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Team:Calgary Ethics/Surveys
From 2008.igem.org
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Coming up soon...
1) Results of the high school survey
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHT ON SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY? - It sounds interesting/cool - It is viable - It should be pursued - It will soon become a major frontier of science - It could have a profound effect on society - It has great potential in the future - It can benefit human society - It is a big step towards a better world - -Could improve human standards of living - It may revolutionize the human lifestyle - The possibilities are endless - It is a cost-effective solution to many problems - The benefits outweigh the risks - It could be harmful - It’s scary - It’s complicated - It comes with great responsibility - Researchers must be careful - We are not certain of the consequences - Agriculture - Biofuels *** - Food shortages - Organ Transplants - New medical innovations - Human technology - Ability to build/redesign living organisms - The environment - Oil spills - Non-chemical pesticides - It could create many jobs - It could go too far - It could be problematic, ethically speaking - To create new life from scratch sounds unnaturally wrong - Scientist should not “play God” - Most people might find it unethical - - Should not be used in order to “fix” people or make them superior in thought and physical ability - One must be extremely prudent with the lines it crosses - Could destroy all life - It could be misused - Could be used in a harmful way - Should not be used for warfare - Changing and creating living things is very volatile - Designed organisms could evolve or malfunction - Requires a lot of energy to produce an organism - Experiments require a lot of money and the return will not be immediate - It needs guidelines/regulation - Must follow ethical, environmental laws and human rights - Ethical issues with altering human genes or cultivating replacement genes in humans - Many risks have to be taken into account - The benefits must outweigh the risks - These issues are most likely years away - -Synthetic biology is still in its beginning stages -It’s implications depend on the specific project
Do you think continuing this research is worthwhile 82.1 % yes, 2.6% no, 5.1% Don’t Know
Do you think this research is problematic 66.67% Yes 33.3% No
DO THE BENEFITS OUTWEIGH THE RISKS? Yes 60.5 % No 28.9 % Don’t Know 10.5%
POTENTIAL PRODUCTS FROM SYNBIO -Understanding of living organisms -Anything with a long term positive effects to all living beings -Products that improve the standard of living for humans -Alternative fuel forces -Nutrient-fortified foodstuffs -altered animals for the food industry -Construction materials Medical Advancements: -Cures for illness or disease -Organ transplants -bionic body parts -Tissues -artificial blood transfusions -bone replacements -vaccines -medications -gene therapy drugs -insulin -Products that reduce damage to the environment -Oil eating bacteria -Smarter computers -Not sure (23/39)
FOR HIGH INCOME COUNTRIES -Health: -Vaccinations -Cancer -Diseases -Implants -Obesity -Depression -Allergies -It should not be used for commercial purposes -Cosmetics - There is enough pressure on people, particularly teens, to be perfect and maybe resort to desperate measure to be more like some artificial idol. I'm worried people could be led to believe that people aren't good enough the way they are born and always need to be "improved". - Food production - Biofuels -Reducing pollution - Waste management -Make sure that the technology is not abused - Regulation - Make sure Black markets do not obtain products -How to get it to low income countries -Nothing -It will take away jobs, cause incomes to drop, increase taxes
FOR LOW INCOME COUNTRIES -Health -Drugs -Disease -Malaria -HIV/AIDS -monitors to pandemics -Increase food supplies -Shorter growing times for food -Foods that can grow in harsh climates -stable crops -Clean water supply -indicators -Low income countries cannot afford these technologies -Don’t know -Nothing --It will take away jobs, cause incomes to drop, increase taxes
How can we ensure that beneficial products are made available to lower income countries -Impartial international organizations -Government -Global policies -Make them cheaper for lower income countries, advertise there, give samples -Provide incentives to the manufacturers -Tax Breaks -Make sure they are widely accepted -Give it to them -Be generous -Because it is the morally right thing to do -Do not allow patents -Make sure that they are equally distributed -Make sure they are affordable -You can’t but you can try -Don’t Know
COMBINING GENES OF A DIFFERENT SPECIES Yes 57.9% No 15.8% Don’t Know 26.3% -Yes, it goes with survival of the fittest
-Depends on which species -Everything except humans -Depends on the motive -As long as it does not harm anyone/anything -As long as it does not threaten the existing soecies -If the benefits outweigh the risks -I don’t know if the benefits would outweigh the risks -Only for research purposes/ not to be released in nature
-It goes against nature
Should it be used for non-therapeutic human enhancement? Yes 16.2% No 67.6 % Don’t Know 16.2%
MILITARY APPLICATION? Yes 2.7 % No 29.7% Don’t know 67.6% -It does little to benefit humans as a whole -It kills innocent people -It would lead to an arms race -It could wipe out humanity -Only for defensive purposes -Creating new ways to kill is a dumb and ignorant idea (Does anyone remember Hiroshima?)
REGULATION Do you think synthetic biology should be regulated?
Yes 86.8% (33) No 10.5% (4) Don't Know 2.6% (1)
If yes then who should regulate it?
Provincial/state government 28.9% (11) Federal government 50.0% (19) International organization 60.5% (23) Civilian organization 10.5% (4) Military 2.6% (1) Other 21.1% (8)
SHOULD A HIGH SCHOOL CURRICULUM INCLUDE A UNIT ON SYNBIO? Yes 67.6%, No 24.3%, Don’t Know 8.1%
-Yes because: -I know next to nothing about it -Student might be interested/curious about it -It is important for students to know this -Students should get the newest/most cutting edge information -Students should be exposed early to this kind of knowledge -Students might be benefited in their future education -it should be in science courses that students are forced to take (ex. Science 10) -Ethics specially should be discussed But: -It changes very rapidly so curriculums would quickly become obsolete -Not an entire unit, should be a part of the genetic engineering section -As long as it is taught at a level that high school students can grasp it
-No because: -Not until this field is better developed and understood -It is too specialized a subject -It is a very touchy subject and some people may not agree with it
2) Result for the non high school survey
3) Results from the non high school survey from the iGEM community - Show quoted text -
