ARS Synthetica - A Multimedia Forum Exploring the Artful Design of Living Things

加州大学伯克利分校的合成生物学工程研究中心（SynBERC）正在设计一个交互式门户网站和公共论坛Ars Synthetica，以交流SynBERC对合成生物学的研究，这是一个建立在分子，细胞和系统生物学进步基础上的新兴领域。合成生物学家将很快设计和制造生物实体来完成特定的任务。生物材料特性（基因序列、蛋白质特性、天然遗传电路设计）必须被制定成一套设计规则，用于设计新的生物实体。这些设计问题引起了公众的道德关注，并将成为Ars Synthetica的核心焦点。该论坛将使用Omeka，这是一个开源软件平台，将为研究科学家和公众提供参与社区范围内讨论和辩论的能力，并将进行定制，以利用各种媒体，如文章，照片文章和视频短片解决围绕合成生物学的关键问题。该论坛将提供大量研究文章、数据和相关网站的链接，包括SynBERC的合成生物学网站和当代人类学网站。视频网播将包括针对科学家和公众对合成生物学持不同观点的客座讲师，视频将在YouTube、Flickr和WordPress博客等社交网络上传播。该论坛有可能对公众关于科学的讨论产生重大影响，并为公众参与研究提供一个重要的新榜样，可以在其他科学领域和非正式科学教育中复制。

The Synthetic Biology Engineering Research Center (SynBERC) at the University of California-Berkeley is designing an interactive web portal and public forum, Ars Synthetica, to communicate SynBERC's research on synthetic biology, an emerging field that builds on advances in molecular, cell, and systems biology. Synthetic biologists will soon design and fabricate biological entities to accomplish particular tasks. Biological materials properties (gene sequences, protein properties, natural genetic circuit design) must be formulated into a set of design rules that can be used to engineer new biological entities. These design issues raise ethical concerns among the public and will form the core focus of Ars Synthetica. The forum will use Omeka, an open source software platform that will afford research scientists and the public with the ability to engage in community-wide discussions and debates, and will be customized to utilize a variety of media, such as articles, photo essays, and video vignettes addressing key questions surrounding synthetic biology. The forum will provide numerous links to research articles, data, and relevant websites, including SynBERC's synthetic biology website and the Anthropology of the Contemporary websites. Video webcasts will include guest lecturers with diverse perspectives on synthetic biology aimed at both scientists and the public, which will be disseminated on social networks, such as YouTube, Flickr, and WordPress blogs. The forum has the potential to make a significant impact on public discourse on science, as well as provide an important new exemplar for public engagement in research that can be replicated in other fields of science and informal science education.