Team:TU-Eindhoven/Human Practices

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Latest revision as of 02:13, 27 September 2012

Throughout the years, synthetic biology has received more and more attention from the general public. In order to help create even more awareness we participated in organizing the Discovery Festival and taught high-school students about the wonders of synthetic biology. For both events, we encouraged the participants to share their thoughts on the iGEM competition and come up with with new ideas for upcoming competitions. By showing visitors of the festival and school children what can be accomplished within the world of biotechnology we hope we inspired them, sparked their interest and helped them view synthetic biology in another light!

Discovery Festival

A photo of our brainstorm session in Utrecht with the other Dutch teams.

Together with the iGEM teams of the VU University Amsterdam, the University of Amsterdam, the Wageningen University and the University of Groningen, we will attend the Discovery Festival in Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Eindhoven on Friday September 28th.

The Discovery Festival is an annual festival in NEMO Amsterdam and is organized for the first time in Erasmus MC Rotterdam and STRP Eindhoven this year. We expect over 5000 visitors during the night where science meets art. The festival starts at 8 p.m. and ends at 5 a.m. Also, during the day, 300 high school students will also visit STRP Eindhoven.

We will take our visitors on a tour in our provisional laboratory, where they will learn about the process of genetic modification. We want to give people a feel of how synthetic biology is performed, from ordering a perceptible characteristic in the form of a BioBrick^TM, to observing this implement feature in bacteria. The visitors participate alone or in a group up to four persons. Each group is accompanied by an iGEM team member as expert, who will inform the participants about the biological processes and how to carry out the different steps.

After getting a lab coat and a pair of gloves, each participant may choose one of the possible BioBricks^TM from the computer screen. When the participant clicks on the desired characteristic, a screen opens with the DNA sequence of this BioBrick^TM. Next, the participant will order the BioBrick^TM and will receive an envelope, containing a flask with fake DNA. Subsequently, the DNA will be mixed with water using a vortex. The DNA will be well mixed and ready for use. Each participant will get his or her own test tube and will pipette some fake bacterial culture in this tube. The DNA will be added to these test tubes as well. The test tubes containing DNA and bacteria will be put in an electroporation-device. The participant may push the 'flash'-button. The next step will be to plate the bacteria on an agar plate. Therefore the participant will genuinely pour some bacteria from the test tube on the agar plate and smear it on the plate with a spatula. The agar plates are then put into something that looks like an incubator. After removing the plates from the incubator, the results are shown to the participants.

Furthermore, the visitors can share their views on new topics, by answering the question: 'What would you like to make using genetically engineered bacteria?' We are looking forward to introduce them to the wonderful world of biology!

For more details, check out the website of the Discovery Festival: [http://www.discoveryfestival.nl www.discoveryfestival.nl].

An overview of the Discovery Festival in 2011.

Teaching at Oud-Beijerland

A photo made during the lesson provided to high school students.

On Friday morning the 21st of September, two members of the team went to Oud-Beijerland (near Rotterdam) to teach 23 high-school students about biology and synthetic biology. After a short recap about DNA and proteins, the students were taught to write a research question and a hypothesis. The assignment was to compare the filthiness of two articles of everyday use, by comparing the amount of bacteria after a week of growth. The students will take pictures of their petri-dishes twice a day to monitor the growth. Next, the principles of synthetic biology are elaborated and some iGEM topics of previous years are discussed. Then, the students got the chance to think about what they would like to adjust in bacteria. They thought about topics from 'homework-making gen' to 'cure-for-cancer gen'. The results of their research question and the creative story about their new bacteria will be presented during a presentation evening in October. The two members of the team will attend as jury members. The school also posted a news item on their website about the workshop, which can be found here.

Press

The [http://www.cursor.tue.nl/nieuwsartikel/artikel/lichtgevende-afbeeldingen-maken-van-gistcellen/ Cursor], the newspaper of the Eindhoven University of Technology, published an article on our project. You can find the English version [http://www.cursor.tue.nl/en/news-article/artikel/lichtgevende-afbeeldingen-maken-van-gistcellen/ here].

The [http://www.ed.nl/onderwijs/11657269/TU/e-televisiescherm-van-bacteri%C3%ABn.ece Eindhovens Dagblad], a regional news paper, wrote an article on our project! It appeared on paper as well as online.

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-{{:Team:TU-Eindhoven/Templates/head|image=https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2012/6/6b/Humanpractices.jpg}}
+{{:Team:TU-Eindhoven/Templates/head|image=https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2012/a/ae/Publicoutreach.jpg}}
-'''Discovery Festival'''
-Together with the iGEM teams of the VU University Amsterdam, the University of Amsterdam, the Wageningen University and the University of Groningen, we will attend the Discovery Festival in Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Eindhoven on Friday September 28th.
+Throughout the years, synthetic biology has received more and more attention from the general public. In order to help create even more awareness we participated in organizing the Discovery Festival and taught high-school students about the wonders of synthetic biology. For both events, we encouraged the participants to share their thoughts on the iGEM competition and come up with with new ideas for upcoming competitions. By showing <span class= "green"> visitors </span> of the festival and <span class= "green"> school children </span> what can be accomplished within the world of biotechnology we hope we inspired them, sparked their interest and helped them view synthetic biology in another light!
-The Discovery Festival is an annual festival in NEMO Amsterdam and is organized for the first time in Erasmus MC Rotterdam and STRP Eindhoven this year. We expect over 5000 visitors during the night where science meets art.
-We will take our visitors on a tour in our provisional laboratory, where they will learn about the process of genetic modification. Furthermore, the visitors can share their views on new topics, by answering the question: “What would you like to make using genetically engineered bacteria?” We are looking forward to introduce them to the wonderful world of synthetic biology!
-For more details, check out the website of the Discovery Festival: [http://www.discoveryfestival.nl'''www.discoveryfestival.nl'''].
+<h3>Discovery Festival</h3>
+[[File:Brainstorm DF.jpg|right|300px|link=|thumb|A photo of our brainstorm session in Utrecht with the other Dutch teams.]]
-'''Issues concerning Material Transfer Agreement'''
+Together with the iGEM teams of the VU University Amsterdam, the University of Amsterdam, the Wageningen University and the University of Groningen, we will attend the Discovery Festival in <span class= "green"> Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Eindhoven </span> on Friday September 28th.
-We obtained the plasmids for the GECO proteins (''Zhao et al. 2011, Science'') via Addgene. Addgene is a non-profit organization which is dedicated to providing the scientific community with access to plasmid research tools. The nominal fee for ordering plasmids is used to cover operating costs and improve the repository. There is no fee for depositing plasmids. All requests through Addgene require a Material Transfer Agreement (MTA), covered under the Uniform Biological Material Transfer Agreement (UBMTA). By signing this MTA, we were not directly able to distribute our GECO-BioBricks to the Registry.
+The Discovery Festival is an annual festival in NEMO Amsterdam and is organized for the first time in Erasmus MC Rotterdam and STRP Eindhoven this year. We expect over <span class= "green">5000 visitors</span> during the night where science meets art. The festival starts at 8 p.m. and ends at 5 a.m. Also, during the day, <span class="green">300 high school students</span> will also visit STRP Eindhoven.
+We will take our visitors on a tour in our provisional laboratory, where they will learn about the <span class= "green">process of genetic modification</span>. We want to give people a feel of how synthetic biology is performed, from ordering a perceptible characteristic in the form of a BioBrick<sup>TM</sup>, to observing this implement feature in bacteria. The visitors participate alone or in a group up to four persons. Each group is accompanied by an iGEM team member as expert, who will inform the participants about the biological processes and how to carry out the different steps.
+After getting a lab coat and a pair of gloves, each participant may choose one of the possible BioBricks<sup>TM</sup> from the computer screen. When the participant clicks on the desired characteristic, a screen opens with the DNA sequence of this BioBrick<sup>TM</sup>. Next, the participant will order the BioBrick<sup>TM</sup> and will receive an envelope, containing a flask with fake DNA. Subsequently, the DNA will be mixed with water using a vortex. The DNA will be well mixed and ready for use. Each participant will get his or her own test tube and will pipette some fake bacterial culture in this tube. The DNA will be added to these test tubes as well. The test tubes containing DNA and bacteria will be put in an electroporation-device. The participant may push the 'flash'-button. The next step will be to plate the bacteria on an agar plate. Therefore the participant will genuinely pour some bacteria from the test tube on the agar plate and smear it on the plate with a spatula. The agar plates are then put into something that looks like an incubator. After removing the plates from the incubator, the results are shown to the participants.
+Furthermore, the visitors can <span class= "green">share their views on new topics</span>, by answering the question: 'What would you like to make using genetically engineered bacteria?' We are looking forward to <span class= "green"> introduce them </span> to the wonderful world of <span class= "green"> biology</span>!
+For more details, check out the website of the Discovery Festival: [http://www.discoveryfestival.nl www.discoveryfestival.nl].
+[[File:OverviewDF.JPG|left|710px|thumb| An overview of the Discovery Festival in 2011.]]
+<h3>Teaching at Oud-Beijerland</h3>
+[[File:Rotterdam.JPG|left|300px|thumb|A photo made during the lesson provided to high school students.]]
+<p>On Friday morning the 21st of September, two members of the team went to Oud-Beijerland (near Rotterdam) to teach <span class= "green"> 23 high-school students </span> about biology and synthetic biology. After a short recap about DNA and proteins, the students were taught to write a <span class= "green"> research question </span> and a <span class= "green">hypothesis</span>. The assignment was to compare the filthiness of two articles of everyday use, by comparing the amount of bacteria after a week of growth. The students will take pictures of their petri-dishes twice a day to monitor the growth. Next, the principles of synthetic biology are elaborated and some iGEM topics of previous years are discussed. Then, the students got the chance to think about what they would like to adjust in bacteria. They thought about topics from 'homework-making gen' to 'cure-for-cancer gen'. The results of their research question and the <span class= "green">creative story</span> about their new bacteria will be presented during a <span class= "green">presentation</span> evening in October. The <span class= "green">two members of the team</span> will attend as <span class= "green">jury members</span>. The school also posted a news item on their website about the workshop, which can be found <html><a href="http://hoekschlyceum.nl/2012/09/24/workshop-g2a-dna-door-studenten-tu-eindhoven/" target="_blank">here</a></html>. </p>
+<h3>Press </h3>
+<p>The [http://www.cursor.tue.nl/nieuwsartikel/artikel/lichtgevende-afbeeldingen-maken-van-gistcellen/ Cursor], the newspaper of the Eindhoven University of Technology, <span class= "green">published an article</span> on our project. You can find the English version [http://www.cursor.tue.nl/en/news-article/artikel/lichtgevende-afbeeldingen-maken-van-gistcellen/ here]. </p>
+<p>The [http://www.ed.nl/onderwijs/11657269/TU/e-televisiescherm-van-bacteri%C3%ABn.ece Eindhovens Dagblad], a regional news paper, wrote an <span class= "green">article</span> on our project! It appeared on paper as well as online.</p>
-The MTA only allows distribution of modified plasmids to nonprofit organizations for research and teaching purposes only. This distribution to a third party will require a new MTA. However, both the Registry as well as iGEM do not make use of MTAs. Once we found out about this dilemma, we feared we would not be able to send in our GECO-BioBricks to the Registry.
-Luckily, however, there is one way to avoid the dilemma by asking the providing scientist, Robert Campbell from the University of Alberta, for permission to distribute the modified GECO-plasmids to the Registry. His respond to our request was: “You have my permission to add the GECO variants to the Registry. I would just ask that our paper describing them (''Zhao et. al 2011, Science'') is cited in any published work that involves the use of the GECOs.” We hereby would like to thank Robert Campbell for his permission to add the GECO-BioBricks to the Registry!
-Although both Addgene and the Registry provide service to non-profit organizations and aim to help scientists around the world, there are subtle differences. Addgene is not completely open-source and requires MTAs for distributing their plasmids. The Registry, however, does not make use of MTAs. It is interesting to experience these differences in the world of science and does make one wonder whether a general set of rules or guidelines should be enforced.
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