SBE-UKRI: Future Organisms: Synthetic Genomics and Responsible Research and Innovation in the UK, the USA and Japan

这个项目的目的有两个：对合成基因组学进行社会科学调查，并通过这项研究开发负责任的研究和创新的新方法。合成基因组学是一个新兴的科学领域，使科学家能够在染色体甚至整个基因组的规模上设计和构建比以往任何时候都更大的DNA片段。它可能会给世界带来新类型的有机体。合成基因组学正在吸引资金，并在国际上形成势头。然而，关于油田方向的决定是由一小群科学家和工程师做出的。尽管有些人意识到这些决定应该得到更广泛的思考和审查，但该领域缺乏确保其纳入不同观点的机制。我们的目标是通过对合成基因组学进行第一次社会科学分析来解决这个问题，明确旨在开启关于该领域的讨论和辩论。负责任的研究和创新(RRI)是一种管理新的科学和技术领域的方法，近年来获得了吸引力。然而，RRI目前还没有很好的装备来从事大规模的、国际的、协作的科学工作，例如在合成基因组学方面进行的工作。当RRI被实施时，它通常涉及到一个社会科学家被要求为单个科学研究项目‘提供’RRI，限制了他们可以参与更广泛的治理结构的程度。相比之下，对新兴科学和技术进行的独立社会科学研究往往脱离其研究对象，几乎没有提供塑造其发展的机会。通过开发一种参与但自主的合成基因组学方法，我们的项目将通过提供社会科学与新兴科学领域接触的替代模式来扩展和丰富RRI。我们对合成基因组学的跨国调查将涵盖英国、美国和日本-这三个国家在该领域投入了大量资金。我们将分析科学文献和政策文件，并利用我们的地理分布优势，对正在开发合成基因组学的主要地点进行多地点人种学研究，并采访我们三个国家的关键参与者。我们的研究分为三个工作流程：国家、生物和能力。国家工作流程审查合成基因组学的国家和国际政策和供资战略以及其中所包含的叙述和期望。生物工作流程探索了合成基因组学如何通过将人类定位为其他物种的设计者来改变人类与其他生物的关系。能力工作流探索社会科学家在该领域的作用。我们将在我们与科学家、工程师、政策制定者、艺术家、设计师和其他利益攸关方的现有联系的基础上，通过召开一系列实验研讨会，就该领域的轨迹和未来展开辩论。我们的最后一个研讨会将汇集来自我们三个国家在合成基因组学及相关领域工作的社会科学家，分享我们的经验，探索RRI的新方法，并为未来的工作建立联系。

The aim of this project is two-fold: to carry out a social scientific investigation into synthetic genomics and to develop new approaches to responsible research and innovation through this investigation.Synthetic genomics is an emerging scientific field that makes it possible for scientists to design and build larger stretches of DNA than ever before, at the scale of chromosomes and even whole genomes. It could potentially bring new types of organism into the world. Synthetic genomics is attracting funding and building momentum internationally. However, decisions about the direction of the field are being made by small groups of scientists and engineers. Although some are aware that these decisions deserve broader reflection and scrutiny, the field lacks mechanisms to ensure it incorporates diverse perspectives. We aim to address this problem by conducting the first social scientific analysis of synthetic genomics explicitly designed to open up discussion and debate about the field.Responsible research and innovation (RRI) is an approach to governing new scientific and technological fields that has gained traction in recent years. However, RRI is currently not well equipped to engage with large-scale, international, collaborative scientific work such as that undertaken in synthetic genomics. When RRI is implemented it often involves an individual social scientist being tasked to 'deliver' RRI for a single scientific research project, limiting the extent to which they can engage with broader governance structures. In contrast, independent social scientific research conducted on emerging science and technology often remains detached from its object of study, offering little opportunity to shape its development. By developing an approach to synthetic genomics that is engaged but autonomous, our project will extend and enrich RRI by offering an alternative model for social scientific engagement with emerging scientific fields.Our cross-national investigation of synthetic genomics will encompass the United Kingdom, the United States and Japan - three countries that are investing heavily in the field. We will analyse scientific literature and policy documents, and - taking advantage of our geographic distribution - conduct a multi-sited ethnography of the major sites in which synthetic genomics is being developed and interview key actors in our three countries. Our research is organised into three workstreams: Countries, Creatures and Capacities. The Countries workstream examines national and international policy and funding strategies for synthetic genomics and the narratives and expectations embedded within them. The Creatures workstream explores the ways in which synthetic genomics alters human relationships with other organisms by positioning humans as designers of other species. The Capacities workstream explores the role of social scientists within the field.We will build on our existing connections with scientists, engineers, policy makers, artists, designers, and other stakeholders to 'open-up' debate about the trajectories and futures of the field by convening a series of experimental workshops. Our final workshop will bring together social scientists from our three countries working in synthetic genomics and related fields to share our experiences, explore new approaches to RRI, and build connections for future work.