Team:Gothenburg/BTB/Human Practice

Radio Show

In early July Team Gothenburg was invited to a local radio station P4 Göteborg to be interviewed in their morning program with thousands of listeners. The interview raised awareness of science and iGEM. We also explained how science works and why it is important in society. Several common misconceptions were debunked about synthetic biology and genetics. Since a lot people are afraid of what they yet don't know, this was an important task. Our idea, the generation counter, was explained to the general public. But also simple methods we used, like gel electrophoresis. An interesting discussion took place about the uses of the generation counter since it has no application in a normal day to day life. Here you can find the entry on the hompage of P4 Göteborg.

Swedish teams Meeting

In late July, representatives from the Chalmers iGEM team traveled to Linköping at the invitation of the team from Linköping University for a meet-up. Three swedish teams were present, the teams from Uppsala, Chalmers and Linköping. The meet-up consisted of a tour of the campus, presentations of the projects by all of the teams and, perhaps most importantly, an Ethics and Collaboration Workshop.

The collaborative part of the Workshop concerned the future collaboration between the swedish teams. One important discussion point was the establishment of a support structure for new iGEM teams in Sweden where older teams can coach and perhaps even share experiences and expertise.

The discussions about the ethics of biotechnology mostly centered around the more troublesome aspects of biotech. Examples include the difficulty of biological patents, the prevention of uncontrolled or accidental releases and preservation of natural environments. Solutions were discussed, such as sterile crops or built-in kill-switches.

A discussion was also held about the future of biotechnology. The importance of public acceptance as a prerequisite for widespread commercial use was discussed, as was how to generate interest and acceptance in the younger generation as well as the general populace.

The Ethics Discussion has been summarized by the Linköping iGEM team and can be found here at their wiki.

Presentation for Freshmen

Every year new student in the biotechnology program here in Chalmers University of technology. We in team Gothenburg welcomed out new students but offering them lunch where we gave them a crash course in synthetic biology and also explain the iGEM. Several students showed their interest in the competition and they will probably apply for next coming years teams!