Team:Osaka/ETHICS

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ETHICS

Introduction

When technology develops very well and becomes inexpensive enough to prevail in average citizen, it will be used not only for original purpose but for unexpected one. For example, in 1970s, personal computer started to be sold at a low price. Before then, electronic computers was available only to people in academic or research institutions. Due to the introduction of microprocessor, computer was rapidly personalized. And this personalization of computers created new usages of computer such as computer art and music [1]. Same kind of stream could potentially occur in Biology and now is going on. The concept of iGEM and BioBrick intends to follow the model of open source in software industry. More and more people would be able to hack biology by programing the genetic parts if the cost of genetic engineering decreases and regulatory and ethical problem is alleviated to the some degree. This year, our iGEM project is strongly oriented to Bio-art. Since bio-art is a crossover of art and the biological science, it possesses a lot of issue and possibility with respect to "ethics" and "New media". Considering these aspect, we discuss bio-art in the context of synthetic biology.


Why Bio-art now?

Everything can be art, applicable universally. The use of Biology and its protocol and tools in art is actively pursued in these days. Although bio-art is one of contemporary art, the origin of it can be linked to two originators. The one is an artist, photographer Edward Steichen, and the other a scientist, the discoverer of penicillin, Alexandr Fleming. We don't intend to elaborate their works, meanings and effect. But the important things are that their works didn't attract much attention and, more importantly, were reductively defined only in the terms of beauty.

Recent bio-art is more controversial and can't be judged only in the term of beauty. For example, by using genetic engineering and other biological technique, they created transgenic organism. Artists try to criticize or raise a number of issues related to current biotechnology such as gene recombination, gene diagnosis and cloning technology. These bioethical issues are closely linked to synthetic biology. To tackle these issues, interdisciplinary work between scientist and artist must be needed.

Implement

Under construction


Reference