Dear colleagues
We are organising two sessions related to life sciences and biotechnology in
the context of the 17th Annual STS Conference Graz 2018. Critical Issues in
Science, Technology and Society Studies.
The conference will take place in Graz, Austria on 7-8 May 2018 and we are
inviting you to submit abstracts for oral or poster presentations.
Deadline for submitting abstracts: 19 January 2018
More information: https://conference.aau.at/event/137/
S18: Fostering agricultural biotechnology in line with RRI principles
Organisers: Armin SPK (Graz University of Technology) & Monica RACOVITA
(Alpen-Adria Universitaet Klagenfurt |Wien Graz), Austria
Despite the efforts of the European Union to harness the full economic
potential of biotechnology, the development of a bioeconomy strategy has - so
far - not led to significant progress in agricultural biotechnology. Recent
developments in synthetic biology and genome editing have triggered new hopes
in certain stakeholder groups that the long-standing promises could be finally
fulfilled. Yet the directions to be taken for innovation, commercial
application and risk regulation appear to deeply divide stakeholders. These
challenges seem to acquire another dimension with the European Union decision
to pursuit the strategy of responsible research and innovation. Against this
backdrop the main question for this panel is if and how RRI could help to
proceed with agricultural biotech applications. Contributions on both concepts
and examples of implementing RRI in agricultural biotech research and
innovation practice are particularly invited
S22: Need for responsible biohacking?
Organisers: Armin SPK (Graz University of Technology) & Monica RACOVITA
(Alpen-Adria Universitt Klagenfurt Klagenfurt |Wien Graz), Austria
DIY biology - sometimes dubbed as biohacking - has evolved as citizen science
initiatives in many countries over the recent years. These groups encompass a
wide spectrum - from garage labs with self-made laboratory appliances to
semi-professional community laboratories.
According to their self-portraits, these initiatives are mainly non-profit,
open-access and open-source oriented. Moreover, at least in the EU they still
have to operate under national regulatory oversight and EU law. Recently
concerns have been raised that the novel methods of genome editing would
greatly enhance what could be done in DIY biology labs - implying potential
biosafety and biosecurity issues while operating under the radar of regulatory
oversight. The panel aims to portrait this community (actors, aims,
activities, diversity of groups) by drawing on inputs from STS researchers and
from members of the biohacking community. The main question to investigate is
if genome editing did or could possibly enhance their activities and if so -
if there is a need of mandatory of voluntary standards for the DIY biology
community. A visit to a biohacker's lab in Graz will be organised.
Looking forward to your contributions
Kind Regards
Armin Spk & Moncia Racovita
--
Dr. Armin Spoek
Senior Scientist
TU Graz - Graz University of Technology
Science, Technology and Society Unit
Institute for Interactive Systems and Data Science
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Alpen-Adria-Universitaet Klagenfurt/Vienna/Graz (AAU)
Institute of Science, Technology and Society Studies
https://www.aau.at/technik-und-wissenschaftsforschung/
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IFZ-Inter-University Research Centre for Technology,
Work and Culture
http://www.ifz.at/eng
Schloegelgasse 2, 8010 Graz, Austria
phone: +43 (0)664 88796988
e-mail TU Graz: armin.spoek@tugraz.at.
e-mail AAU: armin.spoek@aau.at
Skype: a.spoek
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