Team:Tec Guadalajara/Practices

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3 R's

The science is exciting, but we are also aware of the implications that technology can have on society. Therefore, we have worked on the interphase between science and society with an initiative called “The three R’s”: regulation, rights and relations. Within each area we have collaborated with experts that have enabled us to work responsibly in our project by getting involved in social issues that affect us all as a SYTHETIC BIOLOGY COMMUNITY.

REGULATION

Risk Assessment Manual

A guide to iGEM teams and other synthetic biology projects that allows them to ensure they don´t represent a risk to human health or to the environment.

Online forum

Intended to replicate the real discussion from parties and observers of the Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD, part of United Nations) that took place recently in preparation for next year’s Conference and Meeting of the Parties of the Cartagena Protocol otherwise known as COP-MOP, which will be held in Cancun, Mexico. So far, the more distinctive results have been:

We can mention that, although we discussed a various number of synthetic biology definitions in our forum, we can point out that every single one of them have something in common, such as concepts like: new, design, synthesis, standardizing, engineering, creation, accelerating processes, making things easier (within this context). Therefore, through the attempt to find and rely on a middle ground, we can say that synthetic biology is about innovation and progress within modern biotechnology. That is why, as a conclusion, we reached the consensus that the European Union definition of synthetic biology is the one that aligns the best with us, which is “Synthetic biology is the application of science, technology and engineering to facilitate and accelerate the design, manufacture and/or modification of genetic materials in living organisms”

UN/COP-MOP Youth participation

In addition, we are organizing a youth group that will participate as an observer during the COP-MOP to get more involved in the policy process that is shaping our discipline. FOR MORE INFORMATION, FILL IN THE QUESTIONNAIRE

RIGHTS

On the other hand, for the Rights section, we have presented a quick Introductory Guide to Intellectual Property that will help to identify the applications of ideas that can be protected. Similarly, we wanted to create consciousness on “how much to share and how much to protect” to establish a middle ground for Intellectual Property rights regarding Synthetic Biology. Until know, the results obtained through a second online-forum have been: * On this forum we could observe, that regarding the situation that if something newly created in synthetic biology should be patented or open source shared, there are still a lot of subjects and situations to be discussed in order to reach a middle ground. What can be said from the discussions is that there are opposing viewpoints regarding if patenting an invention and fulfilling moral implications should go together or be kept side, but maybe if intellectual property is looked through this lens, then there should be specific-case analysis and to conclude if something is worth patenting or released open source. Finally, for Relations, we have compiled several activities through a Science Communication Program such as a Transgenics Debate between one of our assessors and a Greenpeace representative, a Biotech Science Fair and the design of a SynBio Lab practice for HighSchool Students. And last but not least, we want to help other universities’ teams in Latin-America countries to get started in Synthetic Biology through an online platform called “Synbio: sin Fronteras” (SynBio without Borders), where the main objective is to promote science and technology among young people through iGEM teams.