Difference between revisions of "Team:USTC/Engagement"

Overview

To do our share in promoting synthetic biology and iGEM in both synthetic biology workers and the public, we
(a)developed our Sina blog account iGEM-USTC to share our project with the public and promote understanding and development of iGEM in China;
(b)actively communicated projects and ideas with iGEMers all over the world in Asia-Pacific iGEM Conference and Central China iGEM Consortium;
(c)designed, handed out and analyzed a questionnaire to collect date on how synthetic biology and genetically modified food are received by Hefei citizens and potentially serve as materials for policies or campaigns making for future popularization;
(d)organized various activities in kindergarten, University of Science and Technology of China and the Science Museum of Hefei to promote understanding of synthetic biology and biological cathode in public and intrigue kids and teenagers with life science;
(e)designed and executed measures for handling Cadmium ion and possible production of hepatic gas to ensure safety and avoid negative impacts on the environment.

Sina Blog

In order to spread science about synthetic biology and information(the main purpose of this competition) about iGEM (International Genetically Engineered Machine), we apply an official sina blog account to upload our latest activities and our daily life in our laboratory etc. which attract the public’s attention to where we do experiment and what we have done. Every time we share our moment online, we will receive hundreds clicks and several repost. Most importantly, we also emphasize our lab safety through the blog we posted to show that we obey the rules strictly and spontaneously.

For the sake of recording our everyday work and making our project visible to the public, we adapt a widely-spread song, called , closely to our laboratory work, which shows our purity and passion for synthetic biology. As the lyrics says, “Plasmid that we purify those years, OD that we measured those years. So eager to hug you, hug the effort we paid”, everyone in the team give up a big part of their leisure time out of not only passion but the responsibility for the team, and that is what called--TEAMWORK. iGEM just like a family for us so that we not only acquire knowledge but gain many friends in the same camp, which is the deeper meaning of iGEM.

CCiC

This year, we participated into a great party hosted by Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University——Conference of China iGEMer community (also known as CCiC). During this conference, amazing presentations were performed to show out every team’s creative project. In addition, during the panel session, members from each team came up to the stage to share their memory in this iGEM competition, either the happiest one or the most sorrow one. Besides, we also share our experiences and obstacles we met during the last year.

Questionnaire on synthetic biology and genetic engineering

To understand how synthetic biology and genetic engineering are received by the public in our city, Hefei, thus serving as a potential background for future popularization policies making, we designed a questionnaire and handed them out both online and offline within Hefei. We handed out the questionnaires in Hefei Science Museum to collect information from both parents and teenagers. We also published it on “Questionnaire Star” and spread it to collect more answers. Valid feedbacks add up to 450 copies so far, in which 292 are from online and 158 from offline.

The questions are divided into 2 categories. Part 1 centers on general synthetic biology while part 2 specifically focuses on GMF (Genetically Modified Food), a heated social concern in China. We also calculated the answers according to the age of the takers. Results are as follows.

Takers are mainly between 11 to 29 years old, followed by adults in their thirties.

In part 1 (Question 2,3,8,9,10), about 7 in 10 people don’t know much about synthetic biology, but 82% people would like to learn about it if given the chance. Half of the takers aren’t sure about current popularization on the subject, and 24% believe the popularization doesn’t prove satisfactory. Nearly 7 out of 10 people know little about our key concept—electricity generating bacteria, let alone biological cathode. Note that the percentage of people familiar with the theme are mostly from the group between 20-29 years old, which consists of possibly mainly college students or post graduates, so the overall ratio may be exaggerated.

In part 2 (Question 4,5,6,7,8), half of the people are confident about their understanding for genetic engineering. Over 80% people are willing to learn more about it if given proper material. As for GMF, people paying attention to it in daily life is about the same number as people who don’t. Only 5% of the takers don’t think it necessary to establish laws to make sure that GMF are labelled out for notice.

Concluded from the results, genetic engineering is better educated to the public than synthetic biology, probably because the former is in the biology textbook in high school, however, further popularization is needed to satisfy considerable people. Providing more convenient access to the materials such as handing out handbooks, promoting relative articles on the internet can be a good way, for most people recognize the importance of these topics and are willing to learn if convenient. GMF remains to be a concern, with the public calling for special labels to mark them out. Biological cathode, as a new yet promising research field, still has a long way to go to be received by the public, and any breakthroughs in this field may well promote the process.

The results also served as the background of our presentations and interactions with the public in latter human practice activities. We would lay more stress on synthetic biology, especially biological cathode, and illustrate it with more examples to make it easier for the public to understand.

To learn the statistics of the questionnaire, see supplement.

Supplement:
1、How old are you? [Mark only one answer]
2、How well do you know about synthetic biology? [Mark only one answer]
3、Would you like to learn about synthetic biology if given the chance? [Mark only one answer]
4、How well do you know about genetic engineering? [Mark only one answer]
5、Would you like to learn about genetic engineering if offered proper learning materials? [Mark only one answer]
6、How much do you pay attention to whether your food is genetically modified? [Mark only one answer]
7、Do you agree that the government should establish laws to make sure all genetically modified food are labelled for notice? [Mark only one answer]
8、Do you agree that the popularization for genetic engineering and synthetic biology in China is satisfying? [Mark only one answer]
9、How well do you know about microbes that can generate electricity? [Mark only one answer]
10、How well do you know about biological cathode? [Mark only one answer]

Kindergarten, Science Open Weekend, Hefei Science and Technology Museum

Kindergarten

Education in childhood plays a vital role in shaping a person’s perception of the world, science included. We feel it of great importance to intrigue young kids with biology, introducing the new generation to a biological point of view for future benefits in scientific literacy and biology study.

In practice, we went to the kindergarten attached to University of Science and Technology of China one weekend this April, and explored primary biology in daily life with over 40 preschool kids, whom are mainly children of USTC staff.

We consulted the teachers in advance and surprisingly found that the kids already learned some basics of biology, a girl even knows that red cells mainly carries oxygen to all over the body! This helped us prepare games and the little lecture better. Relating the knowledge closely to their daily life through comparison and interactive games successfully arouse their interest, while guiding kids to explore the reasons for biological phenomenon is our highlight.

At the end of the 4-hour activity, the kids were even more excited, some said that they wanted to be a biologist in the future. Teachers also added children biology books after our visit, hoping this will help invoke passion for biology in the new generation.

Science Open Weekend

USTC has been dedicated to communicate science and technology with the public by inviting the public to various well-organized activities in both campuses on “Science Open Weekend” every year. It has become a famous event in Anhui Province, drawing thousands of citizens from all over China.

This year from May 20th to 21st, team USTC joined in the event with two activities. One in the Department hall where tourist are encouraged to take a quiz in synthetic biology and iGEM competition, questions are divided into 3 levels according to taker’s age. The other in a lab where our team leader gave presentation on iGEM competition and our project, and visitors can also explore the microbial world through a microscope.

About 600 people took our quiz, mostly primary school and middle school students. Many lacked a basic understanding of synthetic biology but showed great interest in its applications in real life, especially genetically modified food. After our illustration, both kids and parents showed support in our work and wished us success in iGEM.

Hefei Science and Technology Museum

On September 24th, we went to the local science and technology museum to popularize our project and synthetic biology to the public. We illustrated generals of synthetic biology and MES (micro-electro synthesis), clarifying the promising potential applications. Since the genetically modified food has been one of the heated concerns in China, we left out a chapter to introduce the basics of it, rising many following questions and answering. We also made a questionnaire to find out public perception of synthetic biology, especially of GMF. Over 100 copies were collected on site, others are handed out via the internet.