Team:SDU-Denmark/Tour51

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<h3> Sharing the message </h3>
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<h3> An expert opinion </h3>
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<br>
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<h4>Outreach in Ghana</h4>
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<p>
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<div class="popupImg alignRight" style="width:450px">
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<table>
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<tr>
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  <td><p><b><font color="rgb(0,70,132)">Facts about Ghana</font></b></p></td>
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</tr>
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<tr>
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  <td><b><font color="rgb(0,70,132)">Geographic location:</font></b></td>
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  <td>Coastal country of West Africa</td>
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</tr>
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<tr>
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  <td><b><font color="rgb(0,70,132)">Population:</font></b></td>
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  <td><span class="sourceReference"> 25,366,000</span>
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<span class="tooltip">
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  <span class="tooltipHeader">Source:</span>
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    World Health Organization, 2014: WHO African region: Ghana.
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<a href="http://www.who.int/countries/gha/en/" target="_blank">(Link)</a></span></td>
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</tr>
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<tr>
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  <td><b><font color="rgb(0,70,132)">Population under 15 years:</font></b></td>
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  <td><span class="sourceReference">38.59 %</span>
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<span class="tooltip">
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  <span class="tooltipHeader">Source:</span>
 +
    World Health Organization, 2014: Country Cooperation Strategy at a glance: Ghana.
 +
<a href="http://www.who.int/countryfocus/cooperation_strategy/ccsbrief_gha_en.pdf?ua=1" target="_blank">(Link)</a></span></td>
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</tr>
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<tr>
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  <td><b><font color="rgb(0,70,132)">Nutritional status of children:</font></b></td>
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  <td>28% are stunted, 9% wasted and 14% <span class="sourceReference"> underweight.</span>
 +
<span class="tooltip">
 +
  <span class="tooltipHeader">Source:</span>
 +
    World Health Organization, 2014: Country Cooperation Strategy at a glance: Ghana.
 +
<a href="http://www.who.int/countryfocus/cooperation_strategy/ccsbrief_gha_en.pdf?ua=1" target="_blank">(Link)</a></span></td>
 +
</tr>
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<tr>
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  <td><b><font color="rgb(0,70,132)">Diet:</font></b></td>
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  <td>Starchy roots, fruit and edible <span class="sourceReference"> grains.</span>
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<span class="tooltip">
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  <span class="tooltipHeader">Source:</span>
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    Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2010: Nutrition Country Profile: Ghana.
 +
<a href="http://www.fao.org/ag/AGN/nutrition/GHA_en.stm" target="_blank">(Link)</a></span></td>
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</tr>
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<tr>
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  <td><b><font color="rgb(0,70,132)">Coverage needs (micronutrients and vitamins):</font></b></td>
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  <td>Primarily iodine and <span class="sourceReference"> vitamin A.</span>
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<span class="tooltip">
 +
  <span class="tooltipHeader">Source:</span>
 +
    Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2010: Nutrition Country Profile: Ghana.
 +
<a href="http://www.fao.org/ag/AGN/nutrition/GHA_en.stm" target="_blank">(Link)</a></span></td>
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</tr>
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<tr>
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  <td><b><font color="rgb(0,70,132)">Causes of mortality:</font></b></td>
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  <td>Bad access to health services, safe water and sanitation. High incidence of Malaria. <span class="sourceReference"> Malnutrition.</span>
 +
<span class="tooltip">
 +
  <span class="tooltipHeader">Source:</span>
 +
    Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2010: Nutrition Country Profile: Ghana.
 +
<a href="http://www.fao.org/ag/AGN/nutrition/GHA_en.stm" target="_blank">(Link)</a></span></td>
 +
</tr>
 +
</table>
 +
</div>
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<h4>Biobrick workshop at DTU (2<sup>nd</sup> of May - 4<sup>th</sup> of May)</h4>
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<span class="intro">When generating nutrition made of bacteria</span> our team pointed it's contribution to the considerable task of
 +
providing accurate nutrient to developing countries. The contradiction between a common opinion of how
 +
food is produced and finding a solution to obtaining food in the future has been a key issue to our
 +
project. Furthermore, the ethical and social aspects to our project are decisive to include.<br><br>
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<a class="popupImg alignRight" style="width:300px" target="_blank" href="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2014/7/71/2014SDUevents1.png" title="Biobrick workshop at DTU.">
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<span class="intro">This means that we have considered</span> what good research is. Good research includes the common opinion
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  <img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2014/6/62/2014SDUevents11.jpg" style="width:300px" />
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in society, and for this reason outreach in Ghana provided us with different standpoints to our
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Biobrick workshop at DTU.
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project.<br><br>
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</a>
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<p>
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<span class="intro">Our team was lucky to participate</span>
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in the BioBrick workshop at DTU in Copenhagen, which took place over a full weekend in the spring. The program for the weekend included Safety, USER cloning, general information on iGEM, wiki design and editing, and social events. Our team had not been in the wet-lab at that time, some had not even had a pipette in hands before, so this weekend was a really good introduction to the laboratory, with a good mix of theory and practice.
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We learned a lot and had very much fun - many thanks to the DTU-Denmark team for teaching us how to make USER cloning and for hosting a great workshop.
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</p>
</p>
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<br><br>
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<h4>Interview with Dr. Yaa Difie-Osei:</h4>
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<h4>Interactive lecture: how to find information</h4>
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<p>
<p>
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<span class="intro">We had a visit</span>
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<a class="popupImg alignRight" style="width:320px" target="_blank" href="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2014/2/22/2014SDUghana1.PNG" title="Dr. Yaa Difie-Osie from the National Biosafety Committee, Ghana.">
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from people from the library who taught us how to optimize the search of information in different sources, such as Web of Science, Compendex, Encyclopedia of Molecular Cell Biology and Molecular Medicine, Ullmann, etc. We want to thank them a lot for their time and great help!
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  <img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2014/2/22/2014SDUghana1.PNG" style="width:320px" />
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</p>
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Dr. Yaa Difie-Osie from the National Biosafety Committee, Ghana.
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</a>
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<br><br>
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<span class="intro">Senior Lecturer in Biochemistry,</span> Dr. Yaa Difie-Osei (Dr. Yaa), agreed to meet with our team member Anne,
 +
during her stay in the capital of Ghana, Accra, in August. The purpose was to talk about GMOs in relation
 +
to our Edible coli. The interview was held at the Department of Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology
 +
at the University of Ghana in Legon. Dr. Yaa has previously worked at the university herself but is now retired
 +
from her position as lecturer. Dr. Yaa is still involved in
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the development of synthetic biology in Ghana as a member of the National Biosafety Committee of Ghana.
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The fact that Dr. Yaa has much experience regarding synthetic biology and at the same time is a member of
 +
the National Biosafety Committee makes her expertise significant to our project.<br><br>
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<h4>The enneagram: discover your type (5<sup>th</sup> of June)</h4>
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<span class="intro">When Dr. Yaa heard about</span> our iGEM project she expressed great interest and there was a clear
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<a class="popupImg alignRight" style="width:150px" target="_blank" href="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2014/f/fe/2014SDUevents2.PNG" title="Enneagram.">
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understanding and acknowledgement of the concepts of iGEM. Dr. Yaa spoke very passionately of
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  <img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2014/f/fe/2014SDUevents2.PNG" style="width:150px" />
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GMOs and made it clear that GMOs would be a considerable solution to malnutrition, which is a recurring
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Enneagram.
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motif in Ghana. As a member of the Safety Committee, Dr. Yaa had recently contributed to the approval of  
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</a>
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four GMO projects in Ghana. The four GMO projects include protein rich sweet potato and cotton with
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<p>
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pesticides integrated into the genom (BT-cotton). The projects have got permits to do research but the research
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<span class="intro">We had a complete day course on “The enneagram”</span>
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will be subject to strict rules concerning biosafety, management of risks in biochemistry and national
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, which is a tool to identify types of personalities. We did this to strengthen the personal bonds between the group, to become aware of our own up-and downsides and to gain awareness of how to use this knowledge in favor of our team and project. Thank you very much to Jane, from the company “Trivselsforum” for her uninterested help!
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</p>
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<br><br>
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<span class="sourceReference"> biosafety.</span>
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<span class="tooltip">
 +
  <span class="tooltipHeader">Source:</span>
 +
    A.A. Adenle et al.: Status of development, regulation and adoption of GM agriculture in Africa: Views and positions of stakeholder groups. Food Policy. 2013:43,159-166.
 +
<a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306919213001346" target="_blank">(Link)</a></span><br><br>
 +
<span class="intro">Dr. Yaa spoke of GMO</span> as an important step forward. The positive effects of GMOs related to farmers and the general population of Ghana were among others the following:<br><br>
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<b>Farmers:</b>
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<ul>
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<li>Reduction of chemicals in farming</li>
 +
<li>Improvement of health</li>
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<li>Saving time for the farmers</li>
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<li>Saving tractor fuel, in relation to Green House Gasses.</li>
 +
</ul><br>
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<h4>Ethics workshop at KU (21<sup>st</sup> of August)</h4>
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<b>General population:</b>
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<ul>
 +
<li>Nutritional balance</li>
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<li>Prevention of children suffering from malnutrition</li>
 +
<li>Improvement of health</li>
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<li>Reduction of intolerance. As an example lactose intolerance was given, where GMO could be
 +
accommodated by producing milk containing lactase, which is an enzyme one lacks when
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lactose
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<span class="sourceReference"> intolerant</span>
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<span class="tooltip">
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  <span class="tooltipHeader">Source:</span>
 +
    Swallow, D.M.: Genetics of Lactase Persistence and Lactoseintolerance.
 +
Annu.Rev.Genet,2003.37:197-219.
 +
<a href="http://www.annualreviews.org/doi/pdf/10.1146/annurev.genet.37.110801.143820" target="_blank">(Link)</a></span></li>
 +
</ul><br>
 +
<span class="intro">There is much focus on the fact</span> that child mortality has decreased due to improvement in
 +
<span class="sourceReference"> child health.</span>
 +
<span class="tooltip">
 +
  <span class="tooltipHeader">Source:</span>
 +
    Child Mortality Estimates, 2014: Under-five mortality rate
 +
<a href="http://www.childmortality.org/index.php?r=site/graph&ID=GHA_Ghana" target="_blank">(Link)</a></span>
 +
Meanwhile the nutritional status of children in Ghana still remains a
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<span class="sourceReference"> challenge.</span>
 +
<span class="tooltip">
 +
  <span class="tooltipHeader">Source:</span>
 +
    World Health Organization, 2014: Country Cooperation Strategy at a glance.
 +
<a href="http://www.who.int/countryfocus/cooperation_strategy/ccsbrief_gha_en.pdf?ua=1" target="_blank">(Link)</a></span>
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<a class="popupImg alignRight" style="width:300px" target="_blank" href="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2014/6/60/2014SDUevents3.jpg" title="Ethics workshop at KU.">
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<img align="right" src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2014/e/e4/2014SDUghana13.png" style="width:250px" />
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   <img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2014/6/60/2014SDUevents3.jpg" style="width:300px" />
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By introducing GMOs this issue could potentially be reduced. However, the ethical aspects of introducing
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Ethics workshop at KU.
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GMOs as relief-aid for hunger or malnutrition must be subject to consideration, according to Dr.
 +
Yaa. Personally, Dr. Yaa did not think of GMO as unethical if the purpose was relief of hunger or
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malnutrition. However, it would be necessary to educate the population so that they would have a foundation for decisions regarding the use of GMOs as a nutrition source.
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Dr. Yaa mentioned the importance of considering indications producing genetically modified
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organism. The hypothetical GMO should have relevance in a way that promises improvement of lifestyle or
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brings good quality to something.
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Furthermore, it would be necessary to demonstrate the safety of the GMO. This would include risk
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assessments such as inspection of the organism when separated from its natural surroundings. It would
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additionally be crucial that the commercial releases were informative so that the consumers would receive
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the essential information.<br><br>
 +
 
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<span class="intro">According to Dr Yaa</span> the objections to GMOs seen from a religious point of view could be a problem in the
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beginning but it would not persist. Consequently, development of GMOs would entail that the genes, which
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were used to modify the organisms, should be picked with concern. For instance, genes from a pig would
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cause a revolt coming from the religious community.<br><br>
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<h4>Interview with Prof. George Armah</h4>
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<p>
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<a class="popupImg alignRight" style="width:320px" target="_blank" href="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2014/5/50/2014SDUghana2.PNG" title="Professor George Armah (on the left) from the Noguchi memorial institute for medical research and Anne Katrine Kurtzhals (on the right) from our iGEM team.">
 +
   <img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2014/5/50/2014SDUghana2.PNG" style="width:320px" />
 +
Professor George Armah (on the left) from the Noguchi memorial institute for medical research and Anne Katrine Kurtzhals (on the right) from our iGEM team.
</a>
</a>
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<p>
 
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<span class="intro">Three girls from our team</span>
 
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participated in the Ethics Workshop in Copenhagen organized by the UNIK-Denmark team. Our project encourages many ethical issues and the workshop was therefore very suitable and beneficial. We learned a lot about dealing with ethical issues in synthetic biology and got many good inputs to an ethics-related discussion about our project. In addition to this we also got in touch with relevant people and organizations that have been able to help us continue with our human practices.
 
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We would like to thank the UNIK-Denmark team for the invitation and their work - it has been a very nice workshop.
 
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</p>
 
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<br><br>
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<span class="intro">Professor George Armah</span> (Prof. Armah) was head of the Electron Microscopy & Histopathology department
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at the Nuguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, University of Ghana, Legon. Currently Prof. Armah
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is the Master of Commonwealth Hall, University of Ghana, Legon.
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Prof. Armah has a lot of expert knowledge about the health profile of the Ghanaians as well as the condition
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of life in Ghana. For this reason, Prof. Armah was an interesting scientist to interview in connection with
 +
applications of Edible coli in malnourished countries.<br><br>
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<h4>iGEM meet-up in London hosted by YSB (1<sup>st</sup> of September - 2<sup>nd</sup> of September)</h4>
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<span class="intro">Prof. Armah said that</span> he believe that the Edible coli could have potential in Ghana. The main issue would be to
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introduce the product as a new source of nutrition. According to Prof. Armah it would be crucial to include
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the Edible coli in the Ghanaian gastronomy. He sees it as unlikely that people will change their way of life. Therefore, GMOs should be incorporated into food such as sweet potato, rice etc.<br><br>
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<a class="popupImg alignRight" style="width:150px" target="_blank" href="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2014/d/d4/2014SDUevents4.jpg" title="iGEM meet-up in London.">
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<span class="intro">Prof. Armah spoke of</span> two important aspects of malnutrition in Ghana:
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  <img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2014/d/d4/2014SDUevents4.jpg" style="width:150px" />
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<ul>
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iGEM meet-up in London.
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<li>The spoilage of food was mentioned as an issue. In Ghana the access to food is not a
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</a>
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problem. However, malnourishment is a persistent dilemma throughout the county. Depending on the geographical location, the people eat
 +
differently. In the southern part of Ghana, the population primarily eat fish and fufu. Fufu is a
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staple food made from the cassava plant and this is rich on carbohydrates. The population in the
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northern part of Ghana has lots of vegetables and chicken, and therefore they do not get the
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recommended ratio of &omega; fatty acids.</li>
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<p>
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<li>The second issue Prof. Armah spoke of was the traditional and cultural practices of Ghana. As mentioned,
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<span class="intro">Our team was very lucky and extremely pleased to be able to participate in the UK iGEM Meet-up</span>
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there are regional differences of food supply. Furthermore, human beings do not
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organized by YSB (Young Synthetic Biologists) in collaboration with the UCL-team. The event was an excellent preparation for the Giant Jamboree because we could rehearse our presentation and make a first try to design a poster. In addition, we got the opportunity to hear about other teams' projects. We also participated in 6 different workshops: Intellectual Property, Human Practices, Characterization, Public Engagement, Citizen Science and BioArt.
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necessarily prioritize out of common sense but rather act in accordance with tradition and delight.</li>
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The other iGEM teams were very helpful in giving us constructive criticism and many good ideas for future work. Additionally, there were a lot of friendly participants who helped by filling out our questionnaire. Our team gained very much by attending the event - It was both fun and educational. We would like to thank YSB (Young Synthetic Biologists) and the UCL-team for two fantastic days in London.
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</ul><br>
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</p>
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<br><br>
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<span class="intro">Prof. Armah illustrated his points with</span> the two aspects by giving examples from the northern part of Ghana. Traditionally children are forbidden to eat eggs, which is a contradiction to the fact that children particularly need good nutrition to encourage their
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<h4>Study Trade Fair (11<sup>th</sup> of September)</h4>
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<span class="sourceReference"> growth.</span>
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<a class="popupImg alignRight" style="width:200px" target="_blank" href="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2014/d/d5/2014SDUevents6.jpg" title="Study Trade Fair">
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<span class="tooltip">
-
  <img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2014/1/15/2014SDUevents9.PNG" style="width:200px" />
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  <span class="tooltipHeader">Source:</span>
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Study Trade Fair
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    The MAL-ED Network Investigators: The MAL-ED Study: A Multinational and Multidisciplinary Approach to
-
</a>
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Understand the Relationship Between Enteric Pathogens, Malnutrition, Gut Physiology, Physical Growth,
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<p>
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Cognitive Development, and Immune Responses in Infants and Children Up to 2 Years of Age in Resource-
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<span class="intro">We participated in the annual Study Trade Fair</span>
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Poor Environments. Clin Infect Dis,2014:59(4),193-206.
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at our university to raise awareness about the iGEM competition, our project, promote our outreach events in October, to get more answers to our questionnaire and to promote the recruiting for next year’s iGEM-team. The day was a great success. We met many interested students who wanted to hear more about iGEM in general and about our project. In addition, we were able to practice our presentation skills.  
+
<a href="http://cid.oxfordjournals.org/content/59/suppl_4/S193.long#sec-28" target="_blank">(Link)</a></span>
 +
This tradition was based on a general attitude about children becoming impertinent when they were given
 +
nutrient-rich food. Another example from the northern part of Ghana was that most men would rather sell a chicken instead
 +
of eating it with the intention of buying alcohol. <br><br>
 +
 
 +
<span class="intro">Prof. Armah refered to the problems</span> considering malnourishment as localized. Cultural and educational
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practices where mentioned as issues in relation to the application of GMOs. According to Prof. Armah the
 +
rural areas of Ghana did not take interest in synthetic biology due to the lack of education.
 +
Objections to the use of synthetic biology were not linked to religion or culture according
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to Prof. Armah. Thereby GMOs might not be rejected based on religious and social reasons, but on the fact that the population might not embrace a foreign initiative.<br><br>
</p>
</p>
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<br><br>
 
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<h4>Old-iGEM Meet-up (18<sup>th</sup> of September)</h4>
 
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<a class="popupImg alignRight" style="width:150px" target="_blank" href="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2014/5/58/2014SDUevents7.PNG" title="Old-GEM meet-up">
 
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  <img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2014/3/34/2014SDUevents13.PNG" style="width:150px" />
 
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Old-GEM meet-up
 
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</a>
 
<p>
<p>
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<span class="intro">We invited all SDU-iGEM former participants</span>
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<div class="imageGallery alignCenter">
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to a meet up… and it was a success! They heard about our project and responded to our presentation with valuable feedback. Our supervisors had arranged and prepared dinner after our presentation, which gave us a chance to discuss the responses. Thank you to all of them for coming and making this a cozy evening.
+
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</p>
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<br><br>
 
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<h4>Sundhedsmekka: An exhibition for medical students </h4>
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<a class="galleryImg" target="_blank" href="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2014/8/80/2014SDUghana7.PNG" title="Woman selling water in Volta region.">
 +
<img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2014/9/94/2014SDUghana12.PNG"></a>
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<p>
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<a class="galleryImg" target="_blank" href="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2014/f/f2/2014SDUghana3.PNG" title="Department of Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology.">
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<span class="intro">Sundhedsmekka is a yearly event</span>
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<img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2014/f/f8/2014SDUghana8.PNG"></a>
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, where associations and event groups with interests that concerns medical students can promote themselves. Originally, it was a medical student who started the first iGEM team from SDU. Since then the iGEM teams representing SDU have at least had one medical student on their team. In spite of this, most medical students at SDU have not heard of iGEM, and even synthetic biology is an unfamiliar field to most medical students.
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By participating in Sundhedsmekka our iGEM team got a chance to explain the concept of the iGEM contest and our own project. It was a great success to talk to all the many interested students and in connection with the conversations; we invited people to attend our “Quiz and Presentation night”, which had premiere in the following week.
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<a class="galleryImg" target="_blank" href="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2014/9/9f/2014SDUghana4.PNG" title="Nuguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, University of Ghana, Legon.">
 +
<img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2014/2/20/2014SDUghana9.PNG"></a>
 +
 
 +
<a class="galleryImg" target="_blank" href="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2014/4/41/2014SDUghana5.PNG" title="Local children at lake Bosuntwi.">
 +
<img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2014/0/09/2014SDUghana10.PNG"></a>
 +
 
 +
<a class="galleryImg" target="_blank" href="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2014/4/48/2014SDUghana6.PNG" title="Market in Kumasi, Ghana.">
 +
<img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2014/5/52/2014SDUghana11.PNG"></a>
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</p>
 
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<br><br>
 
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<h4>Quiz and Presentation night at the Student House </h4>
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Pictures from Ghana.
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<a class="popupImg alignRight" style="width:150px" target="_blank" href="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2014/1/17/2014SDUevents8.jpg" title="Quiz and Presentation night at the Student House">
+
 
-
  <img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2014/3/3c/2014SDUevents10.PNG" style="width:150px" />
+
 
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Quiz and Presentation night at the Student House
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</div>
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</a>
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<br><br>
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<p>
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<span class="intro"> The Student House is a gathering place</span>
+
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for students and locals, which is located in the center of Odense.
+
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The purpose of the Student House is to have a forum where university students can come to study or to
+
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take part in social events or both. Volunteers are responsible for the café area, where different events
+
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take place frequently. Our team arranged a Microorganism Quiz and Presentation Night at the Student
+
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House where around fifty people participated. Our presentation was about the main concepts of iGEM and
+
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synthetic biology and additionally an overview of our own project.
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-
The presentation was followed by our quiz about microorganisms. Every question had a preamble
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concerning microorganisms but the question usually was a digression from the subject. Our idea with the
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event was that the questions should apply to anyone and it ended up being a great success for this reason.
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Latest revision as of 03:00, 18 October 2014

An expert opinion


Outreach in Ghana

Facts about Ghana

Geographic location: Coastal country of West Africa
Population: 25,366,000 Source: World Health Organization, 2014: WHO African region: Ghana. (Link)
Population under 15 years: 38.59 % Source: World Health Organization, 2014: Country Cooperation Strategy at a glance: Ghana. (Link)
Nutritional status of children: 28% are stunted, 9% wasted and 14% underweight. Source: World Health Organization, 2014: Country Cooperation Strategy at a glance: Ghana. (Link)
Diet: Starchy roots, fruit and edible grains. Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2010: Nutrition Country Profile: Ghana. (Link)
Coverage needs (micronutrients and vitamins): Primarily iodine and vitamin A. Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2010: Nutrition Country Profile: Ghana. (Link)
Causes of mortality: Bad access to health services, safe water and sanitation. High incidence of Malaria. Malnutrition. Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2010: Nutrition Country Profile: Ghana. (Link)
When generating nutrition made of bacteria our team pointed it's contribution to the considerable task of providing accurate nutrient to developing countries. The contradiction between a common opinion of how food is produced and finding a solution to obtaining food in the future has been a key issue to our project. Furthermore, the ethical and social aspects to our project are decisive to include.

This means that we have considered what good research is. Good research includes the common opinion in society, and for this reason outreach in Ghana provided us with different standpoints to our project.

Interview with Dr. Yaa Difie-Osei:

Dr. Yaa Difie-Osie from the National Biosafety Committee, Ghana. Senior Lecturer in Biochemistry, Dr. Yaa Difie-Osei (Dr. Yaa), agreed to meet with our team member Anne, during her stay in the capital of Ghana, Accra, in August. The purpose was to talk about GMOs in relation to our Edible coli. The interview was held at the Department of Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology at the University of Ghana in Legon. Dr. Yaa has previously worked at the university herself but is now retired from her position as lecturer. Dr. Yaa is still involved in the development of synthetic biology in Ghana as a member of the National Biosafety Committee of Ghana. The fact that Dr. Yaa has much experience regarding synthetic biology and at the same time is a member of the National Biosafety Committee makes her expertise significant to our project.

When Dr. Yaa heard about our iGEM project she expressed great interest and there was a clear understanding and acknowledgement of the concepts of iGEM. Dr. Yaa spoke very passionately of GMOs and made it clear that GMOs would be a considerable solution to malnutrition, which is a recurring motif in Ghana. As a member of the Safety Committee, Dr. Yaa had recently contributed to the approval of four GMO projects in Ghana. The four GMO projects include protein rich sweet potato and cotton with pesticides integrated into the genom (BT-cotton). The projects have got permits to do research but the research will be subject to strict rules concerning biosafety, management of risks in biochemistry and national biosafety. Source: A.A. Adenle et al.: Status of development, regulation and adoption of GM agriculture in Africa: Views and positions of stakeholder groups. Food Policy. 2013:43,159-166. (Link)

Dr. Yaa spoke of GMO as an important step forward. The positive effects of GMOs related to farmers and the general population of Ghana were among others the following:

Farmers:

  • Reduction of chemicals in farming
  • Improvement of health
  • Saving time for the farmers
  • Saving tractor fuel, in relation to Green House Gasses.

General population:
  • Nutritional balance
  • Prevention of children suffering from malnutrition
  • Improvement of health
  • Reduction of intolerance. As an example lactose intolerance was given, where GMO could be accommodated by producing milk containing lactase, which is an enzyme one lacks when lactose intolerant Source: Swallow, D.M.: Genetics of Lactase Persistence and Lactoseintolerance. Annu.Rev.Genet,2003.37:197-219. (Link)

There is much focus on the fact that child mortality has decreased due to improvement in child health. Source: Child Mortality Estimates, 2014: Under-five mortality rate (Link) Meanwhile the nutritional status of children in Ghana still remains a challenge. Source: World Health Organization, 2014: Country Cooperation Strategy at a glance. (Link) By introducing GMOs this issue could potentially be reduced. However, the ethical aspects of introducing GMOs as relief-aid for hunger or malnutrition must be subject to consideration, according to Dr. Yaa. Personally, Dr. Yaa did not think of GMO as unethical if the purpose was relief of hunger or malnutrition. However, it would be necessary to educate the population so that they would have a foundation for decisions regarding the use of GMOs as a nutrition source. Dr. Yaa mentioned the importance of considering indications producing genetically modified organism. The hypothetical GMO should have relevance in a way that promises improvement of lifestyle or brings good quality to something. Furthermore, it would be necessary to demonstrate the safety of the GMO. This would include risk assessments such as inspection of the organism when separated from its natural surroundings. It would additionally be crucial that the commercial releases were informative so that the consumers would receive the essential information.

According to Dr Yaa the objections to GMOs seen from a religious point of view could be a problem in the beginning but it would not persist. Consequently, development of GMOs would entail that the genes, which were used to modify the organisms, should be picked with concern. For instance, genes from a pig would cause a revolt coming from the religious community.

Interview with Prof. George Armah

Professor George Armah (on the left) from the Noguchi memorial institute for medical research and Anne Katrine Kurtzhals (on the right) from our iGEM team. Professor George Armah (Prof. Armah) was head of the Electron Microscopy & Histopathology department at the Nuguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, University of Ghana, Legon. Currently Prof. Armah is the Master of Commonwealth Hall, University of Ghana, Legon. Prof. Armah has a lot of expert knowledge about the health profile of the Ghanaians as well as the condition of life in Ghana. For this reason, Prof. Armah was an interesting scientist to interview in connection with applications of Edible coli in malnourished countries.

Prof. Armah said that he believe that the Edible coli could have potential in Ghana. The main issue would be to introduce the product as a new source of nutrition. According to Prof. Armah it would be crucial to include the Edible coli in the Ghanaian gastronomy. He sees it as unlikely that people will change their way of life. Therefore, GMOs should be incorporated into food such as sweet potato, rice etc.

Prof. Armah spoke of two important aspects of malnutrition in Ghana:

  • The spoilage of food was mentioned as an issue. In Ghana the access to food is not a problem. However, malnourishment is a persistent dilemma throughout the county. Depending on the geographical location, the people eat differently. In the southern part of Ghana, the population primarily eat fish and fufu. Fufu is a staple food made from the cassava plant and this is rich on carbohydrates. The population in the northern part of Ghana has lots of vegetables and chicken, and therefore they do not get the recommended ratio of ω fatty acids.
  • The second issue Prof. Armah spoke of was the traditional and cultural practices of Ghana. As mentioned, there are regional differences of food supply. Furthermore, human beings do not necessarily prioritize out of common sense but rather act in accordance with tradition and delight.

Prof. Armah illustrated his points with the two aspects by giving examples from the northern part of Ghana. Traditionally children are forbidden to eat eggs, which is a contradiction to the fact that children particularly need good nutrition to encourage their growth. Source: The MAL-ED Network Investigators: The MAL-ED Study: A Multinational and Multidisciplinary Approach to Understand the Relationship Between Enteric Pathogens, Malnutrition, Gut Physiology, Physical Growth, Cognitive Development, and Immune Responses in Infants and Children Up to 2 Years of Age in Resource- Poor Environments. Clin Infect Dis,2014:59(4),193-206. (Link) This tradition was based on a general attitude about children becoming impertinent when they were given nutrient-rich food. Another example from the northern part of Ghana was that most men would rather sell a chicken instead of eating it with the intention of buying alcohol.

Prof. Armah refered to the problems considering malnourishment as localized. Cultural and educational practices where mentioned as issues in relation to the application of GMOs. According to Prof. Armah the rural areas of Ghana did not take interest in synthetic biology due to the lack of education. Objections to the use of synthetic biology were not linked to religion or culture according to Prof. Armah. Thereby GMOs might not be rejected based on religious and social reasons, but on the fact that the population might not embrace a foreign initiative.

Pictures from Ghana.