Grow your own wonder and scepticism at the Science Gallery

Sive Finlay

Staff Writer

The Science Gallery’s new exhibition, “Grow Your Own…” invites us into the world of synthetic biology, an emerging field of research that challenges our perceptions of how we can design and manipulate living organisms.  The exhibition informs and inspires visitors about a research field that, although still in its infancy, has the potential to truly change the way we live. It is also an intentionally provocative work that challenges visitors to consider the potential issues and implications that may arise from a world replete with designed, living machines.

Some of the displays are particularly striking. It’s hard to ignore a technicolour arrangement of faeces models so “E. chromi” certainly grabs your attention. The piece imagines a use for E coli bacteria that have been genetically engineered to produce coloured pigments when they detect spoiled food, toxins or even markers of disease. Imagine eating yoghurt infused with these engineered bacteria that would then keep watch for toxins or chemical markers of disease, announcing their findings by modifying the colour of your faeces. So, with such technologies, health check screens could be replaced by an increased interest in the colour and composition of your poo…

“Stranger visions” is certainly one of the most arresting exhibits. Using discarded cigarette butts, DNA samples were extracted, amplified and characterised to find a genetic profile of the mystery smoker. Genetic markers of ethnicity, gender, hair, eye and skin colour were used to produce 3D models of faces that fit those profiles. The resulting masks aren’t intended to be accurate representations of the real individuals but they are intriguing examples of future applications of forensic science. Perhaps every CSI police sketcher will be replaced by a DNA sequencer and a 3D printer. It is also a bit unsettling to think of how much information could be extracted from every coffee cup, hair or used fork that we leave behind…

The installations are the products of collaborative works between biologists, artists, engineers and designers and therefore often reflect speculative projections of the future rather than realistic prototype ideas for new technologies. While I recognise this integrative approach, I think the distinction between scientifically probable ideas and purely fictional artistic statements could be made clearer.

“All that I am” is one such speculative piece with an eye on pop-cultural appeal. Using DNA samples extracted from Elvis’s hair, mice were genetically modified to include DNA sequences linked to behavioural traits such as sociability, addiction and obesity. The piece proposes that these mice could be subjected to tests to determine whether their Elvis DNA makes them behave like the King. One testing environment has a distorted mirror to give the mouse a “false sense of self-importance”, simulating the effects of fame while another has a sloped treadmill on which the mouse runs until it falls off, representing Elvis’s fast-paced life before his death. The display makes its speculative nature clear (rest-assured that no mice are currently staring into mirrors) and poses some interesting questions about the interplay between nature and nurture in determining behaviour and whether we have the right to use someone’s DNA. However, while certainly attention grabbing, I think the piece is dangerous in its suggested simplicity. There are no genetic formulae for behaving like Elvis or any other individual and no amount of distorted mirrors could possibly emulate the vagaries and behavioural pressures of fame.

The installations are the products of collaborative works between biologists, artists, engineers and designers and therefore often reflect speculative projections of the future rather than realistic prototype ideas for new technologies. While I recognise this integrative approach, I think the distinction between scientifically probable ideas and purely fictional artistic statements could be made clearer. 

“I wanna deliver a dolphin…” upsets me to the very core of my zoologist’s being. Depicting a model of a woman pregnant with a dolphin, the installation imagines a world where humans could donate their reproductive capabilities to saving endangered species or even give birth to their own animal food sources. Aside from the certain impossibility of a human ever carrying an aquatic mammalian foetus, I think the piece gives dangerous ammunition to those who see genetic manipulation as examples of mad scientists wanting to create their own Frankensteins. Rather than inspiring or promoting a sense of wonder for the possibilities of synthetic biology, I think the work does the exhibition a disservice by veering towards the realms of the ridiculous and detracting from the legitimate scientific proposals behind some of the other ideas.

I was also disappointed by the scant interpretative information accompanying many of the pieces. Some of the displays only make sense with further explanation from one of the friendly members of staff – all of whom are very approachable and knowledgeable but I would still prefer if this extra interaction were a choice rather than a necessity.

The intriguing, exciting and sometimes upsetting ideas which “Grow Your Own…” raises are certainly worth the visit and serve their purpose of parachuting synthetic biology into the public consciousness. I would, however, advise visitors to bring along a healthy amount of scepticism and to view many of the pieces as speculative, provocative artistic statements under-pinned by varying degrees of scientific probability rather than realistic prototypes for a futuristic, synthetic world.

“Grow Your Own…” runs at the Science Gallery until 19th January 2014. Admission is free.