Can We Give New Biotech The Green Light?
Date: Monday 13th June 2016
Time: 7pm
Venue: the Victorian Bar, Tron Theatre
Speaker: Donald Bruce, Louise Horsfall & Helen Sang
Can you be ‘green’ and in favour of genetic engineering? Using some novel examples of cutting-edge biotechnology, a panel of experts and innovators invite you to help them explore if and how emerging biotechnologies can contribute to a more sustainable future.
Biotechnology can be defined as techniques that use living organisms to make products that could improve our health and our planet. Humans have been using biotechnology for thousands of years, using fermentation to produce wine, bread and beer and using selective breeding of plants and animals to create improved food products.
Modern biotechnology has the potential to transform the way humans produce food, treat disease and conserve our planet. Genetic modification modifies cells in a way that does not occur naturally, for example by transferring genes across species. Synthetic biology, another type of genetic engineering, is based on the idea that engineering approaches can be used to study biological systems, manipulate them and to produce new ones that do not exist in nature. However, any technology that offers benefits will usually come with risks; at the moment, not enough is known about genetic engineering and its possible impact on the environment and our health for us to make reasoned judgements on their use.
Introducing modern biotechnology into society has caused debate, with many countries deciding to ban its use. Today’s discussion will focus on whether we should use these technologies, how we could use them and whether using them would make us less ‘green’ as a society.
Professor Helen Sang (Roslin Institute) will discuss her work on the development and application of transgenic technologies for genetic modification of chickens.
Dr Louise Horsfall (University of Edinburgh) will discuss her work using synthetic biology to engineer microbes to remove toxic metal ions from polluted soil.
Dr Donald Bruce (Edinethics Ltd) will discuss existing and potential ethical and societal issues surrounding each panellist’s area of work.
Join us at this free event for an evening of interesting discussion and lively debate.
This event is organised by the Biochemical Society and the Royal Society of Biology, as part of Glasgow Science Festival 2016.