Team:Oxford/P&P public engagement
From 2014.igem.org
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Public Engagement
Our team hosted a group of volunteers, members of the public with no particular interest or prior experience of biotechnology. Our aim was to gain a deeper understanding of public perceptions and concerns regarding the advance of synthetic biology, and in particular to get an idea of how far these concerns are based on misinformation/lack of understanding, and how far they are legitimate, well-founded fears which need to be addressed by the scientific community as the field grows and develops. If synthetic biology is to become increasingly socially accepted, public participation in it’s growth will be essential.
Our team hosted a group of volunteers, members of the public with no particular interest or prior experience of biotechnology. Our aim was to gain a deeper understanding of public perceptions and concerns regarding the advance of synthetic biology, and in particular to get an idea of how far these concerns are based on misinformation/lack of understanding, and how far they are legitimate, well-founded fears which need to be addressed by the scientific community as the field grows and develops. Particular issues which appear to be recurring themes in this discussion include:
Cross-Contamination of 'engineered' genes between synthetic and natural organisms
Cross-Contamination of 'engineered' genes between synthetic and natural organisms
Use of Bacteria (such as E. coli and P. pseudomonas)
Use of Bacteria (such as E. coli and P. pseudomonas)
Uncontrolled Release of modified organisms into the environment
Uncontrolled Release of modified organisms into the environment
Spread of Antibiotic Resistance from synthetic to natural bacteria
Spread of Antibiotic Resistance from synthetic to natural bacteria
Bioterrorism
Bioterrorism
Creation of 'Artificial Life'
Creation of 'Artificial Life'
Creation of Monopolies
Creation of Monopolies
Global Justice
Global Justice
Lack of Regulation
Lack of Regulation
For the second focus group, we decided to produce a brief informative presentation giving an overview of synthetic biology, its pros and cons, and an outline of our project and aims. Also included were some 'mythbusters' directed at addressing the misconceptions we came across during the first focus group.
Listening to Public Concerns
Listening to Public Concerns
Valuing Public Support
Valuing Public Support
Accessibility of Information
Accessibility of Information
Balanced Regulation
Balanced Regulation
Guided by the feedback we discovered during the focus group activities. We analysed the responses from over 100 members of the public aged 16-85, selected randomly and coming from all walks of life. Again, we split the respondents into two equal groups, one of which answered the questions after having had the benefit of the introductory presentation above (this time in the form of a leaflet). We compared the responses from these two groups, again to see whether responses were changed by a basic level of understanding (most of the respondents commented that they had had little understanding or had misunderstood many aspects of the topic). The results of our survey are illustrated below.
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What is your primary source of information about synthetic biology?
As we can see,
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How would you rate the quality of this information?
The respondents rated information highly for accuracy (although perhaps this is to be expected as it is unlikely one would continue to read information from a source which regularly got the facts wrong). Relevance also scored highly, showing that people feel synthetic biology has a sufficient impact on their lives that they ought to be kept informed about it. The high score for availability is likely due to the heavy reliance on online information, however it is probable that this reliance also contributes to the relatively low scores for independence and accessibility. The sources accessed by the public online may well not be aimed at laymen but intended to be read by students or professionals and so may contain a high level of technical detail not accessible to the lay public.
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How informed about synthetic biology do you feel?
The graph shows that...
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How do you feel about the social/ethical implications of synthetic biology?
This graph shows that the majority of people have strong views about the implications of synthetic biology.
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How does your level of understanding about synthetic biology affect your concerns about its implications?
This graph shows correlation between .
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Is there a correlation between attitude and understanding of synthetic biology?
The graph shows an interesting correlation between perceived level of understanding and attitude - those at the extremes of understanding, i.e. those with very little or very high understanding, generally have positive attitudes, whereas those with a partial but incomplete understanding tend to be more concerned and have a more suspicious approach. This suggests that it is indeed that 'a little learning is a dangerous thing, drink deep or taste not the Pierian Spring'.