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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.
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.
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
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:
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.
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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