Social sustainability

“GMO” has become something of a taboo phrase due to associations with “frankenfoods”. An important part of being able to implement a project is having is become accepted by society. In order to tackle some of the social taboos about synthetic biology, we tried to spread interest, enthusiasm and education about our project.

One of the ways we did this was to go into primary schools to educate children about synthetic biology. Members went into Victor Valcovici primary school in Galati, Romania to talk to children ages 6-9 about the use of bacteria and synthetic biology. We talked about the way genetically modified bacteria can be used to solve problems and had the children design their own “superhero bacteria”. It was great to see the children getting so enthusiastic about science and to see their ingenious approaches to solving problem with our team-made iGEM kit activity packs.

Victor Valcovici primary school

As we are aware of the controversial nature of our project, and GMOs in general, we decided to develop surveys on the topic of ethics, safety and sustainability in this field. Our aim was to find out what the main causes were for discouraging the use of GMOs and to find ways to make the public more open towards our project, as well as towards similar initiatives. We thought that a good way to do this would be to dispel some of the myths surrounding genetically engineered organisms, as well as educate the public regarding the science behind GMOs and the benefits that they can bring.

We started by organising workshops and presentations in schools, for students with ages ranging from 6 to 18 years old. The workshops were adapted for the age of the students, with those aimed at primary school students being based on games and hands-on activities, while the ones for older students were more factual and detailed. We organised a workshop on synthetic biology at Richard Huish College in Somerset, that presented the students, aged 16 to 18, with the case study for one of the projects we were working on at the time. The students were made aware of the steps that we went through, including choosing a suitable project, securing funding and explaining our work and ideas to academics.

A member of our team visited the Victor Valcovici school in Galati, Romania, where children aged 6 to 10 participated in our workshop, entitled “Scientist for a Day”. They were given activity packs designed by the York iGEM team that included leaflets with information on bacteria and synthetic biology, educational games and a file with paper bacterial organelles that they could use to invent their own useful bacteria. The kids were very receptive and ingenious, their ideas – some more realistic than others – ranging from using fluorescent bacteria as a compass to creating scented bacteria that can be used in the production of bio-perfumes.

Richard Huish College, Taunton Somerset. (19th and 28th of March)

Richard Huish College, based in Taunton, is a sixth-form college providing education to 16-18 year olds. One of our team members visited the college and presented the our iGEM project to two groups of students. The students listened to a presentation about what iGEM was, why synthetic biology is important and how GMOs can be used commercially. The students were very keen to learn more about how synthetic biology works and how genetic engineering works.