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Team:Calgary Ethics/Surveys
From 2008.igem.org
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'''1) Results of the high school survey''' | '''1) Results of the high school survey''' | ||
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2) Result for the non high school survey | 2) Result for the non high school survey | ||
Revision as of 18:27, 6 September 2008
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Coming up soon...
1) Results of the high school survey
Download the original attachment 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 -
