Difference between revisions of "Team:Toronto/Human Practices"

(Prototype team page)
 
Line 2: Line 2:
 
<html>
 
<html>
  
<div class="column full_size">
+
<div>
 
+
<h5>Gold</h5>
<p>iGEM teams are leading in the area of Human Practices because they conduct their projects within a social/environmental context, to better understand issues that might influence the design and use of their technologies.</p>
+
<p>iGEM Toronto (University of Toronto) Policy and Practices team are a group of multidisciplinary individuals that work together on trying to convey the use of our Gold-ion biosensor to the field. We take into consideration ethical, economical, security and social aspects following the implementation of our genetically engineered product. There is a recent rise in illegal artisanal gold-mining and increased malaria prevalence in under-developed areas of some countries in Africa, Central and South America. The link between gold-mining and malaria stems from the open-pits left behind from miners that were not properly covered and get filled with rain water, thereby providing a breeding ground for mosquitoes. We propose that the use of our cell-free synthetic based bioactive paper for the detection of gold, which costs up to $0.04CAD to make, would help miners more efficiently search for gold. These gold paper biosensors would be distributed at community health clinics, where they would also offer free malaria testing for those who wish to purchase these cheap gold biosensors to raise awareness of this disease. The malaria testing would be of a similar design as our gold biosensor and therefore be a cheap diagnostic tool. We also intend on developing a formalization policy for the artisanal gold mining industry. Following Synenergene's guidelines, we were granted 5000€ to help develop Application and Techno-Moral Scenarios with the use of our product in these at-risk communities. For outreach, our team is going to host a panel discussion with professors knowledgeable in the fields of Global Health & Ethics and Malaria epidemiology with fellow University of Toronto students.</p>
<p>Teams work with students and advisors from the humanities and social sciences to explore topics concerning ethical, legal, social, economic, safety or security issues related to their work. Consideration of these Human Practices is crucial for building safe and sustainable projects that serve the public interest. </p>
+
<p>For more information, please see the <a href="https://2016.igem.org/Human_Practices">Human Practices Hub</a>.</p>
+
 
</div>
 
</div>
  
 
+
<div>
<div class="column half_size">
+
<h5>Education Policy</h5>
<div class="highlight">
+
<p> We propose to establish an undergraduate introductory synbio course at U of T as one of our long-term projects. The other long-term project is establishing an online network to connect professionals in the synbio field in both industry and academia. </p>
<h5>Note</h5>
+
<p>You must fill out this page in order to be considered for all <a href="https://2016.igem.org/Judging/Awards">awards</a> for Human Practices:</p>
+
<ul>
+
<li>Human Practices silver medal criterion</li>
+
<li>Human Practices gold medal criterion</li>
+
<li>Best Integrated Human Practices award</li>
+
<li>Best Education and Public Engagement award</li>
+
</ul>
+
 
</div>
 
</div>
</div>
 
 
<div class="column half_size">
 
<h5>Some Human Practices topic areas </h5>
 
<ul>
 
<li>Philosophy</li>
 
<li>Public Engagement / Dialogue</li>
 
<li>Education</li>
 
<li>Product Design</li>
 
<li>Scale-Up and Deployment Issues</li>
 
<li>Environmental Impact</li>
 
<li>Ethics</li>
 
<li>Safety</li>
 
<li>Security</li>
 
<li>Public Policy</li>
 
<li>Law and Regulation</li>
 
<li>Risk Assessment</li>
 
</ul>
 
</div>
 
 
 
<div class="column half_size">
 
<h5>What should we write about on this page?</h5>
 
<p>On this page, you should write about the Human Practices topics you considered in your project, and document any special activities you did (such as visiting experts, talking to lawmakers, or doing public engagement).</p>
 
</div>
 
 
 
<div class="column half_size">
 
<h5>Inspiration</h5>
 
<p>Read what other teams have done:</p>
 
<ul>
 
<li><a href="https://2014.igem.org/Team:Dundee/policypractice/experts">2014 Dundee </a></li>
 
<li><a href="https://2014.igem.org/Team:UC_Davis/Policy_Practices_Overview">2014 UC Davis </a></li>
 
<li><a href="https://2013.igem.org/Team:Manchester/HumanPractices">2013 Manchester </a></li>
 
<li><a href="https://2013.igem.org/Team:Cornell/outreach">2013 Cornell </a></li>
 
</ul>
 
</div>
 
 
 
  
 
</html>
 
</html>

Revision as of 17:35, 2 September 2016

Gold

iGEM Toronto (University of Toronto) Policy and Practices team are a group of multidisciplinary individuals that work together on trying to convey the use of our Gold-ion biosensor to the field. We take into consideration ethical, economical, security and social aspects following the implementation of our genetically engineered product. There is a recent rise in illegal artisanal gold-mining and increased malaria prevalence in under-developed areas of some countries in Africa, Central and South America. The link between gold-mining and malaria stems from the open-pits left behind from miners that were not properly covered and get filled with rain water, thereby providing a breeding ground for mosquitoes. We propose that the use of our cell-free synthetic based bioactive paper for the detection of gold, which costs up to $0.04CAD to make, would help miners more efficiently search for gold. These gold paper biosensors would be distributed at community health clinics, where they would also offer free malaria testing for those who wish to purchase these cheap gold biosensors to raise awareness of this disease. The malaria testing would be of a similar design as our gold biosensor and therefore be a cheap diagnostic tool. We also intend on developing a formalization policy for the artisanal gold mining industry. Following Synenergene's guidelines, we were granted 5000€ to help develop Application and Techno-Moral Scenarios with the use of our product in these at-risk communities. For outreach, our team is going to host a panel discussion with professors knowledgeable in the fields of Global Health & Ethics and Malaria epidemiology with fellow University of Toronto students.

Education Policy

We propose to establish an undergraduate introductory synbio course at U of T as one of our long-term projects. The other long-term project is establishing an online network to connect professionals in the synbio field in both industry and academia.