title: Engaging scientists: An online survey exploring the experience of innovative biotechnological approaches to controlling vector-borne diseases.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Pioneering technologies (e.g., nanotechnology, synthetic biology or climate engineering) are often associated with potential new risks and uncertainties that can become sources of controversy. The communication of information during their development and open exchanges between stakeholders is generally considered a key issue in their acceptance. While the attitudes of the public to novel technologies have been widely considered there has been relatively little investigation of the perceptions and awareness of scientists working on human or animal diseases transmitted by arthropods.
  
  
  METHODS
  Consequently, we conducted a global survey on 1889 scientists working on aspects of vector-borne diseases, exploring, under the light of a variety of demographic and professional factors, their knowledge and awareness of an emerging biotechnology that has the potential to revolutionize the control of pest insect populations.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Despite extensive media coverage of key developments (including releases of manipulated mosquitoes into human communities) this has in only one instance resulted in scientist awareness exceeding 50% on a national or regional scale. We document that awareness of pioneering releases significantly relied on private communication sources that were not equally accessible to scientists from countries with endemic vector-borne diseases (dengue and malaria). In addition, we provide quantitative analysis of the perceptions and knowledge of specific biotechnological approaches to controlling vector-borne disease, which are likely to impact the way in which scientists around the world engage in the debate about their value.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results indicate that there is scope to strengthen already effective methods of communication, in addition to a strong demand by scientists (expressed by 79.9% of respondents) to develop new, creative modes of public engagement.
authors.affiliation: UMR_D 190 Emergence des Pathologies Virales, Aix Marseille Université, IRD (Institut de Recherche pour le Développement), EHESP (Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Santé Publique), 27 Bd Jean Moulin, 13385, Marseille, Cedex 5, France. cboete@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Christophe
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Boëte
authors.affiliation: Culture and Technology in Africa, Faculty V: Cultural Studies, Universität Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany. uli.beisel@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Uli
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Beisel
authors.affiliation: History, Anthropology, and Science, Technology, and Society (HASTS) MIT, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA. luisarc@mit.edu.
authors.forename: Luísa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Reis Castro
authors.affiliation: CNRS-MNHN, UMR 7206 Eco-Anthropologie et Ethnobiologie, Dept Hommes, natures et sociétés, Musée de l'Homme 17 place Trocadéro 75016, Paris, France. ncesard@orange.fr.|Graduate School of Asian and African Area Studies, Kyoto University, Research Bldg. No. 2, Yoshida-Honmachi, Sakyo-ku, 606-8501, Kyoto, Japan. ncesard@orange.fr.
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Césard
authors.affiliation: Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology August-Thienemannstrasse 2, 24306, Plön, Germany. reeves@evolbio.mpg.de.
authors.forename: R Guy
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Reeves
mesh_terms: D001364:Awareness; D001709:Biotechnology / Q000379:methods; D034742:Electronic Mail; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D017053:Infection Control / Q000379:methods*; D019359:Knowledge; D059232:Laboratory Personnel / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D000078329:Workforce