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<h2><B>In school, on the streets, and in science</B></h2> | <h2><B>In school, on the streets, and in science</B></h2> | ||
<div class="text1"><p></a> | <div class="text1"><p></a> | ||
− | To begin, we took iGEM to the <B>schools</B>, the <B>streets</B>, and to the <B>science communities</B> to gain insight and understanding about people’s perspectives/opinions pertaining to the use of <B>synthetic biology</B>. We conducted <B>surveys</B>, gathering information from the public and had an <B>educational debate</B> in the schools. From these interactions, we incorporated aspects such as hardware design, the safety features of our device, and the fears of using synthetic biology into account as we designed our device to ensure it was as <B>safe</B> as possible. First, we destroyed our <B>GMO</B> in the lab and made sure it was not in our device. Second, having designers on our team allowed us to further our discussions with several mosquito specialists and build a device that met all of the criteria to ensure not just the safety of the operators, but also the <B>local public</B> that could potentially come in contact with the device. Additionally, our design was well thought out to include special features that attract the mosquitoes to the device, trap the mosquitoes inside the device, and safely absorb all potentially harmful liquids.</br></br> | + | To begin, we took iGEM to the <B>schools</B>, the <B>streets</B>, and to the <B>science communities</B> to gain insight and understanding about people’s perspectives/opinions pertaining to the use of <B>synthetic biology</B>. We conducted <B>surveys</B>, gathering information from the public and had an <B>educational debate</B> in the schools. From these interactions, we incorporated aspects such as hardware design, the safety features of our device, and the fears of using synthetic biology into account as we designed our device to ensure it was as <B>safe</B> as possible. First, we destroyed our <B>GMO</B> in the lab and made sure it was not in our device. Second, having designers on our team allowed us to further our discussions with several <B>mosquito specialists</B> and build a device that met all of the criteria to ensure not just the safety of the <B>operators</B>, but also the <B>local public</B> that could potentially come in contact with the device. Additionally, our design was well thought out to include special features that attract the mosquitoes to the device, trap the mosquitoes inside the device, and safely absorb all potentially harmful liquids.</br></br> |
</p> | </p> | ||
</div> | </div> | ||
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<h2><B>With professionals & our design</B></h2> | <h2><B>With professionals & our design</B></h2> | ||
<div class="text1"><p></a> | <div class="text1"><p></a> | ||
− | Next, we learned how <B>professionals</B>, that presently gather similar types of information about areas infested with mosquitoes, would receive our device and how there <B>current methods</B> could be easier if <B>Mos(kit)o</B> was applied in the field. Indeed, we conducted research to find out if there <B>was a need</B> for a mosquito trapping and analyzing system and quickly found out that yes, our system would be a great asset in the fight against emerging <B>arboviruses</B>. We understood what was currently being used and we imagined how our device could expand on methods that aren’t as efficient and make our device <B>more efficient</B>. This was crucial information that assisted us in the development of our scenarios as we took our project “outside the lab” and as thoroughly as possible, conceptually visualized Mos(kit)o in the <B>“real world”</B>. We were successful in doing this and received positive feedback from two professionals on potential <B>collaborations</B>, where they would like to use our device in a <B>pilot study</B>. Additionally, we had to think outside of the box and <B>anticipate</B> the social and ethical issues that could arise from developing a synthetic biology project. This was another successful discussion/collaboration with the <B>Rathenau Instituut</B> as we developed both scenarios, <B>integrating human practice</B> throughout the progression of our project.</br></br> | + | Next, we learned how <B>professionals</B>, that presently gather similar types of information about areas infested with mosquitoes, would receive our device and how there <B>current methods</B> could be easier if <B>Mos(kit)o</B> was applied in the field. Indeed, we conducted research to find out if there <B>was a need</B> for a mosquito trapping and analyzing system and quickly found out that yes, our system would be a great asset in the fight against emerging <B>arboviruses</B>. We understood what was currently being used and we imagined how our device could expand on methods that aren’t as efficient and make our device <B>more efficient</B>. This was crucial information that assisted us in the development of our <B>scenarios</B> as we took our project “outside the lab” and as thoroughly as possible, conceptually visualized Mos(kit)o in the <B>“real world”</B>. We were successful in doing this and received positive feedback from two professionals on potential <B>collaborations</B>, where they would like to use our device in a <B>pilot study</B>. Additionally, we had to think outside of the box and <B>anticipate</B> the social and ethical issues that could arise from developing a synthetic biology project. This was another successful discussion/collaboration with the <B>Rathenau Instituut</B> as we developed both scenarios, <B>integrating human practice</B> throughout the progression of our project.</br></br> |
</p> | </p> | ||
</div> | </div> | ||
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<h2><B>Using law</B></h2> | <h2><B>Using law</B></h2> | ||
<div class="text1"><p></a> | <div class="text1"><p></a> | ||
− | And finally, during our project’s development, we realized that launching a business required a strong intellectual property strategy. We used the expertise of our team’s law students and presented at our Ile de France meet-up about open science and intellectual property law. From this presentation, we collected feedback, which revealed that not just our team had questions pertaining to the development of an intellectual property strategy that would be in compliance with the iGEM rules/framework, so did other teams. This was a missing piece to the puzzle that was essential for all teams to understand. Therefore, we decided to write a | + | And finally, during our project’s development, we realized that launching a <B>business</B> required a strong <B>intellectual property</B> strategy. We used the expertise of our team’s <B>law students</B> and presented at our <B>Ile de France meet-up</B> about open science and intellectual property law. From this presentation, we collected <B>feedback</B>, which revealed that not just our team had <B>questions</B> pertaining to the development of an intellectual property strategy that would be in compliance with the iGEM rules/framework, so did <B>other teams</B>. This was a missing piece to the puzzle that was essential for all teams to understand. Therefore, we decided to write <B>a repor</B>t evaluating the compatibility of an <B>open science model</B> with the pursuit of iGEM projects after the competition. It was our intent that it would be a document that would be <B>helpful</B> to other iGEM teams in the future. This document is available on our wiki (<a href="">evidence</a>). This topic was essential for our understanding. </br></br> |
− | We hope to see Mos(kit)o live long and prosper! For this purpose, we documented our research in a way that would make it possible for future teams, or someone else, to benefit from our research and build upon our project! | + | We hope to see Mos(kit)o live long and prosper! For this purpose, we <B>documented</B> our research in a way that would make it possible for <B>future teams</B>, or someone else, to <B>benefit</B> from our research and build upon our project! |
</br></br> | </br></br> |