Team:Calgary/Engagement
Engagement
Giving back to our community
Our team decided to educate future scientists in our community by developing educational material on genetic engineering and synthetic biology. We created workshops for different age groups (ages 11-13, 13-16, and 17-18) and tailored them to the science curriculum currently taught in Albertan schools.
For each age group, we created deliverables in the form of a teacher guide, worksheets, and laboratory instructions. These materials are now available to the public and free use for members of the community who wish to perform safe experiments to understand matters of genetics, synthetic biology and genetic engineering using ingredients and materials found at home.
We held workshops this iGEM season at the at Minds in Motion University of Calgary summer camps, Sir Winston Churchill High School and Master's Academy High School, and they were an excellent opportunity for us to entice students and encourage them to think about the applications of synthetic biology!
Minds in Motion Workshops
Minds in Motion is an established University of Calgary science and engineering summer camp. It welcomes children from diverse backgrounds and various age groups with a single goal in mind: to satisfy their endless curiosity. This year, we organized a 90 minute-long workshop for campers aged 11-13 and one 75 minute-long workshop for campers aged 13-16.
The workshops developed for the 11-13 age group included:
- an introduction to genes and DNA
- an explanation of DNA’s role in the body
- an interactive activity where campers were presented with a gene-making "kit" which included Twizzler candy for the phosphate backbone and gummies for nucleotides
In the interactive “gene-building” activity, campers had a chance to create their own genes, while keeping in mind the nucleotides’ compatibility. They each shared a trait that their gene coded for. Afterwards, kids were organized in pairs and had a chance to create a longer genetic sequence out of their individual genes, and explained the traits that their organism would possess.
The workshop concluded with a discussion and Q&A session on myths and facts about GMOs. We also discussed why and how genetic engineering is used in various industries.
The workshop for the group ages 13-16 focused on genetically modified crops and started with an apple as Earth metaphor. This gave the campers an idea of just how little of the earth is available for crop production. The metaphor was followed by a discussion on the role of genetic engineering in improving agricultural yields and feeding the planet. We then discussed the main steps of the genetic engineering process in plants. The final part of the workshop was a strawberry DNA extraction experiment, where campers extracted DNA from strawberries using detergent, rubbing alcohol, and table salt.
Our team was impressed with the kids’ interest in genetics and synthetic biology. It was encouraging to hear that the campers we met throughout the summer were aware of GMOs and entertained the idea that GMOs can be used to benefit humankind.
Sir Winston Churchill Workshop
We were invited to perform a synthetic biology presentation to the International Baccalaureate students at a local high school, Sir Winston Churchill, on June 12th. This involved a presentation on what synthetic biology entails and how it is applicable in the real world, an introduction to iGEM and our project, as well as a strawberry DNA extraction experiment and DNA gel electrophoresis. The intention of this presentation was to educate students on the emerging realm of synthetic biology and foster interest in the field. Several graduating students expressed interest in joining next year's team and were given contact information of current members for when 2018 recruitment begins.
Master's Academy Workshop
Following our demo at Sir Winston Churchill High School, our team was contacted by another local high school, Master's Academy, to explain the details of synthetic biology and help interested students start an iGEM team. On October 30, we conducted a talk at the high school and focused on the specifics of setting up an iGEM team. We will be following up with Master's Academy's new iGEM team and look forward to possible collaborations and mentorship opportunities with our newly-fostered team in the future.
Beakerhead: Petri Dish Picasso
In collaboration with the University of Calgary Biological Sciences Graduate Student Association (BGSA,) we volunteered at their Beakerhead Petri Dish Picasso event. Beakerhead is an annual festival in Calgary that combines art, science, and engineering to present interactive installations around the city. These installations are meant to educate and engage Calgarians in discussion around the aforementioned fields. At Petri Dish Picasso, participants are given the opportunity to create artwork by "painting" with E.coli strains that have been engineered to express different coloured fluorescent proteins on an agar plate. Besides having fun and being creative, participants also learned about the principles of genetic engineering, the safety aspects of genetic engineering and handling bacteria, and how this relates to the use of GMOs in society. Volunteering at this event was a wonderful way for the team to engage the local community in discussion about genetic engineering and its impacts on a global scale.
TELUS Spark Adults Only Night: Hack It
Many team members participated in an exhibition at the Adults Only Night at our local science centre, TELUS Spark. Here we interacted with dozens of people from the general public where we explained what iGEM is and the basics of our project. At the same time, we had the opportunity to guide participants through a fun science experiment where they made their own bioplastic using ingredients commonly found in the kitchen!
Several people had questions about what exactly genetic engineering is, and they expressed their concerns about GMOs. Our team was able to honestly and meaningfully discuss these issues to improve their understanding of the topic at hand. Our team is passionate about equal access to knowledge in science, and we feel that this event was a great opportunity for us to spread awareness of genetic engineering while fostering the acquisition of basic knowledge in the field.
PHB Simulator
One of the projects we took on this year was to see how we could 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 non-academic audience. We were inspired by the Swarm Design lab led by Dr. Christian Jacob, which uses game engines such as Unity and UnReal to create visual and virtual reality models of the entire human body.
The PHB Simulator arose out of a pre-existing project that demonstrated the functions of the lac operon in an E. coli cell. We took the cell used it to simulate the altered metabolic pathways involved in our project used to create PHB. The user can explore our simulation in two different ways. First, the beta-oxidation and glycolysis pathways are isolated in glass jars which contain just the enzymes responsible for turning VFAs or acetyl-CoA into PHB. At each of these jars, the user is able to spawn either VFA or acetyl-CoA molecules and watch as the enzymes our constructs code for transform the molecules into PHB. Like our real-life system, once a substrate is altered by an enzyme (indicated by turning a pale blue) it floats around in the medium, implying that some method of post-processing, such as the electrocoagulation method, is being applied to the media.
The second option is for the user to actually view this process inside an E. coli cell. Here, there is an additional educational component where the user can select any molecule to learn more about it. For example, when selecting a cytoplasmic enzyme, the user will receive the name, graphic, gene of origin, and a brief description regarding where in the process it falls.
The cell view also has buttons that help guide the user through our engineered metabolic 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.
We have used our team and mentors as beta testers on the program, and in the future, we would like to incorporate the PHB Simulator into a virtual reality experience with the Oculus Rift. Unfortunately, due to the very large file size of the simulation, the iGEM servers were not able to upload this file. 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).
International Access to Synthetic Biology
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 projects would be possible – this could improve the quality of life across the world through the development of synthetic biology-based novel pharmaceutical therapies, environmental remediation, and material 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. These geographic regions are overrepresented in international conferences such as iGEM.
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 it will become increasingly 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). Thus, the barriers to accessing synthetic biology are not innate features of the field itself but are the result of other external factors.
We examined 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:
- Prohibitive cost (Kelwick et al., 2015)
- Social conceptions of synthetic biology: deemed “unnatural” or unethical (Dabrock et al., 2016)
Solutions:
The social, political, and economic differences between the various underrepresented regions in the world should be considered while implementing these solutions:
With regards to cost:
- Researchers could take advantage of lower-cost alternatives to traditional laboratory equipment (Seyfried et al., 2014)
With regards to social perceptions:
- Implement a strong curricular focus on synthetic biology: responsible uses, biosafety (Rager-Zisman, 2012; Van Est & Stemerding, 2013; Kelwick et al., 2015)
- Public outreach campaigns (Seyfried et al., 2014)
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 iGEM Manuals created by previous teams. 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:
Works Cited
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
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
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
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
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
Rager-Zisman, B. (2012). Ethical and Regulatory Challenges Posed by Synthetic Biology. Perspectives in Biology and Medicine. 55 (4): 590-607.
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
Seyfried, G., Pei, L. & Schmidt, M. (2014). European do-it-yourself (DIY) biology: Beyond the hope, hype and horror. BioEssays. 36 (6): 548-551.
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
