Difference between revisions of "Team:UCopenhagen/Safety"
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<p class="lead">Human, animal and environmental safety considerations are prerequisite to commencing any legitimate science project. Working with genetically modified organisms involves advanced regulation owing to its political potency. The relatively recent emergence of synthetic biology and its revolutionary potential earns even more public scrutiny. Vigilant enforcement of safety best practices is critical to preventing avoidable public misconceptions. | <p class="lead">Human, animal and environmental safety considerations are prerequisite to commencing any legitimate science project. Working with genetically modified organisms involves advanced regulation owing to its political potency. The relatively recent emergence of synthetic biology and its revolutionary potential earns even more public scrutiny. Vigilant enforcement of safety best practices is critical to preventing avoidable public misconceptions. | ||
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Incell has received extensive safety training from the Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences at the University of Copenhagen. From the very beginning we integrated safety into the concept creation and experimental design. All decisions have been made in accordance with Danish, EU and WHO safety legislation. At Incell, safety is baked in. | Incell has received extensive safety training from the Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences at the University of Copenhagen. From the very beginning we integrated safety into the concept creation and experimental design. All decisions have been made in accordance with Danish, EU and WHO safety legislation. At Incell, safety is baked in. | ||
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Revision as of 17:38, 29 October 2017
Introduction
Human, animal and environmental safety considerations are prerequisite to commencing any legitimate science project. Working with genetically modified organisms involves advanced regulation owing to its political potency. The relatively recent emergence of synthetic biology and its revolutionary potential earns even more public scrutiny. Vigilant enforcement of safety best practices is critical to preventing avoidable public misconceptions.
Incell has received extensive safety training from the Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences at the University of Copenhagen. From the very beginning we integrated safety into the concept creation and experimental design. All decisions have been made in accordance with Danish, EU and WHO safety legislation. At Incell, safety is baked in.
Applications and Implications
<By understanding the basic principles behind the creation of stable endosymbiotic events we hope that in the future it will be possible to use artificial endosymbiosis as a new technology in synthetic biology, and we believe that value can be created in the foundational track of the iGEM competition. History has shown that great scientific advances has followed the implementation of new revolutionary technologies (Gershon 2003).
We envision that artificial endosymbiosis could be applied in a broad range of fields, including agriculture, medicine and production of valuable compounds. A deeper understanding of the relationships intertwining endosymbionts and their hosts could unravel new knowledge applicable for the treatment of mitochondrial diseases, while a living compartment able to fixate nitrogen from the air could decrease the fertilizer use in agricultural production.
However, the applications are only limited by the imagination of future users. Indeed, the game-changing role of endosymbiosis has not gone unseen to the eyes of the modern bioengineers, who predict that the establishment of a novel interaction has the potential to radically alter the host cell physiology without directly affecting the host genome (Scientific America Vol 105 pp. 36-45).
Before the potential application of artificial endosymbiosis, there are many things to consider. While the current regulations regarding GMO limits what is possible to apply in agriculture and medicine, regulations regarding synthetically modified organisms (SMOs) have not yet been systematically put into place. How will a new field of SMO be regulated, and how will it influence possible applications of artificial endosymbiosis?
In addition to our scientific investigation we are enthused to trigger debate about synthetic biology. We intend to podcast intriguing conversations with experts, thereby hoping to reach the general public and impel the discussion about the ethics and future prospects in combining biology and engineering.
