Public Perceptions

Publication • 09/18/08 Poll: Risks and Benefits of Synthetic Biology and Nanotechnology
Nearly nine in 10 Americans say they have heard just a little or nothing at all about synthetic biology
Publication • 09/29/09 Nanotechnology, Synthetic Biology, & Public Opinion
90 percent of Americans think that the public should be better informed about the development of cutting-edge technologies.
Project News • 07/20/09 Synthetic Biology on the Radio
Synthetic Biology Project director discusses opportunities and challenges of synthetic biology on The Kojo Nnamdi Show (NPR).
Project News • 06/04/10 Rogue Scientists and an Experiment Gone Wrong
SPLICE is a theatrical depiction of rebellious scientists manipulating DNA. Share your thoughts about the movie.
Publication • 11/01/08 Trends in American & European Press Coverage of Synthetic Biology
Tracking the last five years of media coverage
Project News • 05/20/09 Synthetic Biology in High Places
Project scholar presented recent research findings on the public perception of synthetic biology before the European Group on Ethics.
Past Event • 02/20/09 Upcoming Synbio Events around the World
A periodically updated list of synthetic biology events and conferences
Project News • 07/21/09 Synthetic Biology Project Director speaks at NAS
David Rejeski discusses “Public Perceptions On The Technological Frontier” at the National Academies.
Past Event • 09/29/09 Nanotechnology, Synthetic Biology, and Biofuels
For the fourth year in a row, Hart Research and the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies conducted a representative national telephone survey on public awareness of nanotechnology, and for the second year in a row the public was also asked about synthetic biology.
Project News • 11/09/10 Fictional Super Cell Market Imagines Synbio Products
Super Cell is a fictional supermarket offering speculative products, which are all based on synthetic biology.
Project News • 03/31/11 Eurobarometer Report finds Europeans largely unaware of synthetic biology
Europeans consider genetically modified food to be probably unsafe or even harmful, they are largely unaware of synthetic biology—only 17% of Europeans have heard of the science.
Project News • 04/26/10 Reinventing Technology Assessment for the 21st Century
A new report defines the criteria for a new technology assessment function in the United States, emphasizing the need to incorporate citizen-participation methods to complement expert analysis.
Past Event • 12/15/11 Generic Lessons Learned about Societal Responses to Emerging Technologies Perceived as Involving Risks
Join us to discuss how well we have managed the risks associated with advances like nanotechnology and synthetic biology.
Publication • 03/25/09 New Life, Old Bottles
Examines the benefits and drawbacks of using the existing U.S. regulatory framework for biotechnology to cover the new products and processes enabled by synthetic biology.
Past Event • 06/24/09 Ethical Issues in Synthetic Biology
A new report from the Hastings Center and Synthetic Biology Project calls for a comprehensive approach to addressing ethical and social issues of emerging technologies as a whole so that scarce intellectual resources can be used optimally.
Past Event • 03/11/10 BioSecurity: How synthetic biology is changing the way we look at biology and biological threats
The rapidly growing network of do-it-yourself biologists has attracted the attention of both innovators, looking to mobilize a network of creative minds, and security experts, worrying about the proliferation of new capacities to create biological organisms.
Project News • 12/17/08 Importance of Synthetic Biology in the 21st Century
The Synthetic Biology Project is being launched to identify gaps in our knowledge of the potential risks of the field, explore public perceptions towards it, and examine governance options that will both ensure public safety and facilitate innovation. Take the quiz! Winners Announced!
Project News • 09/02/10 Public Policy Scholar Pauwels Testifies before Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) Meeting of Experts at the United Nations
The August 25 Seminar on the margins of the 2010 meetings of the BWC marked the culmination of 3 years of engagement on synthetic biology. The Seminar briefed the BWC community on non-security challenges raised by synthetic biology and illustrated how they are being dealt with.
Past Event • 03/25/09 Popping the Cork on Synthetic Biology
“Laws like the Toxic Substances Control Act and Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act simply were not designed to handle 21st century advances.,” contends Michael Rodemeyer in his new report, New Life, Old Bottles…
Past Event • 09/09/10 Synthetic Biology: What does the public think?
Researchers at the J.C. Venter Institute announced the creation of a bacterial cell controlled by a synthesized genome, a significant milestone in the emerging field of synthetic biology. But did anyone in the public listen?
Past Event • 11/14/08 Synthetic Biology: Coming up Fast!
Synthetic biology is being touted by scientists and venture capitalists as “the next big thing.” Researchers claim to be on the brink of creating artificial life in a laboratory and making the world’s first synthetic microbes. But will the promises and pitfalls of synthetic biology catch governments, ethicists, experts, and the public by surprise?
Project News • 05/27/09 Synthetic Biology on the Rise
A new interactive map shows a growing landscape of synthetic biology activity throughout the United States and Europe.
Project News • 09/09/10 The Public Looks at Synthetic Biology—Cautiously
A new poll conducted by Hart Research Associates and the Synthetic Biology Project finds that two-thirds of Americans think that synthetic biology should move forward, but with more research to study its possible effects on humans and the environment.
Project News • 09/30/08 Americans Don’t Know What’s Coming
A groundbreaking poll has found that nearly nine in 10 Americans say they have heard just a little or nothing at all about the emerging field of synthetic biology. This new insight into limited public awareness of emerging technologies comes on the cusp of a major leadership change in the nation’s capital.
Past Event • 09/30/08 Nanotechnology? Synthetic Biology? Hey, What’s That?
Nanotechnology and synthetic biology are two of the most exciting fields in science. They are the focus of venture capitalists, government and university laboratories, major corporations, and startup companies. But how much have Americans heard about these two fields that promise to change virtually every aspect of their lives?
Project News • 03/25/09 Synthetic Biology: The Next Biotech Revolution Is Brewing
The safety of early applications of synthetic biology may be adequately addressed by the existing regulatory framework for biotechnology, but further advances in this emerging field are likely to create significant challenges for U.S. government oversight, according to a new report.
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