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| − | <p>Our team decided a kill switch would make our project safe for use. <i>E. coli</i> should not be introduced into a biosystem if it cannot be controlled. An out of control bacteria could mutate into a harmful bacteria, or hurt the microbiome and ecosystem already there. If we had a kill switch for our project, we could not only keep the bacteria contained in our cellulose matrix with the dCDB (double cellulose binding domain) but also make sure the bacteria does not grow out of control. Too many bacteria might cause the cellulose to be overwhelmed and let a few bacterium float away. This could eventually be harmful if the bacterium mutated or takes away nutrients the natural bacteria needs. The kill switch would allow our bacteria to not grow over a certain population so that we do not have any the will not bind to the cellulose and keep it contained. We could also create a kind of kill switch where our cellulose provides a synthetic nutrient that the bacteria need to survive. If the bacteria fall off of the cellulose, it will not find the nutrient in nature and will then die and not affect the microbiome. We could eventually work with both ideas and put them together in a continuation project to create a very safe, contained probiotic that people can ingest or place into a water sample without fear of the bacteria harming any people, animals, microbiome or ecosystem. | + | <p>Our team decided a kill switch would make our project safe for use. An engineered organism should not be introduced into a biosystem if it cannot be controlled. An out of control bacteria could mutate into a harmful bacteria, or harm the microbiome and ecosystem already there. If we had a kill switch for our project, we could not only keep the bacteria contained in our cellulose matrix with the dCDB (double cellulose binding domain) but also make sure the bacteria does not grow out of control. Too many bacteria might cause the cellulose to be overwhelmed and let a few bacterium float away. This could eventually be harmful if the bacterium mutated or takes away nutrients the natural bacteria needs. The kill switch would allow our bacteria to not grow over a certain population so that we do not have any the will not bind to the cellulose and keep it contained. We could also create a kind of kill switch where our cellulose provides a synthetic nutrient that the bacteria need to survive. If the bacteria fall off of the cellulose, it will not find the nutrient in nature and will then die and not affect the microbiome. We could eventually work with both ideas and put them together in a continuation project to create a very safe, contained probiotic that people can ingest or place into a water sample without fear of the bacteria harming any people, animals, microbiome or ecosystem. |
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Revision as of 13:15, 1 November 2017
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Team
Team
Mentors
Collaborations
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Project
Description
Interlab
Design
Experiments
Notebook
Contributions
Modeling
Results
Improve
Attributions
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Parts
Parts
Basic Parts
Composite Parts
- Safety
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Human Practices
Silver HP
Integrated and Gold HP
Public Engagement
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Judging
Medal Criteria
Judging Form
Public Engagement
The team for public engagement spoke to many different groups of people at various events in our area. We focused on teaching younger generations; informing such a group about synthetic biology is vital due to the field’s current blossoming industry and its modern day applications. The team also took several trips to grade schools previously attended by team members and presented to the sixth through eighth graders. This presentation briefly explained our project and went into depth about fundamental concepts of synthetic biology and its purposes. After the presentation, the grade schoolers completed a lab using candy to create DNA models, helping them better understand basic genetics. Furthermore, our team ran a booth at an open house at our high school in order to clarify the purpose of our project to more of the general public. In order to aid this explanation, our team presented on synthetic biology and our research, as well as distributed brochures that further described these topics.
Education
The team for education traveled to local schools in the area and spoke about the basics of synthetic biology and our research to students who may be interested in science and research. We explained the topics to the students in a manner that was comprehensible, but still informative. For different levels of students, different demonstrations were presented in order to cater to that age range. Besides the middle-school presentations, a high school lesson plan was created to be sent out to our high school and surrounding schools for teachers to provide a basis in synthetic biology and research with molecular biology.
Product Design
Our team decided a kill switch would make our project safe for use. An engineered organism should not be introduced into a biosystem if it cannot be controlled. An out of control bacteria could mutate into a harmful bacteria, or harm the microbiome and ecosystem already there. If we had a kill switch for our project, we could not only keep the bacteria contained in our cellulose matrix with the dCDB (double cellulose binding domain) but also make sure the bacteria does not grow out of control. Too many bacteria might cause the cellulose to be overwhelmed and let a few bacterium float away. This could eventually be harmful if the bacterium mutated or takes away nutrients the natural bacteria needs. The kill switch would allow our bacteria to not grow over a certain population so that we do not have any the will not bind to the cellulose and keep it contained. We could also create a kind of kill switch where our cellulose provides a synthetic nutrient that the bacteria need to survive. If the bacteria fall off of the cellulose, it will not find the nutrient in nature and will then die and not affect the microbiome. We could eventually work with both ideas and put them together in a continuation project to create a very safe, contained probiotic that people can ingest or place into a water sample without fear of the bacteria harming any people, animals, microbiome or ecosystem.
Scale-up and Deployment Issues
The final product of an engineered microbe bound to cellulose has a clear application to illnesses affecting deployed personnel. The bacteria can sense and respond to ETEC, a form of Traveler’s Stomach that affects over half of deployed soldiers, while encapsulated in a cellulose module that could either pass through the human GI tract unharmed or be placed into drinking water. To scale up this project the product would need to withstand travel and field conditions. Additionally, the product has to be ready for use at all times for either ingestion or to test drinking water lest ETEC-contaminated food or water affect the personnel. These potential issues could cause the product to fail in extreme conditions, but the product is fairly durable and should be able to last through general deployment.
Environmental Impact
The final constructed part will be encapsulated inside a cellulose pellicle. This cellulose matrix will both protect the genetically modified part from damage and prevent the part from harming the environment through the potential of mutating. Furthermore, the organism will be unable to spread out into the environment and expand into the ecosystem.
Ethics
While many citizens still possess fears concerning the modern prevalence of genetically modified organisms, numerous precautions are taken to prevent any potential hazards. In addition, the intent of the engineered microbe is to aid civilians employed by the government or deployed personnel by protecting them from infection by certain strains of E. coli that can cause Traveler’s Stomach.
Safety
The microbe would have to be further modified in order to ensure total safety. When the research is continued, a kill switch would be incorporated into the microbe in order to ensure that the microbe cannot escape into any environment and mutate. However, several precautions are already incorporated into the engineered microbe. The strain of E. coli intended for use as the carrier of the modified plasmids is harmless to humans. Moreover, both of the altered plasmids contain antibiotic resistance, resulting in the expulsion
The plasmids also have antibiotic resistance which means that our edited plasmid would be kicked out, which would make the bacteria nearly worthless as it would no longer have any of the capabilities that we edited into it.
Security
All of the conducted experiments were performed in secure labs that meet standard regulations. Additionally, all data was recorded by hand until it was cleared and entered into the Wiki, preventing tampering with the data or notes.
Risk Assessment
Due to the bacteria being a probiotic, there is no risk of the bacteria infecting the person that ingested the organism. However there is a possibility of the organism mutating, but the organism will be encapsulated inside a cellulose pellicle to ensure that if it does mutate, the bacteria will be contained and will be unable to infect the person or to spread throughout the GI tract.
