Team:Exeter/Public Engagement
AMA
On 27-28th September we took to Reddit and had an AMA (Ask Me Anything) about our project. The response we got almost immediately was outstanding, with our original post view count at over 26 thousand views. The questions we received were from far and wide, ranging from very simple (see Figure 1) to more complex and critical (see Figure 2 and 3).An overarching theme we found was not only concern about whether we had the right to take genetically modified bacteria into space, but whether we had done the research to back up both whether it was safe, and what was going to happen when we and the bacteria got there. We realised quite quickly that within this community there was a distrust of the possible repercussions of science, and whether scientists had considered the ethics behind their projects. As a team who were doing extensive research alongside their project into the Planetary Protection Protocol and bioethics, the experience was fascinating and we assured those anxious about our work that we had considered the ethics and safety concerns and that no bacteria would be released on Mars without further extensive research.
The information supplied to them in the introduction was very limited, which may have led to the impression that the project was poorly researched. Additionally, the anonymity of Reddit means that more negative comments were to be expected. Nevertheless, since most of the comments were negative and critical, either doubting our ability to do what we claim or showing distrust in the synthetic aspect of the project. Overall, the AMA has hinted towards a general distrust of the public towards emerging science.
Undertaking this Ask Me Anything changed our perspectives on both our project and the relationship between science and the general public on a wide range of issues:
- We learnt how to think quickly to offer insightful details on our project for a new, critical perspective.
- There is lot of public concern surrounding the cross contamination issues of going to Mars.
- We experienced an intense examination of our initial motives for undertaking a Martian project as opposed to an Earth project.
- We realised our own misguided assumption of public concerns for our project.
- But there was also unanticipated support and enthusiasm for our project from other branches of science and Exeter Alumni.
Bioethics Lecture
On 15th October, two of our team gave a lecture on iGEM and biosecurity to second year biosciences students as part of their Research Skills and Bioethics module. The aim was to introduce them to iGEM including the bioethics in iGEM in the form of Human Practices. We discussed:- What iGEM is
- The concept behind our project
- Project planning
- Bioethics
- Entrepreneurship
- How to make the most of a unique learning experience such as iGEM
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