Team:Michigan/Human Practices
Human Practices
As we strove to improve our kill-switch, we sought the opinions of experts in the field to consult on our project and design. The experts concurred that we had a novel idea that would be a useful property in research lab strains. The incorporation of our kill-switch into pathogenic strains, which could lower the BSL2 certification needed to work with pathogenic strains such as MRSA to BSL1, was pointed out as a potential application. This would enable more labs to study antibiotic resistant strains. The idea of using our temperature controlled kill-switch design to repress the biosynthesis of an essential cellular building block, like alanine, was also proposed as a more reliable and specific way to kill bacteria upon exposure to low temperature. Another suggestion was that our kill-switch would be used to induce the lysis of bacteria during protein purification, bypassing the need for expensive sonication equipment.
We have worked diligently to create initiatives that help foster a more positive image of synthetic biology within the public sphere by bridging the gap between them and scientists through education. This year, we hosted a panel on the applications and safety concerns of GMOs. The event had over 50 attendants and featured four faculty members who discussed a variety of topics, addressing both scientific and public concerns while establishing dialogue with the audience. We featured in “The Peer Review” podcast, where we spoke about science crowdfunding. To engage with burgeoning future scientists of ages 5 to 10, we read an original, illustrated children’s book, written by MSBT, at Peace Neighborhood community center’s story time. Additionally, we held an event at a children’s science museum where we constructed a series of activities designed to engage children, asking them to think critically about DNA and synthetic biology as a tool for problem-solving.
