Team:UCSF/Practices
HUMAN PRACTICES
Our project explores complex communication in yeast communities, so we wanted to look at communication on other levels. We especially wanted to focus on how we as a team can communicate with the general public and other iGEM teams. Synthetic biology is often a misunderstood and enigmatic topic to the general public. One goal of our Human Practices was to bridge the often controversial divide between the public and synthetic biology through an easily accessible format - the Internet.
Millions of people use the Internet to search for explanations to difficult topics. Unfortunately, synthetic biology is often portrayed in an inaccurate light that encourages fear and misunderstanding. These sources do not do justice to the exact purpose of molecular techniques and how they can positively benefit human welfare, without infringing on ethical concerns. Our goal is to dispel these rumors and help the public understand synthetic biology in order to mitigate fear and misunderstanding in an easily accessible and engaging way. In addition, our project sought to increase communication with other research teams. We looked at the myriad of ways scientists (within and outside of iGEM) communicate their thoughts, projects, and ideas with each other. Some of these commonly used outlets include, but are not limited to, lectures, seminars, and published journal articles. However, social media is becoming a more prominent source of scientific outreach. More and more scientists are using websites such as Youtube, Facebook, and Twitter to convey their research. Yet despite the increasing number of users in these social media sites, there still exists a large disparity between the science community/iGEM and the general public, especially within the field of synthetic biology. Our mission is to use the burgeoning field of social media to bridge this gap between the two communities.
COMMUNICATING WITH THE PUBLIC
Just like how yeast can communicate with both themselves and others, we began a video series to first figure out how individuals perceived synthetic biology and how they viewed the role of synthetic biology in their community. We started by interviewing passersby at the San Francisco Giants stadium and asking them what key synthetic biology terms mean to them: GMOs, genetic engineering, and gene cloning. Some of the responses were knowledgeable, but many associated these simple terms with overwhelmingly negative connotations.
Our second video then concisely and accurately define those terms in an easily digestible video in hopes of erasing the negative stigma surrounding these terms.
Ultimately, we wanted to elucidate the tremendous potential of synthetic biology and genetic engineering, and shed light on the many groundbreaking discoveries that have and continue to largely benefit mankind. Our videoblog was able to reach a wide audience on Facebook, SynBio101 video, and Wiki Flicks.
COMMUNICATING WITH iGEM TEAMS
iGEM Academy, a YouTube platform created by Trinity iGEM, aims to further bring the synthetic biology community together. UCSF iGEM has teamed up with Trinity iGEM to propel the mission and goals of iGEM Academy by integrating Wiki Flicks and utilizing iGEM Academy as our primary platform for submissions.
In addition to promoting communication through social media, our team also helped plan and organize the Sierra Systems & Synbio Symposium. Held at the University of Nevada, Reno, this two-day conference enabled undergraduate and high school students to present their synthetic biology research to peers through team and poster presentations. Several iGEM teams from universities and colleges in northern Nevada and northern California attended this Symposium, networking and collaborating with each other. The Symposium served as a great addition towards furthering the goal of increased communication within the iGEM community.
HELPING iGEM COMMUNICATE WITH THE PUBLIC
Our capstone effort in human practices for iGEM 2015 is Wiki Flicks. Yeast form complex communities by signalling to one another in a rapid yet carefully controlled signalling cascade. In imitation, we went directly to iGEM headquarters to spur a signalling cascade that would affect the entire iGEM community. In collaboration with TCD iGEM at iGEM HQ, we took advantage of the YouTube platform iGEM Academy to network with other teams to create short Wiki Flicks explaining projects in a fun and engaging way. These are short videos meant to describe a team’s project without the use of science terminology and jargon, with the key goal of being accessible to anyone.
We worked in collaboration with iGEM HQ and other teams to develop this idea, with the ultimate goal of making this a mainstay feature on future Wikis. This is an innovative approach to accomplishing our Human Practices mission because it fueled other iGEM teams to work together to reach the public, increasing our worldwide impact while also encouraging communication and collaboration with other research teams. As of now, we have 11 Wiki Flicks showcased in one platform. To watch the Wiki Flicks, click the button below.
COMMUNICATION ISSUES
Immediately after deciding our Human Practices goal, our team began to realize how vastly we underestimated the difficulty of our mission. We saw numerous challenges in trying to improve communication between the synthetic biology community and the general public.
- Video Platform Choice
- Miscommunication
- Language Barrier
Although YouTube boasts of 1 billion users, the popular video sharing site is not accessible in all countries. Our team reached out to countries where YouTube is unavailable to figure out the best ways they can communicate their own projects to the general public.
Insert our solution or something of the sort here.
I'm sorry, were you saying something? I'm sorry, were you saying something? I'm sorry, were you saying something? I'm sorry, were you saying something? I'm sorry, were you saying something? I'm sorry, were you saying something? I'm sorry, were you saying something? I'm sorry, were you saying something?
Um, yea, I was.
"Do you understand the words that are coming out of my mouth" -Rush Hour AHHHHHHHHHHH AHHH AHHH AHHH AHHH AHHH AHHH AHHH AHHH AHHH AHHH AHHH AHHH AHHH AHHH AHHH AHHH AHHH AHHH AHHH AHHH AHHH AHHH AHHH AHHH AHHH AHHH AHHH AHHH AHHH AHHH AHHH AHHH AHHH AHHH
Nope.