Public perception of university students in Honduras about Biotechnology, Synthetic Biology and GMOs

• Introduction
• Methodology
• Results
• Conclusions
• Bibliography

Introduction

Synthetic biology combines the investigative nature of biology with the constructive nature of engineering; the result is the creation and perfection of genetic devices (Purnick & Weiss, 2009). This has a wide range of applications, such as bioremediation, sustainable energy production and biomedical therapies. But as this field is not as old as others, many people around the world are just getting idea about what synthetic biology is. Their public perception, positive or negative, will depend of their own context. The principal purpose of this project was to know the level of approval and knowledge about biotechnology and GMO’s within the population that has access to higher education in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.

Biotechnology, the first generation of synthetic biology, has high expectations in the economic and environmental field as it demonstrates to be a science which has helped to the developing of new varieties of plants and animals, improving the agricultural productivity. (Hallman & Metcalfe, 1994). According to a study carried out in 35 countries 85% of the respondents support the use of biotechnology in medicine, while almost 75% of them rejected the idea of genetic modification of animals to increase productivity (Environics International, 2000).Nevertheless the attitude towards biotechnology is different between and within countries and it has a dynamic change over time (Hoban, 2004). In developing countries public perception between doesn’t change too much, because of the level income and similar political situations (Aerni, 2002).

The importance of this investigation is that the information that we got could be used as a tool in the taking of decisions to improve the knowledge of people about synthetic biology and especially as a tool in risk analysis.