Difference between revisions of "Team:Calgary/Education"

(Replaced content with "MOVED")
 
Line 1: Line 1:
−
{{Team:Calgary/BasicPage
+
MOVED
−
 
+
−
|CONTENT=
+
−
<html>
+
−
<h1>Education</h1>
+
−
 
+
−
<h2>PHB Simulator</h2>
+
−
 
+
−
<div id="OneCol"><img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2017/3/39/Calgary2017_Simulation2.png"></div>
+
−
 
+
−
<p>One of the projects we took on this year was to see how we can use software tools to make the complex processes in synthetic biology a bit more accessible to the public. Several team members did not come from a biology background, so we decided to create a visual simulation that would demonstrate the pathways and enzymes involved in PHB production to a nonacademic audience. We were inspired by the <a href="http://swarm-design.org/">Swarm Design</a> lab lead by Dr. Jacob, which used game engines such as Unity and UnReal to create visual and virtual reality models of the entire human body.  </p>
+
−
 
+
−
<div id="OneCol"><img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2017/f/fc/Calgary2017_Simulation5.png"></div>
+
−
 
+
−
<p><b>PHB Simulator</b> arose out of a preexisting project that demonstrated the Lac Operon in an <i>E. coli</i> cell. We took the cell and instead of using it for the Lac Operon, used it to simulate the Beta Oxidation and Glycolysis pathways, and the enzymes that are used to create PHB. In the simulation the user can explore in two different ways. First, the two pathways are isolated in glass jars which contain just the enzymes responsible for turning VFAs into PHB or acetyl-CoA into PHB. At each of these jars, the user is able to spawn either VFA or acetyl-CoA molecules and then watch the sequence and order of enzymes that it takes to transform it into PHB. Like in our real life system, once a molecule is transformed (indicated by turning a pale blue) it floats around in the medium, implying that some method of post processing, like the <a href="#">electrocoagulation method</a>, is applied to the media.</p>
+
−
 
+
−
<p>The second option is for the user to actually view this process inside an <i>E. coli</i> cell. Here, there is an additional educational component in that the user can select any molecule and learn more about it. For example, when selecting a floating enzyme, the user will receive the name, graphic, which gene this enzyme comes from, as well as a brief description regarding where in the process it falls.</p>
+
−
 
+
−
<div id="OneCol"><img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2017/9/9c/Calgary2017_Simulation4.png"></div>
+
−
 
+
−
<p>The cell view also has buttons that help guide the user through the glycolysis and beta oxidation pathways. This is because the VFA or acetyl-CoA molecule will change after each enzyme interaction, meaning it turns into anywhere from three to four other molecules on its way to becoming PHB. We recognize that a user might not realize this or be able to catch the molecule in one of its intermediary stages, so this function is intended to educate on every part of the system, not just those are the obvious and always present.</p>
+
−
 
+
−
<p>We have used our team and mentors as beta testers on the program, and in future steps would like to incorporate it into a virtual reality experience with the Oculus Rift. Unfortunately, due to the very large file size of the simulation, the wiki servers were not able to upload it. However, we will be demonstrating it at our poster during the course of the Jamboree if you are interested in taking a look. It comes in both a Windows and Mac executable file (just like an application).</p>
+
−
<br>
+
−
<h2>Access to Synthetic Biology</h2>
+
−
<p>
+
−
Synthetic biology is an important tool to explore new worlds and improve our own. If people all over the world shared an equal (and robust) understanding of the principles of synthetic biology, multinational collaboration on synthetic biology projects would be possible – this could improve quality of life across the world through the development of synthetic biology-based novel pharmaceutical therapies, environmental remediation, and materials manufacturing processes. The open-source nature of synthetic biology and the close connections between the synthetic biology and information technology sectors would suggest that people all over the world are able to take part in synthetic biology projects, yet work in synthetic biology is largely undertaken by academic institutions in North America and Western Europe, and these geographic regions are overrepresented in international conferences such as iGEM.
+
−
</p>
+
−
<div id="TwoCols">
+
−
<img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2017/2/2c/Calgary_2012teams.png" alt="1"/>
+
−
<img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2017/2/2a/Calgary_2017teams.png" alt="2"/>
+
−
</div>
+
−
<div id="Caption"><b>Figure 1:</b>Distribution of iGEM teams across the world in 2012 (left; 251 teams total) and 2017 (right; 339 teams total). As the conference has grown, more teams are participating, but the number of teams from North America and Western Europe remains disproportionately high. Data retrieved from iGEM (2017).</div>
+
−
<p>Synthetic biology has been compared to computing in that the structure of the synthetic biology community is open-source (Evans & Selgelid, 2015). This is not limited to information sharing within and between academic institutions; the public is already aware of synthetic biology and synthetic biology will become more and more relevant to the interests of the public, much like the field of computer science in the latter half of the twentieth century (Evans & Selgelid, 2015). The open-source nature of the field allows, in theory, for increased access to information and increased opportunities to participate in knowledge creation (Evans & Selgelid, 2015). <b>Thus, the barriers to accessing synthetic biology are not innate features of the field itself, but are the result of other external factors.</b>
+
−
</p>
+
−
<p>We examined the literature on synthetic biology (and anecdotes from iGEM teams in China and Pakistan) and found two barriers which were present in geographic regions which were seemingly underrepresented in the synthetic biology field (and some regions which were well-represented)</p>
+
−
<ol>
+
−
<li>Prohibitive cost (Kelwick et al., 2015)</li>
+
−
<li>Social conceptions of synthetic biology: deemed “unnatural” or unethical (Dabrock et al., 2016)</li>
+
−
</ol>
+
−
 
+
−
<h3>Solutions:</h3>
+
−
 
+
−
<p>The social, political, and economic differences between the different regions in the world which are underrepresented in the synthetic biology community should be considered while implementing these solutions:
+
−
<br>
+
−
<br>
+
−
With regards to cost:
+
−
<ul>
+
−
<li>researchers could take advantage of lower-cost alternatives to traditional laboratory equipment (Seyfried et al., 2014)</li>
+
−
</ul>
+
−
<br>
+
−
With regards to social perceptions:
+
−
<ul>
+
−
<li>implementing a strong curricular focus on synthetic biology: responsible uses, biosafety (Rager-Zisman, 2012; Van Est & Stemerding, 2013; Kelwick et al., 2015)</li>
+
−
<li>public outreach campaigns (Seyfried et al., 2014)</li>
+
−
</ul>
+
−
</p>
+
−
<p>Our team's solution to the issue of accessing synthetic biology was the creation of an iGEM Manual video series (adapted from our own experiences as a team, plus other resources such as the <a href="https://igem.org/Resources">iGEM Manuals created by previous teams</a>. We developed a plan for our video series, gathered advice from other teams, and drafted several episodes; however, we were unable to film our video series this year. This could be a project taken on by future teams. We have uploaded our list of episodes and an abridged version of the content we wanted to cover below:</p>
+
−
 
+
−
<button class="accordion"><h3><i class="fa fa-chevron-down"> </i>iGEM Manual</h3></button>
+
−
<div class="panel" style="text-align:center;">
+
−
<object data="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2017/c/c1/Calgary2017_Worksheet5-6.pdf" type="application/pdf" width="75%" height="600px">
+
−
Your device does not support embed PDFs. Please click the following link to open up the PDF. <a href="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2017/c/c1/Calgary2017_Worksheet5-6.pdf">Calgary2017_Grade4-6Handout.pdf</a>
+
−
</object>
+
−
</div>
+
−
</html>
+
−
 
+
−
|REFERENCES=
+
−
<html>
+
−
<!-- If you want to included references, please include a heading (h2) titles "Works Cited" followed by all your references in separate paragraph tags -->
+
−
<h2>Works Cited </h2>
+
−
<p>Dabrock, P., Braun, M., Ried, J., & Sonnewald, U. (2016). A primer to 'bio-objects': New challenges at the interface of science, technology and society. 7 (1-2): 1-6.</p>
+
−
<p>Evans, L.G. & Selgelid, M.J. (2015). Biosecurity and Open-Source Biology: The Promise and Peril of Distributed Synthetic Biological Technologies. Science and Engineering Ethics 21(4): 1065-1083.</p>
+
−
<p>iGEM (2017). Team List for 2012 iGEM Championship. [Web}. International Genetically Engineered Machine Competition. Cambridge, MA, USA. Retrieved from: https://igem.org/Team_List?year=2012&name=Championship&division=igem</p>
+
−
<p>iGEM (2017). Team List for 2017 iGEM Championship. [Web]. International Genetically Engineered Machine Competition. Cambridge, MA, USA. Retrieved from: https://igem.org/Team_List?year=2017&name=Championship&division=igem</p>
+
−
<p>Kelwick, R., Bowater, L., Yeoman, K.H. & Bowater, R.P. (2015). Promoting microbiology education through the iGEM synthetic biology competition. FEMS Microbiology Letters. 362 (16). Retrieved from: https://doi-org.ezproxy.lib.ucalgary.ca/10.1093/femsle/fnv129</p>
+
−
<p>Rager-Zisman, B. (2012). Ethical and Regulatory Challenges Posed by Synthetic Biology. Perspectives in Biology and Medicine. 55 (4): 590-607.</p>
+
−
<p>Raimbault, B., Cointet, J. & Joly, P. (2016). Mapping the Emergence of Synthetic Biology. PLOS One. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0161522.</p>
+
−
<p>Seyfried, G., Pei, L. & Schmidt, M. (2014). European do-it-yourself (DIY) biology: Beyond the hope, hype and horror. BioEssays. 36 (6): 548-551.</p>
+
−
<p>Van Est, R. & Stemerding, D. (2013). Governance strategies for living technologies: Bridging the gap between stimulating and regulating technoscience. Artificial Life. 19 (3-4): 437-450. </p>
+
−
</html>
+
−
}}
+
−
 
+
−
<html>
+
−
<head>
+
−
<style>
+
−
/*The layout formatting*/
+
−
 
+
−
 
+
−
#Cartoons{
+
−
text-align:center;
+
−
}
+
−
 
+
−
#Cartoons img{
+
−
width: 10%;
+
−
    margin: 1rem;
+
−
}
+
−
 
+
−
 
+
−
#TableContainer {
+
−
position: relative;
+
−
display: flex;
+
−
}
+
−
 
+
−
#Photo {
+
−
max-width: 75%;
+
−
    margin: 0em;
+
−
border-radius: 10%;
+
−
background-color: #daede5;
+
−
padding: 2rem;
+
−
}
+
−
 
+
−
#Text{
+
−
padding-left: 0em;
+
−
}
+
−
 
+
−
.leftColumn, .rightColumn { 
+
−
padding: 0em;
+
−
 
+
−
}
+
−
 
+
−
.leftColumn{
+
−
width:40%;
+
−
padding: 2rem;
+
−
min-height: 100%;
+
−
}
+
−
 
+
−
.rightColumn{
+
−
width:70%;
+
−
padding: 0em;
+
−
min-height:100%}
+
−
 
+
−
 
+
−
 
+
−
@media only screen and (max-width: 58.75em ) {
+
−
#TableContainer{
+
−
display: inline;
+
−
}
+
−
.leftColumn, .rightColumn{width: 100%;}
+
−
 
+
−
.rightColumn{padding:0;}
+
−
 
+
−
.leftColumn{text-align:center;}
+
−
 
+
−
#Photo {
+
−
max-width: 75%;
+
−
}
+
−
 
+
−
}
+
−
 
+
−
@media only screen and (min-width: 44.75em ) {
+
−
 
+
−
#TableContainer img{
+
−
padding: 0px;
+
−
}
+
−
 
+
−
}
+
−
 
+
−
button.accordion.active i.fa-chevron-down{
+
−
    -webkit-transform: rotate(180deg);
+
−
    -moz-transform: rotate(180deg);
+
−
    -o-transform: rotate(180deg);
+
−
    -ms-transform: rotate(180deg);
+
−
    transform: rotate(180deg);
+
−
  -webkit-transition: all 0.4s ease;
+
−
  -o-transition: all 0.4s ease;
+
−
  transition: all 0.4s ease;
+
−
}
+
−
 
+
−
button.accordion {
+
−
    background-color: #faece5;
+
−
    color: black;
+
−
    cursor: pointer;
+
−
    width: 100%;
+
−
    border: none;
+
−
    -moz-border-radius: 4px;
+
−
    -webkit-border-radius: 4px;
+
−
    border-radius: 15px;
+
−
    text-align: left;
+
−
    outline: none;
+
−
    font-size: 15px;
+
−
    transition: 0.4s;
+
−
    margin-top: 2%;
+
−
    padding-left: 2rem;
+
−
    padding-right: 6rem;
+
−
    padding-top: 0.5rem;
+
−
    padding-bottom: 0.5rem;
+
−
}
+
−
 
+
−
button.accordion.active, button.accordion:hover {
+
−
    background-color: #fcf3ef;
+
−
}
+
−
 
+
−
button.accordion i.fa-chevron-down {
+
−
  -webkit-transition: all 0.4s ease;
+
−
  -o-transition: all 0.4s ease;
+
−
  transition: all 0.4s ease;
+
−
}
+
−
 
+
−
div.panel {
+
−
    padding: 1% 1%;
+
−
    display: none;
+
−
    background-color: white;
+
−
}
+
−
</style>
+
−
<script>
+
−
$(document).ready(function(){
+
−
$('.accordion').on('click', function() {
+
−
$(this).next().slideToggle(400);
+
−
  $(this).toggleClass('active');
+
−
});
+
−
})
+
−
</script>
+
−
 
+
−
</head>
+
−
</html>
+

Latest revision as of 17:23, 30 October 2017

MOVED