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BioCraft
Where We Pass on Our Passions
As Bertrand Russell has put it, three passions, simple but overwhelmingly strong, have governed our life: the longing for love, the search for knowledge, and unbearable pity for the suffering of mankind. And in like manner, we put our heart and soul into the field of Synthetic Biology.
We have sought love, first, through the interactions between teammates, through the countless nights and weekends we spent together in the library and laboratory. With equal passion we have sought knowledge. We have tried to apprehend the genetic power by which DNA holds sway above expression and what people can do about it, via literature searching, brainstorming, experimental design and modeling.
Love and knowledge, so far as they were possible, led upward toward the heavens, but always pity brought us back to earth. The more we learn, the more echoes of cries of pain reverberate in our heart. Children in famine, victims tortured by illness and the whole world of energy shortage, make a mockery of what human life should be. We long to alleviate this evil by means of what we master.
This is how we feel about iGEM and Synthetic Biology. We have found it worth experiencing, and would gladly pass on the passions to others. Hence the comprehensive academic community BioCraft emerges at a historic moment.
Who We Are and What We Believe
If anyone asks, we would refer to ourselves as a bunch of craftsmen in white uniforms and the laboratory is our manual workshop where amazing happens. Simply speaking, we use DNA sequences of defined structure and function as standard parts, which will be assembled to create multifarious devices. Thus, the prefix “Bio” has been labeled in our name.
Synthetic Biology is a new biological area of research and technology, adding a new dimension to biotechnological revolution. Its broad application prospect excites everybody, including better availability of vaccine and new medicine, sustainable energy source made from reproducible materials, bioremediation and biosensors to detect toxic chemicals.
What people have now achieved may just cover a diminutive piece of the big picture. But little by little, we believe, we can make it happen.
What We Do
We inform people, but most of the time, we impress people.
The activities we have successfully held this year:
1) Fun Competition of Basic Biology Knowledge[Learn more…]
A big examination of basic biology knowledge taken by the undergraduate students of various majors other than biology; the top 30 scoring participants got the chance to do some interesting biological experiments.
2) Journal Club[Learn more…]
Held in the university library, teaching lower grade students to get the hang of literature reviewing and make good use of enormous internet database; students can have hands-on practice in the computer rooms.
3) Synthetic Biology Lecture Collection (outside campus) [Learn more…]
4) Synthetic Biology Lecture Collection (inside campus) [Learn more…]
We give lectures to the students in our university; and held a debate match on the issue of biosafety concerning Synthetic Biology.
5) Pop Music Kuso[Learn more…]
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