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From 2012.igem.org

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

GMO Collaboration

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.

• Dr. Fred Below, Professor of Crop Physiology
• Dr. Rita Mumm, Director of Illinois Plant Breeding Center
• Dr. Stephen Moose, Professor of Plant Genomics
• Dr. Huimin Zhao, Centennial Endowed Chair Professor

Genome Day

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

SynBio Presentations

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