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Team:Cornell/notebook/drylab/week 1
From 2012.igem.org
Week 1
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Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Focus: General Brainstorming
Welcome to the Dry Lab Blog! We start off with fresh ideas for the biosensor. Details
Saturday, June 9, 2012
Focus: Biosensor Components Dry Lab takes a close look at batteries and discusses various approaches to food delivery. Details
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Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Dry Lab met up for the first time to brainstorm designs for a biosensor that would allow a steady flow of water in and out, sustain genetically modified bacteria, process electrical signals coming from the culture, and communicate that information to a remote device. Before we began, however, we all introduced ourselves: Dan, Dylan, Maneesh, Tina, Lydia, Caleb, Chie and me (Robert). After a brief casual exchange, we quietly thought about functional requirements for the system before sharing them around the table. These requirements helped us brainstorm and refine our designs. Dan the Dry Lab leader then split us into groups to form ideas about various components, such as the pump mechanism, food delivery, water filtration and power source. We sketched and made bullet point descriptions, and aimed for 3 distinct designs. Knowing the functional requirements organized our thoughts and later refine our designs after the critique session. We passed our transcribed ideas around and commented on other people’s papers with post-its. With the new feedback, we returned to the drawing board to improve our concepts in the remaining time. Before the meeting was adjourned, we were assigned to research products or methods related to our components. #hello #brainstorming
Saturday, June 9, 2012
This past week, I learned that summer in Ithaca is much quieter than during the fall and spring semesters, but has much nicer weather and beautiful scenery. On the other side of the window, the second Dry Lab meeting was in session. Manny and Kelvin had come on board the Dry Lab team recently. Introductions aside, all of us took turns presenting our findings on pumps, filters, batteries and other components that would go into our biosensor system. For the power source, there were 3 different types of batteries to consider: lithium, lead acid and silver ion. Tina informed that silver ion would be most expensive as it was still relatively new technology. However, it was the most energy dense source. Between lithium and lead acid, lithium has a greater power-to-weight ratio but lost its capacity to hold charge even when not in use, while the lead acid was clunkier (heavier and larger) and better equipped to deliver large jolts of power. For food delivery and water filtration methods, we began a discussion about a combination of pump and gravity-fed designs to save power and extend battery life. Related to that matter, we talked about discrete versus continuous flow of food and water into the bacterial culture but were cut short on time. At home, we continued research on our assigned components, looking mostly at product price, functionality and performance. #power #battery #filtration
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Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Focus: General Brainstorming Welcome to the Dry Lab Blog! We start off with fresh ideas for the biosensor.Entry:
Dry Lab met up for the first time to brainstorm designs for a biosensor that would allow a steady flow of water in and out, sustain genetically modified bacteria, process electrical signals coming from the culture, and communicate that information to a remote device. Before we began, however, we all introduced ourselves: Dan, Dylan, Maneesh, Tina, Lydia, Caleb, Chie and me (Robert). After a brief casual exchange, we quietly thought about functional requirements for the system before sharing them around the table. These requirements helped us brainstorm and refine our designs. Dan the Dry Lab leader then split us into groups to form ideas about various components, such as the pump mechanism, food delivery, water filtration and power source. We sketched and made bullet point descriptions, and aimed for 3 distinct designs. Knowing the functional requirements organized our thoughts and later refine our designs after the critique session. We passed our transcribed ideas around and commented on other people’s papers with post-its. With the new feedback, we returned to the drawing board to improve our concepts in the remaining time. Before the meeting was adjourned, we were assigned to research products or methods related to our components. #hello #brainstorming
Saturday, June 9, 2012
Focus: Biosensor Components Dry Lab takes a close look at batteries and discusses various approaches to food delivery.Entry:
This past week, I learned that summer in Ithaca is much quieter than during the fall and spring semesters, but has much nicer weather and beautiful scenery. On the other side of the window, the second Dry Lab meeting was in session. Manny and Kelvin had come on board the Dry Lab team recently. Introductions aside, all of us took turns presenting our findings on pumps, filters, batteries and other components that would go into our biosensor system. For the power source, there were 3 different types of batteries to consider: lithium, lead acid and silver ion. Tina informed that silver ion would be most expensive as it was still relatively new technology. However, it was the most energy dense source. Between lithium and lead acid, lithium has a greater power-to-weight ratio but lost its capacity to hold charge even when not in use, while the lead acid was clunkier (heavier and larger) and better equipped to deliver large jolts of power. For food delivery and water filtration methods, we began a discussion about a combination of pump and gravity-fed designs to save power and extend battery life. Related to that matter, we talked about discrete versus continuous flow of food and water into the bacterial culture but were cut short on time. At home, we continued research on our assigned components, looking mostly at product price, functionality and performance. #power #battery #filtration
