Team:Edinburgh/Awards/SDGs

Team Edinburgh Finding NEMO

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Water is a universal human need and universal human right. Our contribution to making this goal attainable for the ones who need it most shall not be second to commercial interests. We firmly believe that it is the responsibility of every member of society to contribute towards a more equal and sustainable world. We, therefore, designed and appropriated our project to tackle Sustainable Development Goal 6, Clean Water and Sanitation. We created a cell-free biosensor, that is cheap, mobile and easy to use and, thus, suitable to be used as water testing kits to detect hazardous substances in water. We intended to employ a simple, modular design that could be reproduced easily where it is needed most.

We have demonstrated very well how synthetic biology can be exploited to meet the SDGs: we primarily concentrated our efforts on applying the biosensor to detect water contaminants, which is our contribution to SDG 6: ‘Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all’. Billions of people around the world still lack access to water and sanitation services, with a severe lack of safely managed drinking water. Pathogens, antibiotics, metals and many more contaminants are found in water in many parts of the world. Our cell-free, modular, cheap and mobile water quality test kit is just one example of how efforts in synthetic biology translate to progress with regard to the Sustainable Development Goals. Many other current and previous iGEM teams have already demonstrated other ways to come closer to the SDGs: projects with applications in therapeutics, diagnostics, energy and environment.

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Scientists and iGEMers should always remember that synthetic biology is a powerful tool to tackle the UN Sustainable Goals but it is not the remedy for all of our societal problems… at least not yet. As for now, most of the SDGs are closely tied to economic, social, political and technological factors that could not be resolved with synthetic biology, hence, scientists and non-scientists must collaborate.

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All teams show promising approaches to using synthetic biology, most of them with the aim to somehow build something that contributes to meeting the SDGs. With so many teams working in parallel, the efforts can sometimes appear fragmented. It is, therefore, extremely important for the teams to cooperate in order to potentiate their efforts. Exchanging newly acquired knowledge, tips and tricks help them progress faster and better and is not only mutually beneficial but also benefits the overall goal they are striving towards — to help meet the SDGs. We, thus believe, that besides being inclusive and putting emphasis on ethical and moral aspects of their project, collaboration is the key element for the teams to make the greatest impact on the journey towards reaching the SDGs.

iGEM teams are already doing a wonderful job assuring that their projects are aligned with the SDGs, but as for now, I see two main issues. The first is that young biologists are not very familiar with the SDGs. In this case, even if most societal needs of the SDGs are contextualised, developing comprehensive frameworks, handbooks, guides or manuals tailored for iGEMers could be very useful. The second issue is that iGEM projects are often too diverse and even if different projects are designed to achieve the same SDGs, it is very difficult to find a common ground for collaborations. Under these circumstances, I would like to encourage the next group of iGEMers and iGEM teams to promptly communicate to the community the key SDGs of their project and join, coordinate and work under big SDGs-related working groups.

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Even if we did extensive work on the SDG N6 and SDG N3 that were closer to our project given the decision of the team to use the biosensor to fight environmental contamination in water sources but as discussed in the panel "Vision 2030 for UN Sustainable Development Goals & iGEM" we tried to avoid the silo mentality, in fact during our Human Practices we tried to tackle:

the SDG 1 by making our biosensor as cheap as possible and by accounting hidden costs that could affect low-income counties (taxes, customs fee and tariffs, currency exchange rates, storage, etc)

the SDG 4 by understanding how we could integrate the biosensor in biology classes and how our biosensor together with other tools could initiate public participation of the SDGs.

the SDG 9 by analysing how different infrastructures used to gather drinking water and process wastewater pose risks for people animals and the environment and by evaluating if our biosensor could be integrated into automated monitoring stations for water monitoring -- On the "innovation" side of the SDG 9 we analysed how our team and other iGEM team achieve innovative artefacts

the SDG 10 by finding potential limitations in the use of our biosensor between different demographic categories (Illiterates, visually impaired, Wheelchair-bound, etc.) and potential limitations in communities given that people have different priorities (low-income countries: job-security, food security, affordable housing etc.) and different belief systems (Religious, Cultural, Political, etc.) that could hinder public participation in Environmental initiatives

the SDGs 12 and 13 by making our biosensor eco-friendly by choosing e.coli extracts and paper to create a biodegradable test kit, moreover, the team drafted a partial life cycle assessment and life cycle energy analysis of the biosensor

the SDG 15 since early versions of the biosensors were designed to be applied in preserving plant biodiversity and assessing soil contamination

the SDG 16 by designing a biosensor that could be easily be used by communities to make companies and governments accountable for environmental pollution, in this regard, we aimed to have a biosensor that could be accurate and reliable on par to laboratory tests and ISO Accreditation since in different legal system communities could press charges only with tests that are performed in compliance with international standards.

the SDG 17 by providing an open template for the development of biosensor, since the early stage of the project we wanted to decentralise science and environmental agencies and health-care systems of low-income countries could rely on our design to produce PoC diagnostics and test-kits without relying on foreign companies and foreign-based/funded accredited laboratories

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WHO WATER, SANITATION AND HYGIENE STRATEGY 2018‑2025 CONTENTS

Rapid and recent changes in the global environment, including the impacts of climate change and unprecedented growth of urban populations, have led to new issues and challenges. Moreover, WASH-related diseases still prevail despite years of collective efforts. Significant inequities persist between urban and rural, poor and rich, and general and vulnerable population groups. Widespread use of antibiotics has allowed for control of infections arising from deplorable sanitary and hygiene conditions

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