Overview
We firmly believe that wet-lab experiments involve not only technical challenges but also the social and environmental responsibilities of scientific research.
- Systematic Training and Supervision:
Before conducting experiments, all team members completed the university's systemic safety learning and assessment. All experiments were conducted in a BSL-1 laboratory, strictly adhering to biosafety regulations, and were under the continuous supervision of university lab technicians and PhD students.
- Biological Risk Control:
The E. coli BL21(DE3) strain we used is a non-pathogenic engineered bacterium. All contaminated waste materials were processed through autoclave sterilization, eliminating environmental and personnel risks at the source.
- Official Compliance:
All experiment safety forms were submitted to iGEM Headquarters on time.
- Interdisciplinary Cooperation and Public Outreach:
We actively embrace social educational responsibility by translating safety principles and research findings into accessible and communicable formats.
Cooperation and Public Outreach
Safety activities are not limited to the laboratory. We plan, participate, and design to further enhance their significance.
- Visual Science Communication :
We collaborated with multiple teams to write the Chassis Strain Comic White Paper, which specifically provides detailed introductions to safety and risk dimensions. This content was ultimately presented in a comic format, exhibited on our respective social media platforms, and compiled into a book for attendees to read at the Paris venue. Through public outreach, the safety issues of synthetic biology were once again highlighted and promoted.
- Roadmap and Action Initiative :
We participated in the drafting of Enzymatic Cycle: A Synthetic Biology Roadmap and Action Initiative towards a Plastic Closed Loop Economy white paper. This document gathered discussions from teams across different tracks and research backgrounds on plastic pollution control and environmental issues.
As a Software & AI track iGEM team, we are committed to responsibly analyzing and addressing the knowledge gaps in the application of advanced technologies.We were responsible for writing the relevant content in the white paper. Beyond conventional artificial intelligence analysis, our key contribution was to responsibly analyze and scientifically communicate the risks and safety associated with AI products, particularly those related to plastic biodegradation research.
This work aims to close the gap in the detailed understanding of AI risks in this field. We believe that further dissemination will contribute to the better and safer development of both synthetic biology and artificial intelligence.
Summary
Our project considers biosafety and social responsibility as foundations equally important to scientific exploration.
On the experimental level, we strictly adhere to BSL-1 standards, utilize the non-pathogenic E. coli BL21(DE3) strain, and implement autoclave sterilization for all contaminated waste, ensuring the safety of personnel and the environment. In terms of responsibility and dissemination, we engaged in interdisciplinary collaboration to create the Chassis Strain Comic White Paper for public science communication. As a Software & AI team, we proactively analyzed and disseminated information on the potential risks of AI in biodegradation research, committing to ensuring that our research outcomes are safely and transparently adopted by the scientific community and society in the future.