Human Practices

This page is under active development and is in draft form.

iGEM projects involve important questions "beyond the bench", relating to (but not limited to) ethics, sustainability, social justice, safety, security, environmental impact or intellectual property rights. As well, the field of synthetic biology demands thoughtful public engagement and dialogue, educating while inviting public input to shape the direction of research.

iGEM teams creatively address these questions in a wide variety of ways: environmental impact analyses, museum exhibits, intellectual property guides, children's books, "white hat" biosecurity investigations, forums with legislators, and even street theatre. Teams' efforts are often well integrated into the technical aspects of their project, and have a real influence upon design decisions. Please see the Exemplary Past Projects list to get an idea of the scope of possible activities!

Questions? Email us: humanpractices [AT] igem [DOT] org