Team:BGU Israel/Human Practice/Ethics

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         <h3 style="border-bottom:dashed;border-color:#000000">Marketing and False hopes<a href="#" onclick="goToByScroll('background'); return false;" class="right"></a></h3>
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The ethical conflict occurred between our two major drives- the wish to spread the word of synthetic biology and the commitment to scientific integrity.
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New and advanced science fields like synbio always bring with it many ethical question regarding the treatments and methods it introduces and improves. When does innovation and advancement become more of a danger than a benefit?
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    <p>Much of Human Practice as we see it is to check the readiness of a society and prepare the atmosphere for Synthetic Biology research and development. However, what if you over-excel and do too much of a good job, what if you raise the bar too far up high? In psychology it would resemble the tension existing in a man, trying to portray an image of a millionaire for some social click, while being just a simple normal-income man. This causes constant schizophrenia between his ego and his true character. </p>
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<p>A part of Human Practice as we see it is sharing knowledge and preparing the atmosphere for Synthetic Biology R & D. However, what if you raise the expectations from the research, too far from your actual progress? </p>
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    <p>This Ethical case or question is very relevant for iGEM groups in general because this conflict gets even deeper when it's not inside only one man, but involves different people. It is even more relevant for iGEM groups like ours where not all members  come from the biology field of study.  This conflict is likely to grow (as we have learned) in a group environment which is highly motivated and goal driven, yet lacks enough coordination and professional communication . It came to surface at critical times such as: important group meetings, core document making and after major presentations. Along  the project we found ourselves polarized between two Diverting drives.</p>
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<p>This Ethical case is especially relevant for iGEM groups whose Human-Practice team doesn't necessarily have the proper background in life sciences. On the one hand stands the drive to spread the word of Synthetic Biology, to push forward, gain more publicity and more recognition. This encouraged us to praise our project and make it attractive for the interest of journalists and different business people. On the other hand, there is our commitment to scientific integrity, which is with no doubt a part of iGEM community's mission, to give accurate information and explain every capability and limitation. </p>  
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    <p>One is the drive to serve one of iGEM's core goals and spread the word of Synthetic Biology so it would be accepted and trusted around the world. To push forward, gain more publicity, more public relations, more  social-media exposure, more VIP support  and more recognition. This drive required us to inflate our project so it would be attractive to Press journalists and interesting to top level managers.</p>
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<p> We were very dedicated to share our vision and promote this project. In order to accomplish this, we released a video that reached tens of thousands of people; we have met many important figures such as the Mayor of Be'er-Sheva, the Israeli Minister of Health and Diabetes community's leaders. As our project developed, we discovered some people were beginning to gain hope on the success of our project. We got letters from patients proposing themselves for clinical trials, asking for information and searching for a solution to their medical condition. </p>  
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    <p>The other drive is to be and act like scientists, which is with no doubt part of iGEM community's mission. To pursuit first and for all Synthetic Biology research, to be modest, to be cautious and present results only at the end of the process, to dive into details and to explain every capability and limitation elaborately. This drive , especially  regarding a project with such a life-saving potential, required us to walk on a thin ice and be very thoughtful about every word we said.</p>
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    <p>We were very dedicated to share our vision and promote the project, and did so through a video with hundreds of shares, meetings with everyone from the mayor of Beersheva to the Minister of Health of Israel, with volunteer work with Diabetes communities and associations and through various academic relations. We wanted to bring the prophecy to the world, so everyone would know about The Inner Doctor and we and did our best to make it happen. </p>
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    <p>But suddenly people started to really believe in us, and to build hopes on the success of our projects. We had patients wanting to volunteer for clinical experiments, emails from all over the world asking for information hoping for a solution to their situation, responses from officials and organizations treating us as if our treatment will tomorrow be on the shelf. It all felt like a balloon full of hot air, and we the Human Practice team kept on pushing forward…</p>
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      <p style="color:#1C6F8C"><i>".…your post and video sounds great although a bit like a science fiction to an uneducated patient, at the moment.
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  <p> Consulting our research team, we were confronted with the fact that before a medical treatment is approved for mass production, a long process must be done and it will take an extended period of time and hard work before our project will get there. With this understanding, we tried to adjust the information we publish to concur with the research's progress. </p>  
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I wish you succeed and help so many ill people !
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<p> In order to deal with this ethical issue we set some basic guidelines: Honesty always tell the facts as they are. Vision – the goal is to create an impact and inspire others even if the research doesn’t accomplishes actual results. <b>In conclusion, we've faced a tough ethical obstacle and had to find our path to deal with it. We did this by balancing between our two major drives- the wish to spread the word of synthetic biology and the commitment to scientific integrity. </b> </p>
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Keep doing your precious work, keep my fingers crossed for your team !
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:-) from Croatia.
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<p align="center"><img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2014/c/cd/BGU14_media2.jpg" height="230"></p>
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Mario
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I have diastolic disfunction I/IV (heart disease) and as it also has to do with some mitochondria issue, I wonder if your project/device could help me as well ?
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Could you check it for me, I mean check theoretically…."
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        <p>It was only when our research team confronted us with the fact that research is still in the beginning, much of the presumptions are still theoretical and have not been proved or tested yet, and that work on the project may take much longer that imagined and maybe not be completed in the near future, only then, did we understand the gap between our views. With this understanding came to our conscious a feel of bit guilty for maybe doing too much marketing and putting the cart before the horse. It felt bad knowing you mislead people  and will now have to disappoint them. The whole thing started unnoticed, got built up slowly along the project and now became an actual decision making influencing dilemma.</p>
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        <p>Is it right to make a buzz, introduce, interact and market a project to society, even if it's not a real working solution, all in the name of sharing Synthetic Biology with the world? How to treat challenging questions? Does the cause make up for the actions? Do your true intentions play a role in the morality of your actions - what if you really wanted to promote your project for the glory of it and the promotion of Synthetic Biology only came second?</p>
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        <p>Dealing with this ethical question that was unexpected and affected the whole group, there was never really one aligned decision, however a few guidelines were agreed by us all, some more spoken about and some less. These are the most important ones: Honesty - always keep it straight and tell the facts as they are, if you need to break the myth in someone's mind , do it, the group, the academic integrity, and the respect to human beings is much more important than any momentarily pat-on-the-back. Vision - as long as you make it clear you're working on something in the lab, doing long term research, and you don't have an actual product in your hand, it's ok to inspire and share your vision with the world because that is what progresses the science in the first place and what's attractive about iGEM to the nonscientific world. Balanced Enthusiasm -Always respond to queries and personal approaches with a cooling atmosphere, not to make them abandon their love of the project, but to lower their flame a bit to be proportional to the real state of the research so no huge disappointments will take place later. Right Actions - We believe the cause does not compensate for actions and that all our conduct must be ethical and professional. Intentions – we can relate to iGEM in this case as the same as capitalist market where if every "individual group" in iGEM micro-cosmos works for their own sake, they have more motivation to put in energy soul and work, thus producing a better project with better results, and in a macro iGEM prospective making all iGEM constantly moving forward and improving, like in an ideal capitalist market.</p>
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        <p>In conclusion we were challenged and fascinated by this Ethical obstacle, our values have been tested yet we believe we triumphed and emerged with a stronger, more trustworthy approach. We advise other iGEM groups to also analyze the situations and feelings they experience through the project, to check themselves, ask questions and hopefully reach and find the right answers so we can work towards an impeccable  science of Synthetic Biology.</p>
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        <p>Genetic modification, or genetic engineering, is a way of action to improve, change, treat  or destroy organisms. it uses a verity of biotechnology and biological techniques and tools, to modify the genetic composition of an organism, thankfully to the resemblance in the basic components of the living world (DNA, RNA, Proteins), in that way for example a cell that naturally does not create one type of protein can after DNA modification\addition, actually create it permanently or temporarily. another example can be the use of a small molecules to inhibit the creation of a specific protein, an action that can be used as a treatment for many illness.</p>
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<p>With the progression of our project as we dived into the field of synthetic biology we became more and more aware not only of the scientific side of this new field but also to the ethical side of it. The advantages and benefits that Synbio can bring to humankind are obvious – developing new and advanced drugs, preserving and rehabilitating the environment, improving our industry capabilities and many more. Despite all of this, many questions arise regarding the dilemmas involved in this research field. starting with the definition of life and the meaning of creating and designing new syntactic life forms, the dangers of malicious use of these life forms or the standardized biological parts data base (Bioterrorism), amateurish or inexperienced use of open data sources and even how financial profit aspects influence the progress of research. We decided to take only one dilemma of the many, one that directly affect our research – the use of Gene Therapy - and explore the pros and cons of using it.    .</p>  
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        <p>To do so a species should first be picked, and a culture of cells, or even a hole body, should be researched in a laboratory. that poses the first ethical concern that we encountered, is that OK to do with living creatures as we like in the sake of since? do they suffer? and if so do we try and make it so the wont? should there be a personal, social or legal restrections on that sort of research?</p>
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<p>Gene therapy is the use of DNA as a drug to treat disease by delivering therapeutic DNA into a patient's cells. In simple words it generally means substituting defective genes in a cell with the correct ones. Although the term gene therapy was first introduced back in the 1980s, the controversy about using this line of treatment still rages on today.</p>
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        <p>As the research process continues ethic issues pile up, the idea of creating a chimeric entity- adding genomic information from one animal to another, even to humans, can show beneficial  properties, as making creatures more durable to changes in the environment, higher durability to microorganisms and disease, more productivity of a curtain product and more. but the impact of making creatures as so, can be massive, could we control the issue of making a new species? Will this new species if gets to the environment be a problem? Will transgenic interventions in humans create physical or behavioral traits that may be massively distinguished from what is usually perceived to be Humanity? with there be a long term natural effect of changing one variable in nature that is built of an infinite number of variables?</p>
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<p>On the pro side, the most beneficial aspect of this treatment is the incredible therapeutic potential. For example, genetic disorders most obvious cure is replacing defective gene with the correct one and this is what gene therapy is all about.  We also need to remember that this option allows us not only to cure one person, but eventually to get rid of the defect for good. It is especially meaningful for diseases that will otherwise result in death. </p>
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        <p>Another concern is the financial issue, let's say we have made a genetic change for the better, that didn't influence the environment, how much will it cost? genetic engineering research is a very expensive thing, and implementing  it would be very costly. would everybody "enjoy" the treatment? would society monetary differences grow deeper? would the weak survive the deep deference between the reach and the poor?</p>
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  <p>On the con side, arguments state that gene therapy can be used to enhance of modify human capabilities, a property that could be used for anything from sports achievements to developing the ultimate soldier, and in the hand of the wrong people who knows where the technology will take them. Another aspect is financial, given the use of new technologies, the treatment is expected to be expensive – will it become a wealthy people only kind of benefit and enhance even more the difference between rich and poor? Religious arguments mention that it is not our place to play god. More philosophical arguments state the meaning of having an unnatural part in the human body and will it still be considered human.  Social claims state that the idea discriminates or invites discrimination against persons with disabilities. </p>
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        <p>concerning our own project regarding the terrible Metabolic syndrome, that is present statistically in the weaker communities, will our treatment be available to wide verity of patient with deferent economical background? will it be efficient on deferent ethnical societies? and if so, that the idea we came up succeeds, will the world be able to hold a massive growth in population?  </p>
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<p>All of those claims are even before we reach scientific issues – delivering DNA to cells other than target cells might cause unforeseen results, inserting the genes in desired place is a complex process, unknown effects of changing reproductive cells,  involvement of the immune system in the process and many more implication that researches need to considered. </p>
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        <p>****THE REST OF THE CONTENT HERE...****</p>
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<p>It is not a clear answer whether the advantages outweigh the disadvantages, and as with many other things in life we find moderation to be the key word. We want to advance science and technology and use it for the good of mankind, but we also need to be aware of the public needs, think of how and should we try and answer them, and always ask ourselves if we might be creating more problems than we solve</p>
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Latest revision as of 00:12, 18 October 2014

Marketing and False hopes

The ethical conflict occurred between our two major drives- the wish to spread the word of synthetic biology and the commitment to scientific integrity.

Synthetic Biology Ethics

New and advanced science fields like synbio always bring with it many ethical question regarding the treatments and methods it introduces and improves. When does innovation and advancement become more of a danger than a benefit?

Marketing and False hopes

A part of Human Practice as we see it is sharing knowledge and preparing the atmosphere for Synthetic Biology R & D. However, what if you raise the expectations from the research, too far from your actual progress?

This Ethical case is especially relevant for iGEM groups whose Human-Practice team doesn't necessarily have the proper background in life sciences. On the one hand stands the drive to spread the word of Synthetic Biology, to push forward, gain more publicity and more recognition. This encouraged us to praise our project and make it attractive for the interest of journalists and different business people. On the other hand, there is our commitment to scientific integrity, which is with no doubt a part of iGEM community's mission, to give accurate information and explain every capability and limitation.

We were very dedicated to share our vision and promote this project. In order to accomplish this, we released a video that reached tens of thousands of people; we have met many important figures such as the Mayor of Be'er-Sheva, the Israeli Minister of Health and Diabetes community's leaders. As our project developed, we discovered some people were beginning to gain hope on the success of our project. We got letters from patients proposing themselves for clinical trials, asking for information and searching for a solution to their medical condition.

Consulting our research team, we were confronted with the fact that before a medical treatment is approved for mass production, a long process must be done and it will take an extended period of time and hard work before our project will get there. With this understanding, we tried to adjust the information we publish to concur with the research's progress.

In order to deal with this ethical issue we set some basic guidelines: Honesty – always tell the facts as they are. Vision – the goal is to create an impact and inspire others even if the research doesn’t accomplishes actual results. In conclusion, we've faced a tough ethical obstacle and had to find our path to deal with it. We did this by balancing between our two major drives- the wish to spread the word of synthetic biology and the commitment to scientific integrity.

Synthetic Biology Ethics

With the progression of our project as we dived into the field of synthetic biology we became more and more aware not only of the scientific side of this new field but also to the ethical side of it. The advantages and benefits that Synbio can bring to humankind are obvious – developing new and advanced drugs, preserving and rehabilitating the environment, improving our industry capabilities and many more. Despite all of this, many questions arise regarding the dilemmas involved in this research field. starting with the definition of life and the meaning of creating and designing new syntactic life forms, the dangers of malicious use of these life forms or the standardized biological parts data base (Bioterrorism), amateurish or inexperienced use of open data sources and even how financial profit aspects influence the progress of research. We decided to take only one dilemma of the many, one that directly affect our research – the use of Gene Therapy - and explore the pros and cons of using it. .

Gene therapy is the use of DNA as a drug to treat disease by delivering therapeutic DNA into a patient's cells. In simple words it generally means substituting defective genes in a cell with the correct ones. Although the term gene therapy was first introduced back in the 1980s, the controversy about using this line of treatment still rages on today.

On the pro side, the most beneficial aspect of this treatment is the incredible therapeutic potential. For example, genetic disorders most obvious cure is replacing defective gene with the correct one and this is what gene therapy is all about. We also need to remember that this option allows us not only to cure one person, but eventually to get rid of the defect for good. It is especially meaningful for diseases that will otherwise result in death.

On the con side, arguments state that gene therapy can be used to enhance of modify human capabilities, a property that could be used for anything from sports achievements to developing the ultimate soldier, and in the hand of the wrong people who knows where the technology will take them. Another aspect is financial, given the use of new technologies, the treatment is expected to be expensive – will it become a wealthy people only kind of benefit and enhance even more the difference between rich and poor? Religious arguments mention that it is not our place to play god. More philosophical arguments state the meaning of having an unnatural part in the human body and will it still be considered human. Social claims state that the idea discriminates or invites discrimination against persons with disabilities.

All of those claims are even before we reach scientific issues – delivering DNA to cells other than target cells might cause unforeseen results, inserting the genes in desired place is a complex process, unknown effects of changing reproductive cells, involvement of the immune system in the process and many more implication that researches need to considered.

It is not a clear answer whether the advantages outweigh the disadvantages, and as with many other things in life we find moderation to be the key word. We want to advance science and technology and use it for the good of mankind, but we also need to be aware of the public needs, think of how and should we try and answer them, and always ask ourselves if we might be creating more problems than we solve