Communicating Synthetic Biology: How the Media Covers Emerging Technology

From Neanderthal clones to cheap vaccines, the emerging field of synthetic biology has garnered much mainstream press coverage in recent years – and found itself at the center of a hot debate about our expectations for biotechnology.

Please join us Feb. 26, 2013, to learn more about how the press covers synthetic biology in the United States and Europe, how this has changed as the field has grown and what it could mean for widespread public acceptance of the technology. Our panel of journalism and public policy experts will explore these issues and discuss the results of a new report, Trends in American and European Press Coverage of Synthetic Biology: 2008 – 2011. The report, which builds on the project’s earlier study of press coverage of synthetic biology between 2003 and 2008, can be downloaded here. More information on the report can be found here.

The event will also be a unique opportunity to discuss more in depth what makes for quality science journalism and explore how media narratives and imagery effect public perception of any new technology or scientific research.

The Wilson Center is located at 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW in Washington, DC. Directions can be found here.

More information on the event available here.

Here is the archived webcast from the event: