Example sub page

Principles and Practices

Class Assignment

1. First, describe a biological engineering application or tool you want to develop and why. This could be inspired by an idea for your HTGAA class project and/or something for which you are already doing in your research, or something you are just curious about.

Developing genetically engineered bacteria that efficiently degrade organic waste (food scraps, agricultural residues etc.) into nutrient- rich manure that enhances soil fertility. This is because organic waste contributes to methane emissions in landfills and traditional composting can be slow and inefficient leading to its accumulation and causing disasters for example the recent Kitezi landfill collapse where the biggest percentage of the waste was organic and led to destruction of people's property and loss of lives. Engineered bacteria could accelerate decomposition and improve nutrient retention in the resulting manure. This could help smallholder farmers and reduce reliance on chemical fertilizers.

1. Next, describe one or more governance/policy goals related to ensuring that this application or tool contributes to an "ethical" future, like ensuring non-malfeasance (preventing harm). Break big goals down into two or more specific sub-goals. Below is one example framework (developed in the context of synthetic genomics) you can choose to use or adapt, or you can develop your own. The example was developed to consider policy goals of ensuring safety and security, alongside other goals, like promoting constructive uses, but you could propose other goals for example, those relating to equity or autonomy.

Main goal: To ensure safe and responsible use of the engineered bacteria for organic waste degradation

Sub-goals

• Environmental and agricultural safety

       To ensure that the bacteria are not released to the environment and disrupt natural microbial ecosystems in the soil and to verify that the manure produced is safe and free from harmful byproducts.
  

• Human and animal health protection

       To ensure that the bacteria aren't pathogenic nor mutagenic or capable of spreading       beyond intended environments and require rigorous testing before widespread use.
  

• Accessibility and sustainable deployment

       To ensure small- scale farmers and waste management programs have access to this technology.