The UIUC 2012 iGEM team has embraced human practices as an opportunity to develop our own sense of ethics and responsibility while promoting general knowledge about synthetic biology.
We have decided to focus our energies on a collaboration to produce informative and thought provoking videos on genetically modified organisms as well as individual presentations on synthetic biology within the Champaign-Urbana community.
Mission Statement
The UIUC 2012 iGEM team has embraced human practices as an opportunity to develop our own sense of ethics and responsibility while promoting general knowledge about synthetic biology.
We have decided to focus our energies on a collaboration to produce informative and thought provoking videos on genetically modified organisms as well as individual presentations on synthetic biology within the Champaign-Urbana community.
Engineering Open House (EOH)
UIUC iGEM was proud to present an exhibit at the 92nd annual 2012 Engineering Open
House, or EOH. Over two sunny days on March 9 and 10, iGEM presented one of over 230
exhibits as part of one of the country’s largest science fairs.
Our exhibit on synthetic biology
and the manipulation of DNA fit perfectly with the event’s theme, “Dream, Design, Discover.”
At our booth we explained what DNA was to school children and then amazed them by
allowing them to extract their own DNA via salt water and rubbing alcohol!
We explained the
amazing uses of biobricks by displaying plates with drawings colored by E. Coli transformed with
YFP, GFP, and mCherry.
We also discussed the safety and ethics of such genetic
manipulations with parents and professors who stopped by our station.
Pictures of the event can be found at our Flikr Page
Lincoln's Challenge Academy
In accordance to our "hands on" approach in getting directly involved with our community and involving the philosophies of science with local educational facilities, we visited and presented at the Lincoln's ChalleNGe Academy in Rantoul, Illinois (which was only about a half hour drive outside of campus).
As a part of the National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Program, the students were of a high school age demographic. However, the demographic and educational backgrounds has its differences from the standard educational system. Members of our team who had participated in educational scientific demonstrations had never been exposed to environment of a military academy. The scientific demonstrations involved:
Fluorescent hand lotion to demonstrate the spread of pathogens through common contact with objects and people
Colouring silly putty and exploring the physical properties of the putty we made
Demonstrating and explaining what happens when dry ice interacts with soap, how temperature affects physical properites of substances
Flash freezing everyday items like candy bars and even the silly putty to show how heat energy is transfered
"The faces seemed familiar, but the atmosphere felt so foreign. It was eye opening to say the least, I feel like the schools most of us on the iGEM team went too pampered me with scientific education focuses. I'm glad we were able to open some eyes too, especially with the demonstrations we did with the liquid nitrogen and dry ice."
GMO Collaboration
The overriding purpose of human practices is to educate the public
about what synthetic biology is, what it’s applications are, and the safety of future
developments in the field. To this end we are proud to collaborate with fellow iGEMmers
from Cornell, the University of Michigan, Northwestern, and the University of Southern
Denmark to produce a video series on GMOs, or Genetically Modified Organisms.
We
hope to engage the general public in a thoughtful conversation on this hot topic by
discussing the history, ethics, and future of several GMO areas, all of which have been
effected by the innovations of synthetic biology. Please check out the videos at our
youtube channel.
In particular, we have created 2 videos – one on transgenic corn and another on gene
therapy.
GMOs and Ethics
Transgenic Organisms
Special thanks to the following faculty for their time and participation in the videos.
On November 3, grade school children will have the opportunity to
learn about the science of genetics at Genome Day. Researchers from the Institute
for Genomic Biology have compiled hands on activities to allow a dynamic learning
experience.
The 2012 UIUC iGEM is pleased to contribute an exhibit on fluorescent E. Coli, where the
wonder of synthetic biology and genetic engineering is revealed! For more information,
click here
Further Resources
While just beginning research, we as a team tried to understand the
impact synthetic biology has made on the public and what type of public impression has
been made. The result of our research was this compilation of resources, which shows
how popular media has reported on synthetic biology advances. It is an excellent source
for both learning more about synthetic biology and understanding how science relates
to social policy. In our endeavors we also spoke with author Richard Powers on our very own campus who is a colleague and friend of Dr. Gene Robinson, the director of the Institute of Genomic Biology.
We love sharing our passion for science and synthetic biology! Throughout the year,
we have given interactive presentations to a wide range of audiences, all dedicated to inspiring
future synthetic biology innovations and establishing a trusting relationship between snybio
scientists and the general public.
If you would like to learn more about synthetic biology or
schedule a presentation from the 2012 UIUC iGEM team, please contact Asha Kirchhoff at
kirchho2@illinois.edu
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