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Team:Bielefeld-Germany
From 2012.igem.org
Our Project - Abstract
The birth control pill is a widespread contraception method. However, large amounts of these modified estrogens leave the body again in urine. The conventional methods in sewage treatment plants are unable to treat waste water sufficiently because the most frequently used estrogen ethinylestradiol is very difficult to break down. As a result, the hormone finds its way into rivers and lakes and accumulates in drinking water with serious consequences for fish and other aquatic life. These range from reproductive and severe developmental disorders to the formation of female sexual characteristics in males. The long-term consequences of increasing estrogen pollution for human beings are still largely unknown. Nonetheless, declining sperm counts and thereby increasing infertility in men living in industrial nations may well relate to this hormonal pollution. In addition, testicular and prostate cancers as well as osteoporosis could be a consequence of overly high concentrations of estrogen in the human body.
The goal of Bielefeld’s iGEM team is to develop a biological filter using immobilized laccases to purify municipal and industrial wastewater from synthetic estrogens and other aromatic compounds. Laccases are copper-containing oxidase enzymes found in many organisms, and one of their properties is the ability to break down a wide range of aromatic and phenolic compounds. For this purpose, genes of various bacterial and eukaryotic laccases should be isolated and expressed in Escherichia coli and Pichia pastoris. The team is aiming to manufacture this enzyme economically and safely with the help of methods from synthetic biology. It should also be possible to extend the concept to other, in part poisonous and carcinogenic pollutants in drinking and waste water, as well as into industrial application, such as in paper and textile industries or even for bioremediation of contaminated soil.
Introducing the iGEM Team Bielefeld 2012
News
26
October
Public Discussion
We had the great opportunity to present ourselves and our project in a café in Bielefeld to the general public. There, about 100 interested visitors listened to Prof. Dr. Alfred Pühler's introduction to synthetic biology and to our talk about iGEM and our MARSS project. The feedback was awesome! Prof. Dr. Pühler and we answered loads of questions of the curious audience concerning both technical and ethical aspects of our research.
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19
October
Waffles!
As the deadline is pretty close and time is rare, we decided to bake some waffles. Besides making about 1000 delicious waffles, we took the chance to present our iGEM-project to the local students and folks of our university. Combining food and public relations was very successful... and tasty!
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15
October
Public Talk on October 26th
On October 26th the iGEM Team Bielefeld will give a public talk about the comoetition and the project. After a brief introduction in Synthetic Biology by Prof. Dr. A. Pühler we are going to explain our iGEM approach. The Event is hosted by Bielefeld Marketing.
Donwload the Flyer here. |
11
October
Radio interview on WDR5 - part 2
And the show is going on. There is another interview about iGEM and our team available at the science broadcast of WDR5, called "Leonardo".
Listen to the german podcast here. |
8
October
TV team number 1
Today we had a TV team in our lab - they were shooting some scenes and interviews with us. The coverage about our team will be in the science broadcasting "nano" on 3sat (german TV station) during the Jamboree in november.
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24-26
September
Meet the iGEM team from Odense
(SDU Denmark) We visited the iGEM team from the SDU Denmark in Odense this weekend. We had a lot of fun (there will be some photos soon) and agreed upon broadening our cooperation for the remaining iGEM competition (e.g. test each others BioBricks).
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13
September
Radio interview on WDR5 - part 1
A short radio coverage in the science broadcast of WDR5 "Leonardo" about our iGEM team is broadcasted today. Link's here and here's the podcast
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30
August
Interview with our team on biotechnologie.tv
Here is a short interview with our team in today's broadcast of biotechnologie.tv: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2SA-bTERR4
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4
August
Leading article in Westfalen-Blatt
A two-sided leading article about our team and synthetic biology was published in today's edition of the newspaper Westfalen-Blatt.
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2
August
Team up with the iGEM crew of Odense
Today we attended a video conference with the iGEM-Team of the SDU. We plan to cooperate with them by sharing knowledge and - more important - we plan to get to know the people personally and to have some fun together.
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