scholarly journals Synthetic Biology Public Engagement

2018 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 30-31
Author(s):  
Corinne Hanlon
Keyword(s):  
Synthetic Biology ◽  
Public Engagement

The Warwick Integrative Synthetic Biology Centre (WISB) spent an amazing week interacting with visitors of all ages at the Cheltenham Science Festival from 5–10 June 2018.

scholarly journals Let’s (not) talk about synthetic biology: Framing an emerging technology in public and stakeholder dialogues

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (5) ◽  
pp. 492-507 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anja Bauer ◽  
Alexander Bogner
Keyword(s):  
Synthetic Biology ◽  
Policy Analysis ◽  
Media Studies ◽  
Public Engagement ◽  
New Technology ◽  
Emerging Technology ◽  
Social Progress ◽  
The Past ◽  
Abstract Level ◽  
The Eu

Synthetic biology is an emerging technoscience, which, so far, lacks a broader public debate. To foster early societal dialogue, a range of public engagement events have been initiated over the past decade. This article discusses the configurations of the emerging debate on synthetic biology in the context of the EU FP7 project SYNENERGENE. Drawing on notions of frames and framing in media studies and policy analysis, we ask which distinct frames are invoked and become dominant in current discussions about synthetic biology. Our analysis indicates significant reconfigurations in the framing of synthetic biology compared with previous biotechnology debates. Frames that traditionally served to problematize biotechnology, that is, ethics, risks, and economics, become less dominant. Instead, the potential to contribute to social progress is placed in the foreground. Moreover, discussions on ethics, risks, and governance frequently occur on an abstract level, invoking generic statements that could be made for any new technology.

scholarly journals Synthetic biology: below the radar

2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (01) ◽  
pp. R01
Author(s):  
Emma Weitkamp
Keyword(s):  
Synthetic Biology ◽  
Public Engagement ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
The Public ◽  
Synthetic Approaches

Englehard et al. provide a wide-ranging look at synthetic biology, from discussion of how one might classify different synthetic approaches to consideration of risk and ethical issues. The chapter on public engagement considers why synthetic biology seems to sit below the public radar.

scholarly journals Synthetic biology in the Science Café: what have we learned about public engagement?

2012 ◽  
Vol 11 (04) ◽  
pp. A02 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erin L. Navid ◽  
Edna F. Einsiedel
Keyword(s):  
Synthetic Biology ◽  
Public Engagement ◽  
Public Awareness ◽  
The Public ◽  
Upstream Engagement ◽  
Safety Science ◽  
Potential Applications ◽  
Potential Benefits ◽  
Potential Risks ◽  
Science Cafe

Engaging the public on emerging science technologies has often presented challenges. People may hold notions that science is too complicated for them to understand and the venues at which science is discussed are formal and perceived as  inaccessible. One approach to address these challenges is through the Science Café, or Café Scientifique. We conducted five Science Cafés across Canada  to gauge public awareness of synthetic biology technology, its potential applications, and to evaluate the effectiveness of the Science Café platform as a  knowledge-translation tool. Café participants were excited about the potential benefits of synthetic biology technology, but also concerned about the potential  risks. And while participants trusted scientists to carry out their research, there was limited confidence that regulators would ensure public safety. Science  Cafés as a forum for science to meet society were viewed positively for the relaxed atmosphere, small crowd size and informality of the venue. We conclude  that Science Cafés are an effective upstream engagement platform for discussing emerging science technologies.

scholarly journals Situating anticipation in everyday life: Using sensory methods to explore public expectations of synthetic biology

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 290-304 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Meckin ◽  
Andrew Balmer
Keyword(s):  
Synthetic Biology ◽  
Everyday Life ◽  
Public Engagement ◽  
Public Involvement ◽  
Consumer Products ◽  
Historical Approach ◽  
Everyday Practices ◽  
Public Expectations ◽  
The Everyday ◽  
Recent Developments

Public involvement in technological anticipation is a common feature of contemporary sociotechnical innovation. However, most engagements abstract sociotechnical futures, rather than situating them in the everyday practices in which people are routinely engaged. Recent developments in synthetic biology have established the potential for ‘drop in’ replacements for ingredients in consumer products, particularly in flavour and fragrance markets. This article explains how a sensory methodology can be used to explore citizens’ everyday experiences and how these can be used to ground anticipation of possible sociotechnical futures. The article uses a socio-historical approach to analyse and compare two practice domains – caring for families and hygiene and personal care – to show how biosynthetic futures can disrupt existing relations between people, objects and ideas. The implications for conceptualising publics in synthetic biology and for approaches to public engagement and participation are discussed more broadly.

Corrigendum: The Values of Synthetic Biology: Researcher Views of Their Field and Participation in Public Engagement

BioScience ◽  
2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathleen M Rose ◽  
Emily l Howell ◽  
Dietram A Scheufele ◽  
Dominique Brossard ◽  
Michael A Xenos
Keyword(s):  
Synthetic Biology ◽  
Public Engagement

scholarly journals The Values of Synthetic Biology: Researcher Views of Their Field and Participation in Public Engagement

BioScience ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 68 (10) ◽  
pp. 782-791 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathleen M Rose ◽  
Emily L Howell ◽  
Dietram A Scheufele ◽  
Dominique Brossard ◽  
Michael A Xenos ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Synthetic Biology ◽  
Public Engagement

scholarly journals Everyday Uncertainty Work: Making Sense of Biosynthetic Menthol

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 458 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Meckin ◽  
Andrew Balmer
Keyword(s):  
Synthetic Biology ◽  
Public Engagement ◽  
Consumer Products ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Everyday Lives ◽  
Making Sense ◽  
Bodily Experiences ◽  
The Everyday ◽  
Epistemic Cultures

Although much public engagement with the field of “synthetic biology” has been conducted, there remains little work that develops an appreciation of how people make sense of this field and its concomitant promised futures from within their everyday lives. Using a case study, based on the compound “menthol” (a terpenoid from plants) which synthetic biologists have developed for production in E. coli, we explore how people make sense of uncertainties in promised or feared futures. Menthol is already an ingredient in many consumer products and the pre-existing use of such products may frame people’s everyday techniques for understanding biosynthetic menthol, with implications for their appreciation of synthetic biology more generally. We adopted a range of sensory methods, including “pop-up” stalls, sketch research, object elicitation interviews and home tours, to explore the everyday situations in which menthol already figures. Participants used a range of strategies, including deferring judgment, invoking other actors as mediators, using their own bodily experiences and using existing moral repertoires, to respond to biosynthetic possibilities. We deploy the concept of “everyday uncertainty work” and show that it is a useful one for understanding how people’s everyday epistemic cultures of uncertainty are routinely adapted to the anticipation of sociotechnical uncertainties, such as those that accompany promissory accounts of science. The implications for these findings for public engagement with technoscience and uncertainty are discussed.

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