Safety</li>
+
−
<li>Security</li>
+
−
<li>Public Policy</li>
+
−
<li>Law and Regulation</li>
+
−
<li>Risk Assessment</li>
+
−
</ul>
+
  
−
<h5>What should we write about on this page?</h5>
+
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;
−
<p>On this page, you should write about the Human Practices topics you considered in your project, and document any special activities you did (such as visiting experts, talking to lawmakers, or doing public engagement).</p>
+
line-height:150%;font-family:"Garamond",serif;color:black'>&nbsp;</span></p>
  
 +
<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center;line-height:150%'><span
 +
style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Garamond",serif;
 +
color:black'><img width=296 height=351 id="Picture 3"
 +
src="..//wiki/images/0/05/UChicago2015Human_Practices_filesimage001.jpg"
 +
alt="http://serc.carleton.edu/images/NAGTWorkshops/earlycareer/Tenure_cartoon.jpg"></span></p>
  
−
<h5>Inspiration</h5>
+
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;
−
<p>Read what other teams have done:</p>
+
line-height:150%;font-family:"Garamond",serif;color:black'>&nbsp;</span></p>
−
<ul>
+
−
<li><a href="https://2014.igem.org/Team:Dundee/policypractice/experts">2014 Dundee </a></li>
+
−
<li><a href="https://2014.igem.org/Team:UC_Davis/Policy_Practices_Overview">2014 UC Davis </a></li>
+
−
<li><a href="https://2013.igem.org/Team:Manchester/HumanPractices">2013 Manchester </a></li>
+
−
<li><a href="https://2013.igem.org/Team:Cornell/outreach">2013 Cornell </a></li>
+
−
</ul>
+
  
−
<h3>Integrated Human Practices</h3>
+
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;
 +
line-height:150%;font-family:"Garamond",serif;color:black'>Designing bacteria
 +
with the intention of allowing it to proliferate inside the human body presents
 +
a myriad of potential ethical problems. For example, a research team at
 +
Vanderbilt University recently designed a strain of bacteria capable of
 +
generating a hunger-suppressing lipid <i>in vivo<sup>1</sup></i>. Given that
 +
one in three Americans is currently obese, this has the potential to
 +
significantly impact public health<sup>1</sup>. However, a person treated with
 +
these bacteria could accidentally transmit them to others via fecal exposure,
 +
thus negatively impacting other members of the population without their
 +
knowledge or consent<sup>1</sup>. Synthetic organisms may also mutate in
 +
unpredictable ways that could harm intended patients by, for example, causing
 +
infections or unexpected immune responses<sup>2</sup>.</span></p>
  
−
<p>Do you want to be considered for the <a href="https://2015.igem.org/Judging/Awards#SpecialPrizes">Best Integrated Human Practices award</a>? Make it easy for the judges to find any wiki content that is relevant to this prize. Highlight this content with a header or separate section.</p>
+
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;
 +
line-height:150%;font-family:"Garamond",serif;color:black'>Techniques do exist
 +
to manage these risks. In general, researchers must design methods to quickly
 +
eradicate the effector strains in case an unexpected issue arises<sup>3</sup>.
 +
For example, one research group attempting to modify oral bacteria introduced a
 +
mutation that made their strain dependent on environmental d-alanine<sup>3</sup>.
 +
The human diet contains very little of this compound, giving the researchers
 +
better control over growth<sup>3</sup>. They also added a mutation hindering
 +
the uptake of environmental DNA, thus rendering the strain less prone to
 +
transformation<sup>3</sup>. There are also more general solutions under
 +
development, such as “kill switches” that activate and automatically kill
 +
bacteria after a certain number of generations<sup>2</sup>.</span></p>
  
−
<h3>Education and Public Engagement</h3>
+
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;
 +
line-height:150%;font-family:"Garamond",serif'><br>
 +
</span><span style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Garamond",serif;
 +
color:black'>While our project is still in its very early stages and mainly
 +
focused on translating the basic science and theory into a workable system, in
 +
the future, we would want to explore implementing several of these safeguards
 +
against potential ethical issues with the release of recombinant bacteria into
 +
the environment. For instance, while it is far down the line, as a step on the
 +
long path towards a probiotic that could one day be used in humans, we could
 +
add a module onto the oscillator plasmid that acts as a kill switch when the
 +
bacteria are exposed to the environment outside of the human body. Once this is
 +
complete, there would still be various hurdles to overcome, such as ensuring
 +
the bacteria with our plasmids don’t cause pathogenicity, and trials in mice similar
 +
to the Vanderbuilt hunger-suppressing project’s set-up.</span></p>
  
−
<p>Do you want to be considered for the <a href="https://2015.igem.org/Judging/Awards#SpecialPrizes">Best Education and Public Outreach award</a>? Make it easy for the judges to find any wiki content that is relevant to this prize. Highlight this content with a header or separate section.</p>
+
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;
 +
line-height:150%;font-family:"Garamond",serif;color:black'>&nbsp;</span></p>
 +
 
 +
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;
 +
line-height:150%;font-family:"Garamond",serif;color:black'>1.</span></b><a
 +
href="http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-03/acs-smm022015.php"><b><span
 +
style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Garamond",serif'>
 +
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-03/acs-smm022015.php</span></b></a></p>
 +
 
 +
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;
 +
line-height:150%;font-family:"Garamond",serif;color:black'>2.</span></b><a
 +
href="http://bioethics.gov/sites/default/files/PCSBI-Synthetic-Biology-Report-12.16.10_0.pdf"><b><span
 +
style='font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Garamond",serif'>
 +
http://bioethics.gov/sites/default/files/PCSBI-Synthetic-Biology-Report-12.16.10_0.pdf</span></b></a></p>
 +
 
 +
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;
 +
line-height:150%;font-family:"Garamond",serif;color:black'>3. Hillman, J.D.,
 +
Mo, J., McDonell, E., Cvitkovitch, D. and Hillman, C.H. (2007), Modification of
 +
an effector strain for replacement therapy of dental caries to enable clinical
 +
safety trials. Journal of Applied Microbiology, 102: 1209–1219. doi:
 +
10.1111/j.1365-2672.2007.03316.x</span></b></p>
 +
 
 +
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;
 +
line-height:150%;font-family:"Garamond",serif;color:black'>&nbsp;</span></p>
 +
 
 +
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;
 +
line-height:150%;font-family:"Garamond",serif'>&nbsp;</span></p>
 +
 
 +
<p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;
 +
line-height:150%;font-family:"Garamond",serif'>&nbsp;</span></p>
 +
 
 +
</div>
 +
 
 +
</body>
  
 
</html>
 
</html>
 +
  
 
{{UChicago/Footer}}
 
{{UChicago/Footer}}

Revision as of 07:25, 18 September 2015

Team UChicago banner.jpg

Human Practices

 

http://serc.carleton.edu/images/NAGTWorkshops/earlycareer/Tenure_cartoon.jpg

 

Designing bacteria with the intention of allowing it to proliferate inside the human body presents a myriad of potential ethical problems. For example, a research team at Vanderbilt University recently designed a strain of bacteria capable of generating a hunger-suppressing lipid in vivo1. Given that one in three Americans is currently obese, this has the potential to significantly impact public health1. However, a person treated with these bacteria could accidentally transmit them to others via fecal exposure, thus negatively impacting other members of the population without their knowledge or consent1. Synthetic organisms may also mutate in unpredictable ways that could harm intended patients by, for example, causing infections or unexpected immune responses2.

Techniques do exist to manage these risks. In general, researchers must design methods to quickly eradicate the effector strains in case an unexpected issue arises3. For example, one research group attempting to modify oral bacteria introduced a mutation that made their strain dependent on environmental d-alanine3. The human diet contains very little of this compound, giving the researchers better control over growth3. They also added a mutation hindering the uptake of environmental DNA, thus rendering the strain less prone to transformation3. There are also more general solutions under development, such as “kill switches” that activate and automatically kill bacteria after a certain number of generations2.


While our project is still in its very early stages and mainly focused on translating the basic science and theory into a workable system, in the future, we would want to explore implementing several of these safeguards against potential ethical issues with the release of recombinant bacteria into the environment. For instance, while it is far down the line, as a step on the long path towards a probiotic that could one day be used in humans, we could add a module onto the oscillator plasmid that acts as a kill switch when the bacteria are exposed to the environment outside of the human body. Once this is complete, there would still be various hurdles to overcome, such as ensuring the bacteria with our plasmids don’t cause pathogenicity, and trials in mice similar to the Vanderbuilt hunger-suppressing project’s set-up.

 

1. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-03/acs-smm022015.php

2. http://bioethics.gov/sites/default/files/PCSBI-Synthetic-Biology-Report-12.16.10_0.pdf

3. Hillman, J.D., Mo, J., McDonell, E., Cvitkovitch, D. and Hillman, C.H. (2007), Modification of an effector strain for replacement therapy of dental caries to enable clinical safety trials. Journal of Applied Microbiology, 102: 1209–1219. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2672.2007.03316.x

 

 

 


Your Website Title

Like our team Facebook page, Genehackers@UChicago!

Questions? Comments? Send us an email!