Team:Leeds/Safety
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==Ethics Assessment Form== | ==Ethics Assessment Form== | ||
- | < | + | <html><a href="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2013/a/ae/Leeds_EthicsAssesmentform.pdf"><span id="button" style="background:#a5e174;width:100%;padding-top:10px;padding-bottom:10px;text-align:center">Click to download our proposed Ethics Assessment Form</span></a></html> |
- | This form is designed to encourage the contemplation and assessment of all ethical issues involved within your iGEM project. The form is split into five sections addressing various aspects of ethical implications a synthetic biology project could have. The concept of this is similar to a risk assessment form and adopts a pseudo quantitative analytical approach. The main assessment component is in tabular form, below are instructions for completing these tables with each column explained. | + | This form is designed to encourage the contemplation and assessment of all ethical issues involved within your iGEM project. The form is split into five sections addressing various aspects of ethical implications a synthetic biology project could have. The concept of this is similar to a risk assessment form and adopts a pseudo-quantitative analytical approach. The main assessment component is in tabular form, below are instructions for completing these tables with each column explained. |
* '''Identify''' - State here the ethical hazards in question and the target audience that it could potentially affect and elaborate in as much detail as possible what implications they could result in | * '''Identify''' - State here the ethical hazards in question and the target audience that it could potentially affect and elaborate in as much detail as possible what implications they could result in | ||
* '''Control''' - State here the controls e.g. elimination, substitution, engineering controls and personal protective equipment which will be used to minimise the risks from the ethical hazards. Continue on a separate sheet if necessary. | * '''Control''' - State here the controls e.g. elimination, substitution, engineering controls and personal protective equipment which will be used to minimise the risks from the ethical hazards. Continue on a separate sheet if necessary. |
Revision as of 17:51, 2 October 2013
SafetySafety forms were approved on September 29, 2013 by the iGEM Safety Committee. iGEM Safety Questions1. Would our project raise any safety issues in terms of:
BiosafetyThe chassiss we are using are E.coli BL21 gold strain which are in risk group 1, Our lab has a bio-safety rating of 2. Therefore it is ok to work with this strain in our lab. When handling bacteria sterile techniques were used and anything that comes into contact with the bacteria is autoclave sterilized. Lab SafetyFor safety in the Labs we have undergone compulsory health and safety training run by the Faulty of Biological Sciences. We will also be following UK Health and safety legislation in our work. For every new Chemical or reagent used we will follow the risk assessments put in place, and the COSHH assessments. When handeling bacterial cultures we will use sterile techniques and employ the use of PPE to prevent contamination.
EthicsEthics is a big consideration when doing biology, especially synthetic biology as we are making new systems and engineering bacteria to have new and desired properties. A primary concern is the accidental release of these redesigned organisms. Current policies are alreadt prepared to deal with this situation if it were to occur. An even more daunting possibility is the fact that terrorist organizations could use engineered microorganisms to harm others. This is a new concern called Bioterrorism and it is fast becoming a growing concern. Bioterrorism is defined as terrorism involving the international release or dissemination of biological agents. Questions are also raised over the unpredictable nature of these pathogens. Biosecurity measures within the field of synthetic biology must be finalized to reduce the sense of fear that accompanies its advances. Even if no immediate danger exists, ethical issues remain as synthetic biology can be deemed as "playing God". Redesigning organisms opens the possibility for redesigning humans To gain an insite into what the public think of synthetic biology we sent out an initial survey about what synthetic biology is. One of the questions on this survey included "do you think synthetic biology is unethical?" Surprisingly all but one answered this question "no". We then asked them to expand further; here are some of the responses: "[...]if the end justifies the means. But it would be unethical if there was animal testing involved."
"Knowledge is basically neutral, but I can see situations where it can be misused, so ethics should never be ignored." To further address ethics we have also included an ethics video in our series of synthetic biology videos for young people at school/in sixth form. To do this we undertook some research and discovered that Synthetic biologists have already taken a proactive attitude by collaborating with social scientists and engaging with the public from the outset to help further the publics understanding and help diminish controversy. For example, the four Research Councils in the UK (BBSRC, EPSRC, ESRC and AHRC) have created and jointly funded seven research networks that include researchers interested in the ‘ethical, legal and social implications' (ELSI) of synthetic biology. These networks encourage regular meetings of synthetic biologists and ELSI researchers, informing both sides about technological and ELSI progress. Moreover, public engagement meetings that should ensure the correct interpretation of the biotechnological achievements, and future public acceptance, are strongly encouraged. The European Commission initiated the SYNBIOSAFE consortium (http://www.synbiosafe.eu/) focusing on the discussion of biosafety and ethical concerns, and facilitating a socially acceptable development in all related fields.
As part of our outreach activities we will also be doing a synthetic biology presentation in a sixth form class at the beginning of September. During this presentation we will be undertaking an exercise in order to make the pupils understand the importance of considering ethics in the world of science and it will hopefully give us more of an idea of what the public think about synthetic biology and what ethical concerns they have around the subject area.
We are currently working on a survey based purely on the ethics of synthetic biology and will be posting the comments and feedback we received as we get it so be on the look out!
Ethics Assessment FormThis form is designed to encourage the contemplation and assessment of all ethical issues involved within your iGEM project. The form is split into five sections addressing various aspects of ethical implications a synthetic biology project could have. The concept of this is similar to a risk assessment form and adopts a pseudo-quantitative analytical approach. The main assessment component is in tabular form, below are instructions for completing these tables with each column explained.
1) Economic implicationsSynthetic biology has the potential to create an abundance of new industries and jobs, however in the process of doing so can cause current industries, companies and/or jobs to become redundant. This can result in a sharp increase in unemployment which can be made worse by the fact that these people may have a very specific skill set and thus need retraining.
2) Legal implicationsPatent law is an extremely crucial part of scientific research and development. It is important to assess whether you are illegally using other people’s work/products and consider when it is appropriate to ask for permission. It is also important to consider the implications of potentially patenting your final research, for example patenting a vaccine could result in it saving a lot less lives. This section can also be used to consider dealing with illegal substances such as drugs as part of one’s research.
3) Bioterrorism risksBioterrorism is a relatively new concern that could become a big problem if Synthetic Biology and other Biological Science research is used in the wrong way. Your device may have the potential to be made weaponizable and this is something that worries the public. This section deals with the potential of your device being harmful and what would happen if it were to be used for something other than its original purpose.
4) Accidental releaseA major worry of the public is that harmful bacteria, with modified genes, may be accidentally released into the environment if lab procedures are careless. However accidental release of genetically modified organisms is more likely to occur during their use in the field. The worry is that GMO’s could pass on their modified genes to wildtype organisms and create new lines of that particular species.
5) TestingSome people share the view that testing on animals and humans is unethical and wrong. Your biodevice has to be tested in some way, but what experiments could you do that don’t involve testing on animals or humans. Some people believe that testing on humans is a little less unethical than testing on animals as humans have to give their consent to be tested upon, whereas animals have no choice and are often breed for that sole purpose.
6) Damage to the environment/ecosystemMany Synthetic Biology research projects plan to introduce genetically modified organisms into the environment. Some devices aim to improve the quality of the environment but in doing so is there some risk that they could change the balance in an essential ecosystem? Another aspect that falls into this category is that during the research stages of the project, a lot of lab equipment is used and there is a possibility of wastage of reagents and equipment if they are not used in a proper manner. This could cause environmental damage in the form of; unnecessary use of plastics or unsafe disposure of reagents. This section is intended to make you consider any wider environmental implications your device could cause when it is used in its intended field.
Explanation of the ethics assessment formWhilst considering the ethics and safety aspects of our iGEM project we got to thinking that the way that ethics is approached within the iGEM competition isn’t very standardised. Consequently the Leeds iGEM team decided to think of ways we could improve this. In the end the idea created was, The Ethics Assessment Form.
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