Experience

Social and Ethical Issues:

A crucial ethical issue related to this design is the nature of the minimal cell. As a synthetic organism, it gives rise to the question - specifically from a religious or philosophical standpoint - whether humans have the authority to create artificial beings. Moreover, the use of genetic engineering to manipulate the nature of organisms is also subject to criticism for similar ethical issues. Although the CRISPR system is used in our design, CRISPRi utilizes the CRISPR system to repress the expression of certain genes, not to modify the genome of an organism. In addition, it should be noted that the purpose of the project is not to create synthetic beings, but to acquire a better understanding of biological life using the minimal cell.

Health, Safety and Environmental Issues

The experiments for the project were performed in JCVI’s laboratory. Our work and the setting involves various biological and chemical hazards. To prevent possible hazardous impacts on the researchers and on the environment, we are adhering to JCVI’s safety protocols and personal safety measures. As with all laboratory members, we are wearing personal protective equipment when performing experiments to mitigate health and safety issues. To further prevent potential health and safety issues, the experiments are performed in the fume hood when dealing with biochemical hazards, making sure to prevent contamination. In addition, all biological wastes are disposed of in designated biohazard containers while chemical wastes are processed and discarded following JCVI’s guidelines in order to avoid environmental impact. If chemicals were spilled, we were to contact the Laboratory Operations Manager for a proper cleanup procedure.