Attitudes to biotechnology: Estimating the opinions of a better-informed public

Public familiarity with basic scientific concepts and principles has been proposed as essential for effective democratic decision-making (Miller, 1998 Miller, J. D. 1998. The measurement of civic scientific literacy. Public Understanding of Science, 7: 203–23. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). Empirical research, however, finds that public ‘scientific literacy’ is generally low, falling well short of what normative criteria would consider ‘acceptable’. This has prompted calls to better engage, educate and inform the public on scientific matters, with the additional, usually implicit assumption that a knowledgeable citizenry should express more supportive and favourable attitudes toward science. Research investigating the notion that ‘to know science is to love it’ has provided only weak empirical support and has itself been criticised for representing science and technology as a unified and homogenous entity. In practice, it is argued, how knowledge impacts on the favourability of attitudes will depend on a multiplicity of factors, not least of which is the particular area of science in question and the technologies to which it gives rise (Evans & Durant, 1992 Evans, G. and Durant, J. 1992. The relationship between knowledge and attitudes in the public understanding of science in Britain. Public Understanding of Science, 4: 57–74.  [Google Scholar]). This article uses a new method for examining the knowledge-attitude nexus on a prominent area of 21st century science—biotechnology. The idea that greater scientific knowledge can engender change in the favourability of attitudes toward specific areas of science is investigated using data from the 2000 British Social Attitudes Survey and the 1999 Wellcome Consultative Panel on Gene Therapy. Together the surveys measure public opinion on particular applications of genetic technologies, including gene therapy and the use of genetic data, as well as more general attitudes towards genetic research. We focus our analysis on how two different measures of knowledge impact on these attitudes; one a general measure of scientific knowledge, the other relating specifically to knowledge of modern genetic science. We investigate what impact these knowledge domains have on attitudes towards biotechnology using a regression-based modelling technique (Bartels, 1996 Bartels, L. M. 1996. Uninformed votes: information effects in presidential elections. American Journal of Political Science, 40(1): 194–230. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Althaus, 1998 Althaus, S. L. 1998. Information effects in collective preferences. The American Political Science Review, 92(3): 545–58. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Sturgis, 2003 Sturgis, P. 2003. Knowledge and collective preferences: a comparison of two approaches to estimating the opinions of a better-informed public. Sociological Methods and Research, 31(4): 453–85. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar]). Controlling for a range of socio-demographic characteristics, we provide estimates of what collective and individual opinion would look like if everyone were as knowledgeable as the currently best-informed members of the general public on the knowledge domains in question. Our findings demonstrate that scientific knowledge does appear to have an important role in determining individual and group attitudes to genetic science. However, we find no support for a simple ‘deficit model’ of public understanding, as the nature of the relationship itself depends on the application of biotechnology in question and the social location of the individual.     

Attitudes toward biotechnology in the European Union

Public attitudes toward biotechnology in the European Union have been characterized as negative using Eurobarometer data, but so far little attention has been paid to building a robust metric appropriate for emerging public opinion issues which combine high salience with very limited knowledge by the public. On the basis of the general literature about the formation and structure of attitudes and about public perceptions of science, this article presents a new metric and analysis: first, for estimating the level of awareness and knowledge of biotechnology in Europe; second, for assessing the stability and depth of these evaluative perceptions; and third, for exploring the roles of canonical socio-demographic variables, the knowledge variable and general attitudinal schemas for understanding the perceptions of both benefits and risks of biotech applications. The results show the importance of general value orientations or "worldviews" in shaping positive attitudes, and more of these general cognitive schemas should be measured in future research. The same multivariate model was unable to account for a significant percentage of the total variance in the perception of risks, suggesting that new measures are needed to tap this critical area in the acceptance of biotech in Europe.     

Agricultural biotechnology and the UK public

It might be an exaggeration to claim that UK agriculture is in a state of crisis, but it is certainly a time for decisions. Uncertainties abound: the implications of growing free trade; a steady reduction in subsidies; the ongoing drift of people to towns and what some regard as the stranglehold of retailers both on food prices and on what the farmer gets. To all of this has to be added the backwash of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) and foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), and the advent of new technologies, especially those based on modern genetics.     

Using education as a public relations tool for biotechnology

The advances in the biotechnology industry, and in biosciences research are impressive by any measure, but it is not sufficient just to continue to make spectacular scientific breakthroughs. It is important that the general public is assisted to keep up with the pace of technological change. Some efforts have been made, but they have not been enough. A public relations strategy is required. The biotechnology industry needs to influence public opinion as well as lead discovery. The aims of a public relations campaign should not be just to inform and convince legislators and regulators, but should target the average consumer of the 21st century. There are two areas where the science community must direct its attention if the international public is to be brought along on this biotechnological odyssey: the compulsory school sector – including teachers, students and policy makers; and key sector groups that can be specifically targeted such as farmers, indigenous peoples, horticulturists, food sector people, health professionals, and in particular, the recently retired. If the potential of biotechnological advances is to be realised, scientists must be proactive in educating the general public. This will also involve educating the educators. No amount of public education will completely remove the opposition to genetic engineering, but with an educated public there is an increased opportunity for a fair debate and scare tactics, half-truths and innuendo will gain less traction.     

Irish public perceptions and attitudes to modern biotechnology: an overview with a focus on GM foods

This article summarizes the current situation pertaining to modern biotechnology in Ireland, with a particular focus on genetically modified (GM) crops. It briefly examines some important results of the major national surveys carried out in Ireland since 1989, highlights the recent upsurge in media (newspaper) coverage of GM related stories in three Irish opinion leader publications and it allows for an insight into the Irish public's relationship with modern biotechnology.     

Trust, patents and public perceptions: the governance of controversial biotechnology research

The sustainability of many research endeavors, particularly in controversial areas, requires an understanding of public concerns. As such, governance strategies should be developed to sustain public trust.     

Microcalorimetry: a response to challenges in modern biotechnology

Almost any process in life is accompanied by heat changes which can be monitored by isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Both techniques are now established tools in fundamental research but over the last decade a clear tendency towards more problem‐driven applications is noted. This review aims at summarizing these problem‐oriented applications of microcalorimetry and the solutions both techniques can provide to problems in biotechnology. The biotechnological issues to which microcalorimetry has been successfully applied are as diverse as rational drug design, overcoming drug resistance, optimization of long‐term stability of proteins, estimation of the bioavailability of drugs, control of complex pharmaceutical products or the optimization of gene delivery efficiency. The main limitation of microcalorimetry, which is the relatively large amounts of sample necessary for analysis, is less important in the biotechnology sector which frequently uses large‐scale produced bulk products for analysis. The recently developed high‐throughput DSC and ITC microcalorimeters will additionally reduce the labour intensity of these techniques. Due to the precision of microcalorimetric analyses and the versatility of processes which can be studied, it is expected that ITC and DSC will soon be key technologies in biotechnological research.     

Ergot: from witchcraft to biotechnology

The ergot diseases of grasses, caused by members of the genus Claviceps , have had a severe impact on human history and agriculture, causing devastating epidemics. However, ergot alkaloids, the toxic components of Claviceps sclerotia, have been used intensively (and misused) as pharmaceutical drugs, and efficient biotechnological processes have been developed for their in vitro production. Molecular genetics has provided detailed insight into the genetic basis of ergot alkaloid biosynthesis and opened up perspectives for the design of new alkaloids and the improvement of production strains; it has also revealed the refined infection strategy of this biotrophic pathogen, opening up the way for better control. Nevertheless, Claviceps remains an important pathogen worldwide, and a source for potential new drugs for central nervous system diseases.     

The greening of biotechnology: the growth of the US biotechnology industry

The growth and advancement of biotechnology worldwide has been the focus of many studies, and at the heart of this advancement has been a new industry of small biotechnology firms in the United States. Since the early 1970s more than 300 small companies have been founded in the United States to work with the new technologies of genetic engineering, monoclonal antibody production, and in related areas. In addition, many major corporations in the United States have sought entry into biotechnology. Hundreds of new companies have been founded to interact with the biotechnology firms and large corporations, supplying reagents, equipment, fermentation expertise and serving a variety of other ancillary functions. Nowhere else in the world has a biotechnology industry been initiated to such a large degree. Today, the average US biotechnology firm is six to seven years old. The current state of the US biotechnology industry, historical perspectives, major trends and some future outlooks will be described below.     

Bacillus thuringiensis: a biotechnology model

This paper is on the different biotechnological approaches that have been used to improve Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) for the control of agricultural insect pests and have contributed to the successful use of this biological control agent; it describes how a better knowledge of the high diversity of Bt strains and toxins genes together with the development of efficient host-vector systems has made it possible to overcome a number of the problems associated with Bt based insect control measures. First we present an overview of the biology of Bt and of the mode of action of its insecticidal toxins. We then describe some of the progress that has been made in furthering our knowledge of the genetics of Bt and of its insecticidal toxin genes and in the understanding of their regulation. The paper then deals with the use of recombinant DNA technology to develop new Bt strains for more effective pest control or to introduce the genes encoding partial-endotoxins directly into plants to produce insect-resistant trangenic plants. Several examples describing how biotechnology has been used to increase the production of insecticidal proteins in Bt or their persistence in the field by protecting them against UV degradation are presented and discussed. Finally, based on our knowledge of the mechanism of transposition of the Bt transposon Tn4430, we describe the construction of a new generation of recombinant strains of Bt, from which antibiotic resistance genes and other non-Bt DNA sequences were selectively eliminated, using a new generation of site-specific recombination vectors. In the future, continuing improvement of first generation products and research into new sources of resistance is essential to ensure the long-term control of insect pests. Chimeric toxins could also be produced so as to increase toxin activity or direct resistance towards a particular type of insect. The search for new insecticidal toxins, in Bt or other microorganisms, may also provide new weapons for the fight against insect damage.     

Cold-adapted enzymes: from fundamentals to biotechnology

Psychrophilic enzymes produced by cold-adapted microorganisms display a high catalytic efficiency and are most often, if not always, associated with high thermosensitivity. Using X-ray crystallography, these properties are beginning to become understood, and the rules governing their adaptation to cold appear to be relatively diverse. The application of these enzymes offers considerable potential to the biotechnology industry, for example, in the detergent and food industries, for the production of fine chemicals and in bioremediation processes.     

Bacillus thuringiensis: from biodiversity to biotechnology

Bacillus thuringiensis is a Gram-positive bacterium, widely used in agriculture as a biological pesticide. The biocidal activity mainly resides in a parasporal protein inclusion body, or crystal. The inclusion is composed of one or more types of δ-endotoxins (Cry and Cyt proteins). Cry proteins are selectively toxic to different species from several invertebrate phyla: arthropods (mainly insects), nematodes, flatworms and protozoa. The mode of action of the insecticidal proteins is still a matter of investigation; generally, the active toxin is supposed to bind specific membrane receptors on the insect midgut brush-border epithelium, leading to intestinal cell lysis and subsequent insect death by starvation or septicemia. The toxin-encoding cry genes have been extensively studied and expressed in a large number of prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms. The expression of such genes in transgenic plants has provided a powerful alternative for crop protection. Received 25 February 1997/ Accepted in revised form 15 August 1997     

Systems biotechnology of animal cells: the road to prediction

A central concern of biopharmaceutical R&D is the production of sufficient quantities of recombinant products from manufacturing processes based on animal cell culture. The way in which bioprocess researchers have addressed this question experienced a tremendous shift over the years, progressing from almost empirical to more rational approaches. A step further is the application of systems biotechnology: recent technological advances for large-scale cell state characterization and creative methods for host cell modeling are becoming crucial for next-generation bioprocess optimization. Here we provide an overview of the main trends towards this goal, with a focus on metabolic models as central scaffolds for data integration and prediction of bioprocess outcomes.     

Exploring the views on hunting of Spanish hunters: effect of age and public vs. anonymous opinions

We explored the views held by Spanish hunters on hunting, and assessed how these views varied according to participant characteristics and whether or not the responses were made public via a hunter’s magazine. Hunters expressed many positive values in relation to hunting, but were critical of their own community as well as other stakeholders. Spanish hunters felt misunderstood and even attacked by society at large. There was also a widespread negative perception of the future of hunting. The frequency of references to different opinions varied between anonymous and public respondents and in relation to age group. Participants who expressed their opinions publicly mentioned the ecological values of hunting more frequently, were more critical towards their own community, and viewed the future of hunting more positively than anonymous participants. This may indicate an intended projected positive image; namely, Spanish hunters may publicly emphasize those views that improve their position in society.     

Mannan biotechnology: from biofuels to health

Mannans of different structure and composition are renewable bioresources that can be widely found as components of lignocellulosic biomass in softwood and agricultural wastes, as non-starch reserve polysaccharides in endosperms and vacuoles of a wide variety of plants, as well as a major component of yeast cell walls. Enzymatic hydrolysis of mannans using mannanases is essential in the pre-treatment step during the production of second-generation biofuels and for the production of potentially health-promoting manno-oligosaccharides (MOS). In addition, mannan-degrading enzymes can be employed in various biotechnological applications, such as cleansing and food industries. In this review, fundamental knowledge of mannan structures, sources and functions will be summarized. An update on various aspects of mannan-degrading enzymes as well as the current status of their production, and a critical analysis of the potential application of MOS in food and feed industries will be given. Finally, emerging areas of research on mannan biotechnology will be highlighted.