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. 2008 Jun;2(1-2):7-17.
doi: 10.1007/s11693-008-9019-y. Epub 2008 Sep 18.

SYNBIOSAFE e-conference: online community discussion on the societal aspects of synthetic biology

Markus Schmidt  1 , Helge Torgersen, Agomoni Ganguli-Mitra, Alexander Kelle, Anna Deplazes, Nikola Biller-Andorno
Affiliations

SYNBIOSAFE e-conference: online community discussion on the societal aspects of synthetic biology

Markus Schmidt et al. Syst Synth Biol. 2008 Jun.

Abstract

As part of the SYNBIOSAFE project, we carried out an open electronic conference (e-conference), with the aim to stimulate an open debate on the societal issues of synthetic biology in a proactive way. The e-conference attracted 124 registered participants from 23 different countries and different professional backgrounds, who wrote 182 contributions in six different categories: (I) Ethics; (II) Safety; (III) Security; (IV) IPR; (V) Governance and regulation; (VI) and Public perception. In this paper we discuss the main arguments brought up during the e-conference and provide our conclusions about how the community thinks, and thinks differently on the societal impact of synthetic biology. Finally we conclude that there is a chance for an open discourse on the societal issues of synthetic biology happening, and that the rules to govern such a discourse might be set up much easier and be respected more readily than many would suggest.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Distribution of registered participants by world regions, the total number of participants was 124. Asian participants came from China, India, Japan, and Georgia. The category “other” includes participants from Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, and New Zealand
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Most European participants were from the United Kingdom, followed by Germany, Switzerland, France, and the Netherlands. Only one participant came from Eastern Europe (Romania), one from Russia, and one from the European Commission (EU). All values are rounded (n = 67)
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
About two-thirds of the participants were scientists, either scientists working in R&D (science) or scientists working in e.g., ethics, political sciences, safety, security, intellectual property rights, governance (ELSA science). Some participants, however, were from the industry or business, from NGOs, funding organizations and regulatory authorities. The smallest fraction was made up of students and other (film makers, journalists, think tanks, artists)
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
According to the number of postings (replies) per category, Ethics received the highest attention, followed by IPR, Biosecurity, and Biosafety (n = 182)
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
According to the number of views per topic, four topics from two categories (ethics and IPR) were most popular, followed by four topics from the categories biosecurity and biosafety
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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