Is Public Engagement in Bioengineering and Synthetic Biology Improving Research Outcomes?

Engaging diverse publics on the acceptability of large-scale biology applications such as gene drives is held in high regard by the international research community. The development of gene drives to suppress invasive and pest species and improvements to the sustainability of food systems are examples of integrative biology applications in engineering and ecology with the potential for large-scale research impact. Despite a global collective intention to ensure disruptive technologies are in broad alignment with wider social and public values, evidence of applied research organizations integrating the knowledge acquired from social research is hard to find. Concrete mechanisms to ensure public perspectives affect science decision-making are yet to emerge. We offer avenues for making inroads in what we identify as a remaining gap in public engagement research in the fields of synthetic biology and bioengineering.

Three synthetic biology applications and their paths to impact in Australia: Cane toads, bacteriophages, and biomining microbes.

Synthetic biology [synbio] applications have the potential to assist in addressing significant global health and environmental challenges. Australian research institutes are investing in formative research to develop synbio technologies capable of meeting these challenges. Alongside the laboratory research, investigating the broader social, institutional, and ethical considerations that synbio presents has been a priority. We conducted targeted qualitative research to uncover the barriers and opportunities for a range of multisectoral stakeholders identified as potential end-users of the science under development. The research provides insights into the research implementation environment for three synthetic biology applications: (1) gene editing cane toads (Rhinella marina) to reduce their environmental impact; (2) engineering bacteriophages to combat antimicrobial resistance in humans; and (3) engineering microbes to improve biomining efficiency in the mining industry. In-depth interviews (N = 23) with government, research and civil society representatives revealed key challenges in the impact pathway for each application. The strongest themes uncovered during interviews related to perceived negative public attitudes towards genetic technologies, a lack of investment in critical research infrastructure, unclear regulatory pathways and the presence of a strong social and environmental imperative underpinning technology development. These findings reveal specific entry points for further engagement with the most immediate end-users of synbio. Separate from research on public attitudes to synbio, the cases highlight the various hurdles to achieving research impact, according to experts who will likely use, approve or invest in these applications in the future. The themes uncovered inform avenues for strengthening engagement and research coordination in Australia and elsewhere.

Genetically engineered heat-resistant coral: An initial analysis of public opinion.

Rising seawater temperatures are contributing to coral degradation in the Great Barrier Reef. Synthetic biology technologies offer the potential to enhance coral resilience to higher water temperatures. To explore what the public think of genetically engineered coral as a future solution, qualitative responses to an open-ended question in a survey of 1,148 of the Australian public were analysed. More respondents supported the technology (59%) than did not (11%). However, a considerable proportion indicated moderate support (29%). Participants commented about the (moral) right to interfere with nature and uncertainty regarding the consequences of implementing the technology. Participants also mentioned the need to take responsibility and act to save the reef, as well as the benefits likely to result from implementing the technology. Other themes included a desire for further testing and proof, more information, and tight regulation and controls when introducing the technology.

Self-Medication with Antibiotics for Protection against COVID-19: The Role of Psychological Distress, Knowledge of, and Experiences with Antibiotics.

: Self-medication with antibiotics is a major contributing factor to antimicrobial resistance. Prior research examining factors associated with antibiotic self-medication has focused on an individual's knowledge about antibiotics, antibiotic usage practices, accessibility to antibiotic medication, and demographic characteristics. The role of psychological distress associated with perceived health risks in explaining antibiotic self-medication is less understood. This study was designed to address this knowledge gap in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia. An online survey of 2217 participants was conducted at the height of the initial outbreak and revealed that 19.5% of participants took antibiotics to protect themselves from COVID-19. Multivariate logistic analysis examined the predictors of taking antibiotics for protection against COVID-19. An integrative framework developed from the results illustrates potential pathways and facilitating factors that may contribute to prophylactic self-medication with antibiotics. Specifically, COVID-19 pandemic-induced psychological distress was significantly positively related to self-medication. Preventive use of antibiotics was also facilitated by a lack of understanding about antibiotics, inappropriate antibiotics usage practices, the nature of the patient-doctor relationship, and demographic characteristics. The findings highlight that to combat antimicrobial resistance due to self-medication, interventions need to focus on interrupting entrenched behavioural responses and addressing emotional responses to perceived health risks.

Effects of knowledge and emotion on support for novel synthetic biology applications.

There is sometimes an inherent assumption that the logical head will overrule the emotional heart in matters of science and technology. However, the literature on decision making under risk and uncertainty suggests that emotional responses may be more potent. A representative sample of Australians participated in a large, national, online survey (n = 8037), in which we measured the influence of knowledge and emotion in predicting support for possible synthetic biology (synbio) solutions to conservation, environmental, and industrial problems. A hierarchical regression model was used to examine the relative influence of affect- and emotion-related factors beyond the influence of knowledge factors in predicting support for synbio solutions. Subsequently, interaction analyses were conducted to examine the potentially moderating role of emotions in the knowledge-support relationship. There was 64% variance in overall support for synbio solutions (R2 = 0.64, p < 0.001). The most influential predictor of support in the model was positive emotion. Feeling hopeful, excited, and curious toward a synbio technology was related to greater overall support for the development of that technology. The second strongest set of predictors was affect-related measures that evaluate the technology as bad or good, harmful or beneficial, and risky or safe. Positive emotion and an assessment that the technology was good significantly moderated the effect of knowledge on support. These findings suggest that, at least initially, people are more likely to be guided by their emotions when considering support for synbio technologies, which has implications for how researchers design and implement engagement and communication strategies more broadly.

Efectos del Conocimiento y las Emociones sobre el Respaldo a las Aplicaciones Novedosas de la Biología Sintética Resumen A veces existe la suposición intrínseca de que la mente lógica anulará al corazón emocional cuando se trata de temas de ciencia y tecnología. Sin embargo, la literatura sobre la toma de decisiones durante situaciones de riesgo e incertidumbre sugiere que las respuestas emocionales pueden ser más potentes. Una muestra representativa de australianos (n = 8,037) participó en una encuesta en línea realizada a nivel nacional y a gran escala. En esta encuesta medimos la influencia del conocimiento y las emociones sobre la predicción del respaldo a posibles soluciones de biología sintética (synbio) para problemas ambientales, industriales y de conservación. Usamos un modelo de regresión jerárquica para examinar la influencia relativa de los factores relacionados con el afecto o las emociones más allá de la influencia de los factores de conocimiento sobre las predicciones del respaldo a las soluciones synbio. Después realizamos análisis de interacción para examinar el papel potencialmente moderador de las emociones en la relación conocimiento-respaldo. Hubo un 64% de varianza en el respaldo general a las soluciones synbio (R2 = 0.64, p < 0.001). El pronosticador más influyente del respaldo en el modelo fue la emoción positiva. La sensación de sentirse esperanzado, emocionado y curioso debido a la tecnología synbio estuvo relacionada con un mayor respaldo generalizado para el desarrollo de aquella tecnología. El segundo conjunto más fuerte de pronosticadores fueron las medidas relacionadas con el afecto que valoran a la tecnología como buena o mala, dañina o benéfica, y riesgosa o segura. Una emoción positiva y una valoración de que la tecnología era buena moderaron significativamente el efecto del conocimiento sobre el respaldo. Estos hallazgos sugieren que, por lo menos al inicio, las personas tienen mayor probabilidad de ser guiadas por sus emociones cuando consideran el respaldo a las tecnologías synbio, lo cual tiene consecuencias para cómo los investigadores diseñan e implementan las estrategias de participación y comunicación más extensamente.

Change in Psychosocial Work Factors Predicts Follow-up Employee Strain: An Examination of Australian Employees.

OBJECTIVE: This research undertook a time-ordered investigation of Australian employees in regards to their experiences of change in psychosocial work factors across time (decreases, increases, or no change) in the prediction of psychological, physical, attitudinal, and behavioral employee strain. METHODS: Six hundred and ten employees from 17 organizations participated in Time 1 and Time 2 psychosocial risk assessments (average time lag of 16.7 months). Multi-level regressions examined the extent to which change in exposure to six demands and four resources predicted employee strain at follow-up, after controlling for baseline employee strain. RESULTS: Increases in demands and decreases in resources exacerbated employee strain, but even constant moderate demands and resources resulted in poor employee outcomes, not just constant high or low exposure, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: These findings can help employers prioritize hazards, and guide tailored psychosocial organizational interventions.

Do left and right asymmetries of hemispheric preference interact with attention to predict local and global performance in applied tasks?

Many cognitive neuroscience studies show that the ability to attend to and identify global or local information is lateralised between the two hemispheres in the human brain; the left hemisphere is biased towards the local level, whereas the right hemisphere is biased towards the global level. Results of two studies show attention-focused people with a right ear preference (biased towards the left hemisphere) are better at local tasks, whereas people with a left ear preference (biased towards the right hemisphere) are better at more global tasks. In a third study we determined if right hemisphere-biased followers who attend to global stimuli are likely to have a stronger relationship between attention and globally based supervisor ratings of performance. Results provide evidence in support of this hypothesis. Our research supports our model and suggests that the interaction between attention and lateral preference is an important and novel predictor of work-related outcomes.

Comparing different approach and avoidance models of learning and personality in the prediction of work, university, and leadership outcomes.

Jackson (2005) developed a hybrid model of personality and learning, known as the learning styles profiler (LSP) which was designed to span biological, socio-cognitive, and experiential research foci of personality and learning research. The hybrid model argues that functional and dysfunctional learning outcomes can be best understood in terms of how cognitions and experiences control, discipline, and re-express the biologically based scale of sensation-seeking. In two studies with part-time workers undertaking tertiary education (N = 137 and 58), established models of approach and avoidance from each of the three different research foci were compared with Jackson's hybrid model in their predictiveness of leadership, work, and university outcomes using self-report and supervisor ratings. Results showed that the hybrid model was generally optimal and, as hypothesized, that goal orientation was a mediator of sensation-seeking on outcomes (work performance, university performance, leader behaviours, and counterproductive work behaviour). Our studies suggest that the hybrid model has considerable promise as a predictor of work and educational outcomes as well as dysfunctional outcomes.