Team:UiOslo Norway


U i O s l o : L A S I E R

Team-picture taken 18.08.2017

UiOslo iGEM 2017 is based in the University of Oslo, and have taken up the challenge to make a yeast-based biological laser, or biolaser.

On wikipedia, a laser, is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The term "laser" originated as an acronym for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation".

Our team of biologists and physicists have made this possible using green fluorescent protein (GFP) as the gain medium. GFP is a protein that absorbs light and emits light with lower energy. The GFP is actively produced by transgenic yeast (S. pombe). The pinhole of the laser is equiped with a filter that only allows the emitted light to pass, making the output of the apparatus monochromatic.

Why is the biolaser useful?

One of the properties of a biolaser compared to a non-biological one is that the implementation could involve a living, changing gain medium. The amount of fluorescent protein in the cell would change over time as protein is synthesized or broken down, which is something that could be monitored over time. Coupled with a proper setup, this could be a very useful tool for monitoring gene expression in real time. Changes in membrane shape in a particular cell would affect the optical properties of the cell, which further could affect the laser output to a measurable degree. As such, a biolaser has potential as a tool for basic research in cell biology and diagnostics.

Our project plan is set up with two main goals: making a functional proof-of-concept by testing the lasing potential of a superfolder GFP protein solution, and then taking it a step further by trying to use live yeast cells as the gain medium.

Your team has been approved and you are ready to start the iGEM season!

Before you start:

Please read the following pages:

Styling your wiki

You may style this page as you like or you can simply leave the style as it is. You can easily keep the styling and edit the content of these default wiki pages with your project information and completely fulfill the requirement to document your project.

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Wiki template information

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Tips

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