What is our aim for Science Communication?
This year we focused our science communication and public relations effort on schools. Surveys from previous iGEM Hamburg teams have shown how little is known about synthetic biology by the general public. People might know about basic genetic concepts such as transcription and translation, but how synthetic biologists can use these methods to shape the future is beyond their scope. This is a shocking discovery because people will never accept new technologies if they can’t understand them. We want to change that so that synthetic biology can fulfil its promise. Knowledge starts with a good education but at the moment synthetic biology is only rarely taught in school. So what better way is there than to educate young scholars on science and inspire them to follow our path? None! This is the reason for our science communication effort on schools which was done in cooperation with the Chemistry School Laboratory “Molecules and Schools” of the University of Hamburg.
Girls’ Day 2020
Women are underrepresented in STEM fields, therefore the nationwide Girls’ Day aims to spark interest in these fields. We planned to be a part of this “event” to show young female pupils what synthetic biologists do. Before working out a plan for this day, we asked ourselves how basic work in a biology laboratory could be presented to students in an appealing fashion. Most of the time lab work is not really exciting, so we had to think about how to make it as fascinating as possible and fluorescence was the key.
Our project was intended for female pupils aged 14 and older. The experiment they were supposed to conduct was a simple transformation of E. Coli with a fluorescence protein of their choice to demonstrate how bacteria can be manipulated by scientists. Several female scientists were invited to talk about their own research. A few members of our team would have introduced our project, described the iGEM competition and guided the attendees through the experiment and would have given them the background information needed to understand it. Unfortunately, the dean's office of our University decided shortly before the Girls’ Day that due to the growing Covid-19 situation in Hamburg the safety of all participants was “paramount” and the event could not take place. But we are planning to find a replacement date as soon as it will be possible again and the situation allows for it.
Social Media
In order to keep reaching younger audiences despite the limitations imposed on us by the current pandemic, we used social media platforms such as Instagram and started a Question & Answers (Q&A) series on current scientific topics. Science communication is always a dialogue. Therefore we first gathered questions and topics of interest to the public and answered and discussed them later in a live stream. In our series, we have covered the following topics:
- Pathogens & Immune System
- Drugs & Vaccines
- Protective measures
- PCR-assay
After the live streams, the videos were uploaded on our YouTube channel.
STEM Days 2020
The last big project in our scientific communication effort is an event called “STEM Days” in Schleswig-Holstein and Hamburg. On these days, the high school students are granted leave from lessons in order to take part in offers from companies and other institutions. This may include lectures, laboratory introductions and allowing the pupils to get a glimpse of what working students to consider a career in science.
Again, we teamed up with Molecules & Schools and the company miniPCR™ to develop an interesting experiment for the pupils. Events like these are trying to demystify the work of scientist and encourage high school students to consider a career in the scientific field. Since sharing a closed space with the students at the school is prohibited, we have created a virtual education program which can easily be implemented by the teacher. Modified kits from the supplier miniPCR™ will be sent out to the schools to strengthen their knowledge in the central dogma of biology. We will also include a script and recorded videos where we explain the theory behind the experiment and guide the pupils through it.
Thanks to the cell-free system the kit provides, the translation from DNA to RNA as well as the transcription from RNA to proteins using fluorescence detection methods can be observed live in the classroom within minutes and hours with a minimum of safety requirements. In addition to all of the above, we will also support the project live via an online conferencing platform and short description videos from us.
Future Project UN-Workshop for diplomats
Synthetic biology becomes more and more relevant nowadays especially with the fast progress we are making. As a result, in the context of iGEM, we feel obliged to spread knowledge on the topic; this includes what synthetic biology is, how it is used and how it can be used, issues it comes with and chances it poses.
We were offered to be part of the Biological Weapons Convention by Mirko Himmel who gave us an introduction in safety in security and looked at our project design. The Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) is a disarmament treaty involving 183 States Parties which is based on the 1925 Geneva Protocol and takes place regularly.
The plan was to hold a seminar for diplomats and other interested people on synthetic biology and its opportunities. We feel like we can have an impact this way and ensure decision-makers can make informed political decisions. Unfortunately, the conference which was supposed to take place in August 2020 was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
We started developing a concept and preparing the seminar and hope we can implement it next time the convention will take place in Geneva.
