Introduction

Jianlong Li, online name Sheldon, Ph.D. in theoretical Physics from Zhejiang University, member of China Science Writers Association, organizer of Pineapple Science Prize, and founder of science cartoon public account "sheldon42". His interests include how to use vivid cartoons and interesting stories to let readers initially understand the latest progress of certain physics research. Sheldon Science Comics Studio, where Dr. Lee works, uses picture books, comics, and animated shorts to bring cutting-edge scientific knowledge to life in funny short stories with a light sense of humor.

Q&A

What's the difference between your popular science comics and other popular science comics on the market?

There are references for my popular science comics. With the title of Ph.D. of Physics of Zhejiang University, I have always strictly demanded myself. As the sole copywriter in the studio, I had to read a lot of academic papers and materials before creating each comic script. After digesting the content, the knowledge is transformed into a comic story that ordinary people can understand, and the picture of each page is designed and drawn。 It usually takes a week to complete such a complicated process.

What is your new understanding of entrepreneurship?

The road to entrepreneurship is undoubtedly difficult. The truth of "do what you like to do" is that "many things are decided by the Party A". Behind "Pay yourself", there is the heavy pressure of "get everything done by yourself".

Outlook

We planed to organizen our education and public engagement activities based on this rule.

Introduction

Ming Chen is professor of School of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University. He is also leader in bioinformatics.

Contribution

Prof. Chen is an experienced mentor at iGEM. As for the seletion of the research topic, he find it a bit risky but greatly ground-breaking to choose the topic of "plant vaccine", which is the rudiment of FloraSentinel now. He reminded us of the criteria for different awards, such as the innovation of the idea, the fluency of presentation, and the level of completness of the model. He suggested that we should cover every aspect to show our comprehensiveness of thinking. As for future plan, he emphasized feasibility analysis, including technical route, species involved, antigen and antibody expression system, biosafety issues, environmental pollution issues and so on.

Implementation and Outlook

In fact, almost most of us wanted to choose this topic before talking with Prof. Chen, but with a kind of fear of uncertainty. Thanks to Prof. Chen's reassuring answer, we made up our mind to explore a world that is full of uncertainty as well as excitement. We also noted down his suggestion on preparation on our working plan.

Introduction

Jianxiang Wu, deputy director of Institute of Biotechnology, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University. He is mainly engaged in the research of molecular interaction between plant virus and host and vector, breeding of new species resistant to plant virus disease, early warning of crop virus disease and green prevention and control.

Contribution

Prof. Wu's lab is currently working on single chain antibody fragment (scFv). Regarding antibodies, Prof. Wu suggested that we can also consider using single-chain antibodies instead of nano-antibodies. Because the research of single-chain antibodies is more mature, it is easier for us to obtain sequences, resulting in more advantages in platform expansion. However, the volume of the antibody is relatively large, which may affect the effect of NLR. Regarding the production and preparation of normal nano-antibodies, Prof. Wu pointed out that to prepare general nano-antibodies, we should follow the following steps, selecting pathogenic effector, finding the corresponding gene sequence, heterogeneically expressing the purified effector proteins, immunizing alpacas with purified proteins, and screening nano-antibodies. A series of experiments is also needed to verify. The normal development of an antibody may take two or three years. In the selection of target plants, he pointed out that rice is difficult to be infected by Agrobacterium, and only the protoplast callus can be infected. And TMV does not infect rice. He suggested that we should change the target plants into Solanaceae plants such as tomatoes and peppers, which are friendlier to both agrobacterium and tobacco Mosaic virus. Experimentally, he suggested that effectors without ready-made nanoantibodies could be expressed using effector-GFP fusion, where GFP anti-nanobodies could be used for experimental verification.

Outlook

We will analyze the pros and cons of single-chain antibodies and nano-antibodies. We will adjust our experiment plan according to Prof. Wu's suggestions.

Introduction

Zhenghe Li, professor of College of Agriculture and Biotechnology. He is mainly engaged in molecular biology of plant negative strand RNA viruses, antiviral target mining and utilization, viral vector development and gene editing and synthetic biology applications.

Contribution

He suggested we look at the motifs of the 5mc modification. He pointed out that TLS is weak in mobility, and we need to think about how to further enhance mobility, for example by modifying its sequences. Because different viruses have different replicases, different sequences of 3 'UTR, and different TLS effects, he suggested that we try different viruses as the skeleton. Because we have a long genetic pathway, we need to improve the plasmid carrying capacity. He also suggested that the platform could be used to carry out seed gene editing with the Cas9 system.

Outlook

We found the relationship between TLS structure and its mobility in the literature, and completed a comparative experiment on the mobility of different TLS structures. His proposal for gene editing greatly broadened our thinking, which led to more in-depth literature reading and discussion.

Introduction

Yan Liang, professor and doctoral supervisor of the Institute of Biotechnology, Zhejiang University. The laboratory focuses on the recognition mechanism and signal transduction of plant and microbial interactions.

Contribution

In terms of plant immunity, Professor Liang suggested that we should think about solving the problem of immune leakage to avoid causing excessive immunity. She also gave us a lot of help in the experiment. She provided us with tobacco and middle-flower 11 rice strains from which we obtained the pikm2 sequence. She also taught us how to cultivate tobacco and rice, and how to inject tobacco.

Introduction

Prof. Hu is associate Professor in Peking University Law School.

Contribution

It is a mistake to treat general-purpose systems technology as a proprietary technology with a single function. We should distinguish between different forms of technology. One is technology that can exist independently, such as a single patent; The second is the technology as a system, such as the operating system, which is multifunctional, integrated through interfaces and platforms; The third is the technology as a mode of production, which is often a combination of technologies, such as the Internet, featuring scale effect.

The meaningful question is not to find out whether a new technology is replacing the old one, because the judging standard may vary from person to person, but to pay attention to how the production of the new technology organized by the platform can further evolve and whether it is stable enough to create a relatively independent economic cycle.

The widespread adoption of some important technologies will reshape the law, and the relationship between law and technology may be reversed. When technology has been disintegrated and restructured, how does the law apply? The law is in fact constantly changing through the "general law + special law".

The interaction between legal and technological systems is dynamic. It is necessary to first see whether the system is stable and respond to the needs of the system on a stable basis.

The first stage: To observe the changes and development of an emerging technology and service in the initial stage, especially how it is developed within the existing new economic model and how it is integrated with the emerging business model. The law remains open in this process.

The second stage: distinguish between single-function technology and general-purpose technology, so as to track and observe early how this technology will further expand into the platform economic model, and solve the conflict and unfair competition problems between existing economic interests in the process. If there is a risk of rapid expansion, it needs to stop in time.

The third stage: Gradually confirm the legitimacy of emerging technologies under the platform model, through the reinterpretation of existing laws, amendments or formulation of new laws and regulations to confirm, and promote the establishment and improvement of new infrastructure.

The fourth stage: Strengthen more detailed supervision on the basis of confirming the production mode, including formulating technical standards, reviewing user agreements, promoting daily supervision, etc., gradually solving the problem of reasonable distribution.

Outlook

We decided to learn more deeply about the legal problem of technology, especially synthetic biology and keep in mind not to view it as one single product, instead regard it as a mode of production. We did research with the help of friends from Law School and discovered that the law formally changes in this process, not only maintaining the existing principles and rules in form, but also gradually updating the content to adapt to the particularity of new technologies.

Introduction

Prof. Shen is associate Professor in Law School, China University of Political Science and Law.

Q&A

iGEM is an open source platform, where resources such as biobricks can be shared. But if you apply for a patent, it will be protected. What should be encouraged, property rights protection or open source sharing?

From the perspective of economics, the problem is not on the consumer demand side, but whether there is enough production initiative. If the price is set at zero marginal cost, the market will no longer produce. In the production process, information is both input and output, which means production and consumption are synchronic symbiosis. Strengthening copyright raises the price that those who invest in producing information must pay to past investors. If the law overcharges innovators, not only will we have too little information to consume today, but less innovation will happen in the future.
    To better understand the issue, we need to distinguish between static efficiency and dynamic efficiency. In the short term, in the transaction of information and culture, copyright is a barrier preventing public goods from entering the public domain, leading to low static efficiency. While, in the long run, if the author knows that his work is available for free, he will not produce it. That is dynamic efficiency. To sum up, patent or copyright is sacrificing static efficiency in exchange for dynamic efficiency. While it does hinder trading in the short term, it will encourage more production in the long run.

Outlook

We better understand the significance of patent after Prof. Shen's explanations and decided to apply for a patent when our project is more mature. We will reach out to some specialists in this area to consult the application process and get prepared.

Introduction

Xinyu Xiu is currently studying philosophy at Tsinghua University. Her works are scattered in Tianya, Shanghai Literature, Science Fiction World and so on.

Q&A

Does deduction lead to an unrealistic imagination?

Even absurd predictions are valuable and may have some social metaphorical meaning. It is meaningful to respect the process of science fiction deduction. Beginners may attach too much importance to settings and pursue perfect settings. But people and technology interact, and technology is sometimes designed to accentuate humanity.

What do you think of helping the disadvantaged groups?

If something works for some disadvantaged groups, it will inevitably meet more needs and achieve better results, which can also serve normal groups, so it must work for everyone.

Implementation and Outlook

That's the example of art contributing to scientific development. We can also make use of art to educate the public.

At CCiC, the ZJU-China team presented the Flora Sentinel project, which attracted many other teams. After our presentation, many teams asked questions. For example, "How to balance the relationship between guaranteed yield and enhanced immunity?" "How can interchangeability be achieved in plant vaccines?" These questions inspired us a lot, and we improved our project by reading articles and consulting experts for these questions, as you can see on this page.

At CCiC, we actively communicated with professors in the synthetic biology direction about synthetic biology issues. At the lecture of Prof. Wang Baojun, we had a deeper understanding of the research on the frontiers of synthetic biology. At the same time, we realized the importance of improving the synthetic biology program with the practical needs of the society. In the later Human Practice, we focus on researching the real world pesticide needs and combining them with the possibilities in scientific research, striving to make our project design more effective and refined.

Contribution

In the sharing session, we learned the details that entrepreneurs should take note of when designing their business blueprint. In order to go for a better presentation of the business plan, you need to use tools such as Gantt Chart, UVP, IP strategy, etc. We have applied the business knowledge we learned in this sharing session on our business design page. You can refer to our entrepreneurship page for details.

Introduction

Established in August 2020, with the purpose of "independent research and development, green ecology", centering on RNAi technology, Shanghai Zhisheng Yougu Biotechnology Co., LTD has established an AI-based intelligent agricultural disease and pest RNAi target gene screening system, an industrial dsRNA production system, and a new dsRNA delivery system of RNA biopesticide full chain research and development and production process.

Q&A

Is it time-consuming for testing and approval?

From the perspective of regulations, every point in this project may face very strict auditing requirements, so it can be very difficult in the regulation process, especially in the short term. The legislation is still in an intense research stage, and legislation may still take some time.

What is the business model you recommend?

Assuming there are no problems with legislation and approval, the two key issues are cost and capacity. If a completely new thing wants to face the market, it is still likely to be promoted by national behavior at the beginning, such as plant protection departments and agricultural departments at various provincial or municipal levels, and promoted and applied by administrative means. After you have established some market scale, it is better to go to toB or toC.

What is the pesticide market size and current situation?

In the current global scale, pesticides are about 50 billion to 60 billion US dollars, and in China is about 70 billion or 80 billion yuan. Overall, biopesticides can account for about 5% of this share.

Are there any competitive advantages of RNA pesticides?

At present, biopesticides are being vigorously promoted in various countries. For example, the European Union has made it clear that 50% of chemical pesticides will be replaced by 2030. If you can achieve low-cost, large-scale production, and the effect is relatively stable, it is still a competitive advantage.

How to operate and manage a biotechnology companies?

There are two kinds of biotechnology companies, one is a sales company, and the other is a research and development company, and the research and development company has no revenue for a long time. For example, a new pesticide product, from the establishment of the project until the product can be obtained, the investment is conservatively estimated to be hundreds of millions. In this process, we can only do some commercialization of early products or by-products, and do a lot of financing to supplement the capital gap. Trading companies have some ready-made products to market, which makes it relatively better. But trading companies also have to decide on market model, such as how to promote the product, how relevant is the technology to the product. Every company has a unique operating model. For R & D companies, the R & D department will also be divided into many groups according to the main body's R & D ideas. At the same time, there are also a lot of support departments, some researching the relevant policies and how to register pesticides. If there is a product, there will certainly be a corresponding sales model and sales personnel.

What is the length and cost of a patent application?

Generally speaking, a patent needs an 18-month application cycle. A longer one may be two or three years, while the fastest expedited channel from application to authorization needs at least one year. The application cost of a patent is about three to five thousand yuan. If you want a third-party institution to help to do documentation, it may cost seven or eight thousand yuan. The overall amount is more than 10,000 yuan. One year after applying for a domestic patent, you can apply for an international patent. First, the PCT is requested, which probably takes 8 to 16 months to review. After that, it will probably take nearly a year to enter the national audit, and it will take four to five years to get an internationally licensed patent. But in fact, the PCT has already entered the protection stage.

How about market acceptance for new crop diseases control methods?

For farmers, the only point of concern is low cost and high efficiency. For agricultural products with relatively high economic added value, such as fruits or vegetables, as long as the product is effective and the pesticide residue is relatively low to pass the detection standard, they may be more inclined to accept this new technology.

When developing pesticides, which is better, more specific or broad spectrum?

It's a question of balance between specific or broad-spectrum regime. Because even chemical pesticides do not prevent all diseases. An ideal pesticide should have the ability to provide a broad spectrum control of the major pests and disease in a particular growing season of a crop.

What is the general development process of a product?

After verifying the feasibility of the process in the laboratory stage, we enter the production test. At this stage, each device and production scale is scaled up. If there is no problem, it will continue to expand production, and the scale may increase tonnage. After stability, every link will be adjusted to maximize productivity or conversion rate to reduce costs.

Implementation and Outlook

We adjust our project design to meet the standard of "providing a broad spectrum control of the major pests and disease in a particular growing season of a crop" by using AI to predict the structure of antigens and design specific VHH-NLR which target that antigen.

We thought of applying for a patent, but are also concerned that it will block the way of spreading the technology to more people. Therefore, we consulted Weiwei Shen and other experts for further information.

Contribution

On August 1st, ZJU-China's representatives exchanged views with Professor Li Mingyuan, Vice President of the Chinese Institute of Medicine, University of Macau, and Ni Jun, Associate Professor of the School of Life Sciences, Shanghai Jiao Tong University. The topics covered medicine, environmental protection, agricultural production and other fields. The conversation allowed us to see the infinite possibilities of synthetic biologyinfinite possibilities of synthetic biology, which can be applied to the development of new drugs, for example, the synthesis of traditional Chinese medicine active ingredients to treat cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, neurodegenerative diseases, cancer and other diseases that seriously endanger human health and life. Synthetic biology can also help achieve the goal of carbon neutrality, such as the use of carbon negative cell factories. The modification of photosynthetic microorganisms can directly convert greenhouse gas CO2 into valuable products. However, it's not easy to apply synthetic biology technology into production. Since there is no small difference between laboratory results and market demand, we should fully understand the market status quo, in order to do valuable scientific research for social development.

Contribution

On August 5th, we were invited to participate in the "Approaching Synthetic Biology - 2023iGEM Exchange", attended by BIO+SHANGHAI, BIO+CHINA, OTIA HANGZHOU, ZJUT-China and ZJU-China. At the meeting, each team exchanged brochures. The representatives of each team made a detailed introduction and presentation of the research projects of their teams this year. After the presentation, the students and teachers of other teams put forward questions and suggestions. We also exchanged experiments and preparation experiences before and after the meeting. For our project, a teacher asked us about the source of RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp). In fact, RdRp is responsible for the replication and transcription of the RNA virus genome. It had already been used for antiviral drug targets and mRNA vaccines. The groundbreaking aspect of our work is its application to plants.

There is also concern about the feasibility. For example in the application of transgenic, Agrobacterium needs to pass through the callus to play a role. Can spraying make Agrobacterium infect the leaves?

Implementation and Outlook

We decided to look into the problem in more depth.

Introduction

Zhejiang Agriculture and rural Department of planting is responsible for pesticide audits.

Q&A

What are the relevant laws, regulations and approval processes for saRNA-based crop disease control programs based on Agrobacterium?

If it is a biopesticide, it is necessary to register the pesticide first, and the manufacturer can produce it after registration. If you don't have production qualifications and conditions, it should be entrusted to other manufacturers for production, and the registration should be applied by the manufacturer. If it is not a pesticide, since I do not know much about the approval of biological agents, you can consult the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of the People's Republic of China. The laws for pesticide approval are determined by state departments.

Outlook

We planed to consult Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of the People's Republic of China, which may have the power to decide whether our product is pesticide or not.

Q&A

How are pesticides defined? Is our project a pesticide?

I have no idea. You can refer to relevant laws.

Outlook

We decided to find out the relevant legal provisions on our own and consult the company's legal counsel.

Introduction

Realmeta dedicated clinical infection diagnosis, to optimize the efficiency of data analysis of laboratory physicians, improve the ability of clinicians to interpret reports. They are committed to becoming the partner of choice for open ecology in the field of infection diagnosis.

Q&A

From the perspective of microbial evolution, does our solution have any advantages over traditional pesticides in terms of causing microbial resistance?

The traditional intervention of pathogenic bacteria is generally through the use of antibacterial drugs, such as through its transmembrane proteins, to treat pathogens after infection. But what you are working on now is essentially an autoimmune response to the pathogen, using self-transcribed RNA. First of all, from the logic of this approach, it has an advantage over traditional drugs for resistance or pathogen resistance, because it depends on auto-immunity. Moreover, the pathogens you're targeting are mainly bacteria and fungi. From viruses to bacteria to fungi, the mechanism of microbial resistance will become more and more complex, and the more complex the structure of biological systems, the stronger its stability will be, and the weaker its variability will be. From an evolutionary point of view, the evolution rate of fungi is relatively slow compared to that of microorganisms. The evolution rate of virus is definitely the fastest. If it is for the virus, there may inevitably be a series of problems such as immune escape. But for fungi, this approach is relatively effective for overcoming drug resistance. But after using this method on a large scale, both the domestication of the host and the microorganisms must be reciprocal. There is not enough data to support the mechanism of some drug resistance in plants themselves or in plant-related pathogens, so it is difficult to judge the actual effect of this method, and it can only be a theoretical judgment.

Can metagenomic sequencing predict the window period of crop disease control?

First of all, we need to clarify how to define the window period. Is it early infection, infection without disease, or microecology changes? Now some studies have found that after the soil microecology or the microecology of the plant itself is changed, the plant will have a high-risk period of disease and insect infestation. Metagenomic methods can be used to detect microecological changes, early pathogen infection or temporary absence of disease. For the non-onset window period of infection, if we know the pathogen, we can use some other detection methods, not necessarily the use of metagenomic large-scale detection.

Is it reasonable to predict the window period of crop disease control through metagenomic sequencing?

The cost depends on the specific calculation, such as how much scope, how much collection volume, and how long the inspection cycle is. This is like the relationship among statistical sample, population, and sample size. Similar to the nucleic acid test of the COVID-19 outbreak, a mixed test of 10 samples or a single tube test are different. Calculation may require the design of an economic model.

Introduction

Li Shiyuan, an experienced science popularizer in synthetic biology, author of wechat public account "Transformants", legal representative of Shanghai Transformants Information Technology Co., LTD.

Q&A

What is your original intention to create this public account?

There are two main purposes. First of all, I think synthetic biology is very interesting, and I hope that by doing some science popularization, I can attract more people into this industry. The second is to put some pressure on myself to keep learning and output. And of course it's an opportunity to get to know great people like you who love synthetic biology. Also, helping advance the synthetic biology industry by making connections.

In your opinion, what are the characteristics of effective science popularization?

Probably most people think that science must be interesting and funny to attract people, in fact, these is just formality. I value the kernel itself. In other words, the former makes 90% of people see, laugh, and call it a day. The latter makes less than 10% of people watch it and have some thinking. I prefer the latter.

What do you think popularizers of science can do about the social acceptance of synthetic biology?

Maybe to offer more objective application descriptions and future prospects.

Implementation and Outlook

We decided to offer more objective application descriptions and future prospects in our education. For example, adding references to popular science tweets makes it easier for readers to learn what they're interested in.

Introduction

Jijie Chai, Professor of Plant Immunology, School of Life Sciences, Westlake University.

Contribution

(1) He recognized innovation as a new delivery method for expressing proteins.

(2) He suggested using small molecule protein interactions to demonstrate innovation and platform scalability.

(3) He suggested simplifying the genetic circuit to reduce the difficulty and cost of experiments. Think about whether the added element is necessary, such as whether the lifespan of the RNA really has a significant impact on the efficacy of prevention. After reflection, we found that the self-replicating enzyme module is necessary under the premise of non-transgenic instantaneous transfer.

(4) The advantage of SAR is that it is broad spectrum, and the harm to the plant itself is relatively small, because its relative strength is weaker than ETI. The strength of the immune response is difficult to quantify. Cell death does not necessarily occur with immunity. If global immunity can trigger overimmunity and lead to plant decay, TLS is not necessarily needed.

Outlook

We decided to go to Zhejiang University to consult structural biology teachers about antigen and antibody matching.

Introduction

Helen A. Regenstein Distinguished Service Professor of Classics and the Program in Gender Studies.

Q&A

What do you think about the ethical issues involved in synthetic biology or gene editing technology?

The ethics of science and technology is about practice instead of ideas. I think what we should do is not making judgement of what is right or wrong, but instead think of why do we have these questions. The technology itself actually shapes the way we think. If we confine ourselves to this framework, it will bring undesirable effects to society and even the world. The fact itself that we are sitting here discussing technology ethics means we are stepping out of the framework, which is great for all human beings.

Implementation and Outlook

Her answer definitely deepened our understanding of the ethics of science and technology. And we find it more and more important and necessary to invite the public into the discussion of these questions. We planed to discuss the ethical problems on our podcast.

Introduction

He is supporting Nobel Laureate Michael Kremer in founding and leading both the Development Innovation Lab (DIL) and the larger Development Economics Center at the University of Chicago as Executive Director.

Q&A

Are there downsides when it comes to scientific development?

Definitely. For example, cobalt is one of the most essential and ubiquitous elements of the modern information economy as it is critical for the rechargeable batteries that make mobile connectivity and electronic vehicles possible. However, its supply-chain, and in particular its extraction, has come under significant scrutiny by local and international advocacy groups concerned about child labor and other threats to the health and safety of miners and mining communities. We mapped and then conducted a series of representative surveys in the artisanal mining communities in the “copperbelt” of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) - the location of the the majority of the world's known cobalt reserves. We find that households in these communities are on average poor, heavily reliant on mining and vulnerable to income shocks. Furthermore, 11% of children in these communities work outside of the home, of which 23% work in the mining sector. We find that disengaging from artisanal mining can have detrimental effects for a large number of households living in the DRC copper cobalt belt. Maintained sourcing from ASM, coupled with providing support and incentives to miners, can prevent unintended harm, while reducing the prevalence of child labor. The impact of interventions targeted at reducing child labor should be rigorously evaluated prior to their implementation at scale.

Implementation and Outlook

We learned to view scientific development in a more objective and all-round way. And we are increasingly interested in whether scientific and technological development will widen the gap between the rich and the poor.

Introduction

Dr. Gerald Chan, the cofounder of the Morningside Group, is renowned as a scientist, a businessman and philanthropist. The recipient of six honorary degrees, Dr. Chan is a trustee of Scripps Research Institute, and a member of the Dean's Board of Advisors of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Q&A

What can the COVID-19 pandemic teach us?

The COVID-19 has made us aware of human frailty. We always think that humans dominate the earth, but in fact, humans share the earth with other living things. The epidemic reminds us that the notion that "man can conquer nature" may be exaggerated. We should Revere nature. It's stunning how nature works. No pandemic lasts forever. Pathogens eventually evolve into more infectious but less lethal strains that coexist with humans. Sometimes it's hard to say whether something designed by man is necessarily superior to nature.

How do you view the global epidemic prevention and control?

That's all right. Everyone is crossing the river by feeling the stones, and now the criticism of epidemic prevention and control is a little hindsight. Science is ever evolving, never absolute or fixed. We can only make decisions based on current scientific knowledge.

Are there ethical issues with synthetic biology, genetic engineering or gene editing?

Yes, but it's not that serious. Genetic mutations occur all the time in nature, so human editing will not have serious consequences for the natural world. Personally, I think there is no problem with GMO. The bottom line of biotechnology certainly exists, it just needs to be explored.

Implementation and Outlook

We realize that the attitude towards GMO is not that open in China Mainland than in the US. We planed to search for more literatures and laws to see the current bottom line of biotechnology.

Introduction

David W. Oxtoby has served as President of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences since 2019.

Q&A

What's the relationship between art and science?

Art can help people to think creatively about science. When I was in high school and college, I often found beauty in the chemical and physical formulas. I would recognize the elegance and structure of these formulas in my mind. Art can lead us to valuable creative scientific discoveries. A classic example is the discovery of the benzene ring structure. Kekulé dreamed of a snake biting its own tail in a circular shape, which inspired him to think of the carbon atoms in benzene arranged in a ring. Science can also have a positive impact on art. My father is a mathematician who loves music. Music brings him a lot of creative ideas. Music also contains mathematical knowledge in its melodies and rhythms. So, there is a beautiful connection between art and science.

Implementation and Outlook

We planed to raise discussion of the relationship between science and art among both science students and liberal art or fine art students. Because this kind of discussion is relatively ignored. We also planed to organize or participate activities which combine the two together.

Introduction

Paula A. Johnson is the 14th president of Wellesley College.

Q&A

Some of the perceived increases in gender awareness are superficial, such as the number of women attending a conference. Does women's status depend only on statistics? What is the nature of diversity?

Gender diversity, like racial diversity and cultural diversity, is designed to give different people an equal voice and stimulate social vitality. That's what makes it important.

Implementation and Outlook

We realized that gender equality is not just boys and girls sharing equal resources such as education, it's also about people of all genders sharing the same rights to express themselves. Therefore, in the HER Digital Future Bootcamp, we gave girls an opportunities to express their own ideas of GMO and to picture a better way to control crop diseases.

Introduction

Mitchel Resnick (@mres), LEGO Papert Professor of Learning Research at the MIT Media Lab, develops new technologies and activities to engage people (especially children) in creative learning experiences. His Lifelong Kindergarten research group develops the Scratch programming software and online community, the world's leading coding platform for kids.

Q&A

How to let children carry out effective creative learning?

Creative learning experiences can often be achieved through the four Ps: Project, Passion, Play, Peers. When kids are actively engaged in working on a project, based on their passions, When kids are actively engaged in working on a project, based on their passions, in collaboration with peers in a playful sprit, the outcome is the best. Children should not sit alone and solve problems, but should collect problems and methods and share them with their peers. When I say playful, I didn't mean playing just for fun. But rather an experience, where children dare to try and take risks. In today's society, the ability to create something becomes particularly important, because people need creativity to tackle problems.

Outlook

We decided to organize a lesson for high school students based on experiment, so that they can understand synthetic biology more deeply.

Introduction

Mr. Zuckerman is the current Lieutenant Governor of Vermont.

Q&A

What is true equality? What is the difference between equality and equity? We have a variety of criteria for judging equality, and one of the most representative examples is the discussion about equality and equity. Do we need to give everyone the same amount of aid, or do we need to give everyone the same amount of aid, so that everyone is equal?

Both need to be considered. It is necessary to give help to vulnerable groups, but the form of help and the degree of openness of help need to be considered, so as to avoid causing dissatisfaction of other groups.

Implementation and Outlook

Considering the form of help, we agree with the old saying that "Teaching a man to fish is better than giving him fish". We regard education as one of the most important factors in the process of helping the poor. So we decided to use online platform such as Wechat and Bilibili to educate people and raise their awareness of the control of crop diseases, because in China, even the rural and distant areas have the access to the Internet and celphones.

Introduction

Jeff Wang is the former President of Asia Society.

Q&A

Will technological development widen the gap between the rich and the poor?

The technology itself is not the problem. It really helps to increase productivity. What we have to think about is is higher productivity really better? Is the problem solved by increasing production or efficiency? For example, the emergence of GMO and pesticides has indeed increased food production. But there are other driving forces behind it, such as countries want to reduce the Gini coefficient, so efforts to reduce food prices, But this obviously does not solve the root of the problem. The most serious problem is food waste. In developed countries, 50% of food is wasted every year. It's the same in China. China wastes in transportation, America wastes in supermarkets.

Implementation and Outlook

We decided to add the education of avoiding food waste into our education by doing some research and organizing discussions on the topic so as to raise people's awareness.

Introduction

The boat hosts cutting-edge technology and research equipment, providing one-of- a-kind access to Lake Champlain. The Marcelle Melosira is staffed with a full-time Captain and Research Vessel Specialist who are experienced in aspects of limnological, geological, and fisheries sampling.

Contribution

We were honored to experience scientific research on the University of Vermont's new research and teaching vessel Marcelle Melosira.

We collected water samples to observe microbes under the microscope, and also estimated water clarity. We talked to Jessica, a student of the University of Vermont, who is on board to help with the activity. She said she found it meaningful and fulfilling to participate in scientific population activities like this, where people of all ages and all backgrounds can understand the importance of protecting the water around us by experience the research process by themselves. We are greatly inspired by what she said and decided to find the way that can allow participants to better engage.

Implementation and Outlook

We are greatly inspired and decided to find the way that can allow participants to better engage, for example, giving high school students a chance to experience molecular biology experiments.

Introduction

Vermont Public's Senior Vice President of Audience & Community

Q&A

How can we expand our influence?

The first thing to do is to survey the audience and understand their needs, specifically what information they are missing, and the channels they most often use. Second, try to get the message you want to convey through the media to the audience in the most receptive way. For example, if they don't listen to podcasts, podcasts are not useful for expanding their reach.

Implementation and Outlook

We actually found that the users of podcast are mainly people aged 20-30, which is not desirable for our education. So we decided to post videos on Bilibili and tweets on Wechat.

Introduction

Dennis Wu, a Chinese American community leader, in the office of San Francisco-based Recology, a resource recovery company, where he serves as chairman of the board and independent director.

Q&A

Will technological development widen the gap between the rich and the poor?

I think technology is neutral. We may see the occupiers of capital owning technology and dominating technology at the same time, which may lead to some social problems. But the source of the problem is the social system, or how we allocate and use technology as a resource.

Implementation and Outlook

It's comforting for us to hear that. But we are going to ask more people in the hope of getting different ideas. Also, we will always keep in mind the social needs when designing and applying the technology.

Introduction

Yang Shao is a member of the Fremont City Council in California, representing District 4. Shao was an at-large member of the Fremont Unified School District Board of Education in California.

Q&A

Have San Francisco's biotech technologies , including biomedicine, encountered social or ethical problems during or after entering the market?

Of course it will. Many clinical trials also need to go through an ethics committee.

Will new technologies like gene therapy cause social problems? The feeling that these treatments will be more expensive will increase the gap between the rich and the poor?

America's insurance system has traditionally discouraged the out-of-pocket cost of expensive new treatments. This is certainly going to cause some controversy. It will not widen the income gap between rich and poor. After all, the target group of these new drugs is relatively small.

Implementation and Outlook

Learning about how a mature market is regulated definitely help us picture the future of biotech market in China.

Introduction

Dr Luo is currently the Founder, Chairman and CEO of Alamar Biosciences, a company reinventing immunoassays to enable ultra-sensitive and highly multiplexed liquid biopsy analysis for the early detection of diseases.

Q&A

What is the development history of your company? Do you find a problem and build a company to do research and development, or do you build a company based on the technology?

There are three types of enterprises. The first type is a company based on products and technologies; the second type is a company that provides channels and platforms for users and suppliers; and the third type is a company that aims to improve users' learning or work efficiency. There are two kinds of innovation points of enterprises, technological innovation and mode innovation. Alamar Biosciences belong to the first type of company, which is mainly based on technological innovation. Therefore, it is important to identify the problem first. In fact, it is more important to seize opportunities, such as the market demand for biomarker-based diagnostics, and existing technologies are not accurate. Then find a solution to this problem, and then expand production.

Outlook

His answers were helpful when we think of applying technology into real life.

We went to Xuejun High School in Hangzhou to conduct synthetic biology science and share the Flora Sentinel project with the high school students. During the sharing session, we encouraged the students to ask questions freely and we answered each question carefully. We collected feedback questionnaires from each of the students after the session, asking for their opinions on synthetic biology and Flora Sentinel.

We treasure every opportunity to communicate with others. It was our honor to present a lecture on synthetic biology to younger students. We were pleasantly surprised that many students showed great interest in synthetic biology after the lecture.

According to the feedback from the students, their initial impression of synthetic biology was "interesting". They were surprised and impressed by many previous iGEM projects. In the questionnaire feedback, the average acceptance of synthetic biology products for pesticides was higher than that of synthetic biology products for pharmaceuticals and food, which gives us a glimpse of the commercialization prospects of the Flora Sentinel project (for more information on this, please refer to our Entreprenuership page).

We were also pleasantly surprised by the number of students who came up with ideas and suggestions for the Flora Sentinel project. For example:

"Is it possible to spread antibodies between plants of the same species on their own?"

"How well do farmers accept biopesticides?"

"If these pesticides are used on a large scale, will there be any unintended consequences?"

"How long can it last for one spray to be effective?"

Regarding these questions, we conducted extensive research, consulted with experts in various fields, and ultimately refined our project step by step, as you can see on this page.

Introduction

Mr. Su is one of the leaders of Hangzhou Liangzhu Linhai Vegetable and Fruit Specialized Cooperative (Linhai). His agricultural base is one of more than 500 municipal "food basket" bases recognized by the Hangzhou Agriculture and Rural Affairs Bureau, with a total of 3,200 acres of land contracted to him. Linhai actively practices smart agriculture, maintains good relations with the government, and regularly invites experts to provide professional training to farmers.

Q&A

We would like to know how pesticides are currently used at the base. Is there any preference in the selection of biopesticides and chemical pesticides?

At present, the vast majority of pests and diseases are still solved by chemical pesticides, because chemical pesticides have certain advantages in storage and price compared with biological pesticides. Only when there is a clear need on the demand side, such as supply during large international conferences, will we focus on purchasing biopesticides for use. For chemical pesticide residue testing, government sampling is generally the mainstay.

How does the agricultural base decide what new pesticides to introduce?

Generally the selection of pesticides depends on the list of pesticides given by government experts in the season. In general, the pesticides are purchased according to the government list and sprayed according to the government experts' guidelines.

Implementation and Outlook

His answer made us think about the usage scenarios and entry tracks of pesticides and provided us with inspiration to revamp our product format. We learned that most of the agricultural bases have their own cold storage and have certain conditions for preserving strains. If we want to promote our pesticide, the government is an important part. We conducted more in-depth research on the first batch of users and have a comprehensive portrait.