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− | background-image: url("https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2017/1/15/US_AFRL_CarrollHS_Silver_HumanPractices.jpg");} | + | background-image: url("https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2017/b/b1/US_AFRL_CarrollHS_Silver_HumanPractices1.jpg");} |
| </style> | | </style> |
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| <div class="hero-image"> | | <div class="hero-image"> |
− | <div class="hero-text"> | + | <div class="hero-text2"> |
| <h1>Silver Human Practices</h1> | | <h1>Silver Human Practices</h1> |
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| <div class="text"> | | <div class="text"> |
− | <h2>Product Design</h2> | + | <h2>Product Design </h2> |
− | <p>Kill switch? </p> | + | <p>Many concerns exist with genetically modified organisms mutating and infecting the human body or initiating an outbreak in the environment. Our part is designed in such a way that the bacteria will bind to and remain inside a cellulose pellicle. This way, in the unlikely situation of the microbe mutating, it will stay contained inside this cellulose pellicle and not be able to infect the human body or spread into the environment. |
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| <h2>Scale-up and Deployment Issues </h2> | | <h2>Scale-up and Deployment Issues </h2> |
| <p>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. </p> | | <p>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. </p> |
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| <div class="text2"> | | <div class="text2"> |
| <h2>Ethics</h2> | | <h2>Ethics</h2> |
− | <p>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.</p> | + | <p>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 <i>E. coli</i> that can cause Traveler’s Stomach.</p> |
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| <h2>Safety</h2> | | <h2>Safety</h2> |
− | <p> 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 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 | + | <p>Because of the csgA-dCBD part (BBa_k2522000), the engineered microbe will be safe to ingest as it will be encapsulated in cellulose. This encasement will permit the microbe to move through the GI tract or remain in water without the possibility of infection. If the microbe should mutate, it would remain contained within the cellulose in order to keep the person ingesting the microbe safe from infection.</p> |
− | 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.
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− | </p> | + | |
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| <h2>Risk Assessment </h2> | | <h2>Risk Assessment </h2> |
− | <p>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. </p> | + | <p>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. </p> |
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