Team:DTU-Denmark/Engagement

Education and Public Engagement

This year our main goal has been to show the power of synthetic biology via the snake envenoming issue.


The Danish legislation is tough on synthetic biology, and it is not possible for high school students to make their own plasmid modifications [1]. We have, together with the danish organization Biotech Academy’s Biosensor project, made a free kit that will be distributed to high schools. This kit enables an average high school student to work with synthetic biology at his or her own school - while still taking the law into consideration.


Spreading the word of synthetic biology to the general public has also been at the core of our work. The importance and the solutions it offers, have been spread via presentations, fairs, articles, social media campaigns, but mainly through a documentary. A journalist is filming a documentary about our project, team, and the opportunities of synthetic biology.


Education

Whatever the challenge, it is important to spread passion to the researchers of tomorrow. Unfortunately synthetic biology is barely introduced in Denmark at the high school level. Nothing is quite like your first passion, and thus it is not a stretch to imagine that someone’s life can be completely changed by introducing students to synthetic biology at an earlier age. This is why we have decided to focus as much as we have on the Biosensor project, and education in general.


Biosensor

The Biosensor project is an effort to expose Danish high school students to the world of experimental synthetic biology. The Biosensor kit makes it possible for high school students to work with biobricks. As stated earlier, certain laws prohibit high school students to work with plasmid modifications [1].


The Biosensor project was created by DTU’s iGEM teams from 2015 [2] and 2016 [3], Biotech Academy, and further developed by the BioBuilders’ 2017 team. We are preparing to ship out the kits to 200 high schools in Denmark by Spring 2018.


The Exercise

The Biosensor is structured to give students creative freedom in the field of synthetic biology, while being simple. The entire exercise can be completed in just two days of laboratory work and testing. The exercise involves the following:



1. Digestion of selected genes (2 hours)


2. Ligation of genes and linearized vector to make a Biobrick plasmid (1.5 hours)


3. Transformation of Biosensor (3 hours)


4. Test of Biosensors (1 hour)



Excersise layout
Figure 1: Step by step of the exercise

See more information on the Biosensor webpage


Even though everything can be completed in two days, the exercise can be paused at any step by putting the DNA in a freezer. This makes the exercise adaptable to most classroom timetables, no matter how inflexible. At this moment Biosensor is in the first phase, which means that the Biosensor will not have detection promoters, but instead a constitutive promoter to show the response gene. The Biosensor kits are expected to be distributed in the Spring 2018. Biotech Academy is working on preparing a second phase kit, which will entail responsive promoters with the potential to detect specific molecules and express a chosen gene.



Contents of the Biosensor kit:

1. Tube with E. coli cells DH5 alpha in 15% glycerol


2. 1 detection genes


3. 7 response genes


4. Restriction enzymes


5. Primers


6. Plasmids (For amplification of more detection and response genes)


7. Chloramphenicol



Online platform

If you visit Biosensors webpage you will see that the webpage has an entire tab dedicated to the Biosensor project and Biotech Academy, this also includes pages about iGEM, DTU Denmark’s 2017 team, and our current project. On Biosensor’s webpage teachers will be able to order the Biosensor kit which comes with directions and safety measures. All the students will be able to read the protocol and the theory behind the Biosensor. Students will be able to submit their experimental results and describe their Biosensors on the webpage. Giving other students the opportunity to look at the biosensors already created and get inspiration.


Biosensors webpage
Figure 2: Screenshot of Biosensors introduction page.

Safety

The protocol has been done in collaboration with Kresten Cæsar Torp, the subject adviser for Biotechnology of the Danish Ministry for Children, Education and Gender Equality. This has been made to make sure that it is in tune with Danish law within synthetic biology. The parts have been approved by the Danish Working Environment Authority, meaning that no application work is needed by the high school teachers in order to work with the kit.


Biotech Academy collaboration

Our collaboration with Biotech Academy has been extensive and rewarding for both sides. In the early phases of our team we hosted the BioBrick Tutorial where we invited all the nordic teams to DTU. A former team member, and current employee of Biotech Academy, set up the laboratory exercises and gave a lecture on Biobricks. Biotech Academy has helped us with the understanding of Biobricks and advised on our laboratory strategy. Furthermore we received a AmilCP (BBa_K592009) culture from Biosensor to test our prototyped device in the early stages of the project.


In turn, we helped on the Biosensor project with their laboratory work by testing and developing response genes as well as optimizing production. The protocol was tested with our high school team member to make sure that it was understandable. Lastly, we gave a presentation about synthetic biology and our project at the Biotech Academy Camp for high school students.


Biosensor plates made in collaboration with iGEM Biosensor plates made in collaboration with iGEM
Figure 3: These plates was made in collaboration with Biosensor. The second picture is posted on Biosensors webpage.

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