Risk in synthetic biology: views from the lab

McLeod, Carmen; Saille, Stevienna de; Nerlich, Brigitte

Abstract

How do synthetic biologists think about the risks in their research? This paper reports on a novel elicitation method that got surprising answers. Participants reflected not only on technical, but also on societal and psychological risks and responsibilities. Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI), a governance framework supported by many policy makers in the EU and UK, aims to help ensure that societal, as well as technical risks, are addressed at an early stage. However, defining what those risks are is a complex process. We found that when synthetic biologists were allowed to define 'risk' according to their own concerns, they more often chose to explore social and systemic risks to themselves, to science, and to the purposes and motivations of their own research. We argue that RRI as a science governance framework, and synthetic biology as a science, both need to take the wider concerns of scientists in the field as seriously as other potential impacts of emerging technology.

Citation

McLeod, C., Saille, S. D., & Nerlich, B. (2018). Risk in synthetic biology: views from the lab. EMBO Reports, 19(7), Article e45958. https://doi.org/10.15252/embr.201845958

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Mar 28, 2018
• Online Publication Date: Jun 1, 2018
• Publication Date: Jul 1, 2018
• Deposit Date: May 25, 2018
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 1, 2018
• Journal: EMBO reports
• Print ISSN: 1469-221X
• Electronic ISSN: 1469-3178
• Publisher: EMBO Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 19
• Issue: 7
• Article Number: e45958
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.15252/embr.201845958
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/943566
• Publisher URL: http://embor.embopress.org/content/early/2018/06/01/embr.201845958
• Contract Date: May 25, 2018