Team:McMaster/HP/Overview
Overview
The most important question for our Human Practices Team was to question the significance and implications of new scientific discoveries. Human Practices acts as a reminder that science does not exist in isolation, but rather is shaped by social context. Our team focused on understanding the complexities of scientific research and its applications. Often, it seems that there is a disconnect between scientists and the general public due to scientific jargon; this can result in misinformation or lack of engagement in important, universal topics. This year, we placed a heavy emphasis on attempting to bridge the divide between the scientific community and the public. We looked at how social and political factors affect the application of new discoveries.
Our work this year evolved with the development of the mGEM project. To aid in the Wet Lab and Dry Lab’s understanding of theory, we wrote a paper about the historical development and current applications of next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology. In collaboration with the Wet Lab team, we shaped the direction of the mGEM project towards amyloid-beta aggregation by discussing how the amyloid-beta hypothesis is viewed in scientific communities and how constantly shifting research affects the public’s response to Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). We consequently interviewed professionals in the research, clinical, and public fields on how Alzheimer’s Disease research affects public perceptions and clinical approaches towards it.
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