scholarly journals Biosafety Considerations of Synthetic Biology in the International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) Competition

BioScience ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 63 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zheng-jun Guan ◽  
Markus Schmidt ◽  
Lei Pei ◽  
Wei Wei ◽  
Ke-ping Ma
Keyword(s):  
Synthetic Biology ◽  
Genetically Engineered

scholarly journals Students go through the gears at the iGEM competition for engineering biology

2019 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 58-61
Author(s):  
Joshua Lawrence ◽  
Siwat Chang ◽  
Luis Chaves Rodriguez ◽  
Thomas Ouldridge
Keyword(s):  
Synthetic Biology ◽  
Real World ◽  
Genetically Engineered ◽  
Imperial College ◽  
Exciting Opportunity ◽  
Real World Problems

The annual International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) competition, represents an exciting opportunity for students to experience first-hand the potential of synthetic biology approaches to solve real-world problems. In this article, an iGEM team based at Imperial College London share some of the highlights from their participation in the 2018 iGEM event, including sharing their work at the annual Jamboree in Boston, Massachusetts.

Cultivation of Synthetic Biology with the iGEM Competition

2013 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 161-166
Author(s):  
Thiprampai Thamamongood ◽  
◽  
Nathaniel Z. L. Lim ◽  
Trevor Y.H. Ho ◽  
Shotaro Ayukawa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Synthetic Biology ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Environmental Remediation ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Genetically Engineered ◽  
Educational Impact ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Eye Opening ◽  
Scientists And Engineers ◽  
Living Organisms

The main goal of synthetic biology is to create new biological modules that augment or modify the behavior of living organisms in performing different tasks. These modules are useful in a wide range of applications, such as medicine, agriculture, energy and environmental remediation. The concept is simple, but a paradigm shift needs to be in place among future life scientists and engineers to embrace this new direction. The international Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) competition fits this purpose well as a synthetic biology competition mainly for undergraduate students. Participants design and construct biological devices using standardized and customized biological parts that are then characterized and submitted to an existing and ever expanding library. Overall, iGEM is an eye-opening learning experience for undergraduate students. It has made a strong educational impact on participating students and cultivated a future cohort of synthetic biology practitioners and ambassadors.

Synthetic Biology and the International Genetically Engineered Machines Competition

BIOS ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 81 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Todd T. Eckdahl ◽  
A. Malcolm Campbell ◽  
Laurie J. Heyer ◽  
Jeffrey L. Poet
Keyword(s):  
Synthetic Biology ◽  
Genetically Engineered

scholarly journals Genetically Engineering Coral for Conservation: Psychological Correlates of Public Acceptability

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aditi Mankad ◽  
Elizabeth V. Hobman ◽  
Lucy Carter
Keyword(s):  
Synthetic Biology ◽  
Great Barrier Reef ◽  
Technology Development ◽  
Coral Cover ◽  
Public Support ◽  
Genetically Engineered ◽  
Path Model ◽  
World Heritage Site ◽  
Relative Advantage ◽  
Barrier Reef

Coral bleaching contributes to widespread reef loss globally, including Australia’s World Heritage site, the Great Barrier Reef. Synthetic biology offers the potential to isolate and cultivate strains of coral that can naturally withstand higher sea surface temperatures associated with climate change. A national survey was conducted (N = 1,148 Australians) measuring psychological predictors of support for a synthetic biology conservation solution to coral loss. The analysis showed a partially mediated path model was useful in explaining a significant amount of variance in public support for the development of genetically engineered coral for conservation (R2 = 0.40) and in willingness to visit parts of the Great Barrier Reef where genetically engineered coral had (hypothetically) been introduced (R2 = 0.24). Participants were moderately strongly supportive of technology development and were most keen to implement genetically engineered coral with between 50 and 70% of reef remaining intact; recent estimates of coral cover across the Great Barrier Reef are well below that already. There was a negative association between perceived risks of genetically engineered coral and public support; however, perceived benefit of genetically engineered coral in protecting the reef and relative advantage of a synthetic biology solution over existing protection strategies were the most influential predictors of public support. The findings suggest that the general public are not averse to the development of a synthetic biology solution for restoring the reef, and they may be especially influenced by whether the synthetic biology solution is shown to be efficacious, particularly in comparison to other conservation solutions. However, support for a synthetic biology intervention is conditional and many participants expressed concerns about possible long-term impacts on humans, animals, and the environment as a result of deploying engineered coral.

scholarly journals Advancing Undergraduate Synthetic Biology Education: Insights from a Canadian iGEM Student Perspective

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Diep ◽  
Austin Boucinha ◽  
Brayden James Kell ◽  
Bi-ru Amy Yeung ◽  
Xingyu Amy Chen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Synthetic Biology ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Biology Education ◽  
Genetically Engineered ◽  
Student Perspective ◽  
Academic Settings ◽  
Pedagogical Research ◽  
Transformative Impact ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Further Development

The last two decades have seen vigorous activity in synthetic biology research and ever-increasing applications of its technologies. However, pedagogical research pertaining to teaching synthetic biology is scarce, especially when compared to other science and engineering disciplines. Within Canada there are only three universities that offer synthetic biology programs; two of which are at the undergraduate level. Rather than take place in formal academic settings, many Canadian undergraduate students are introduced to synthetic biology through participation in the annual International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) competition. Although the iGEM competition has had a transformative impact on synthetic biology training in other nations, the impact in Canada has been relatively modest. Consequently, the iGEM competition is still a major setting for synthetic biology education in Canada. To promote further development of synthetic biology education, we surveyed undergraduate students from the Canadian iGEM design teams of 2019. We extracted insights from these data using qualitative analysis to provide recommendations for best teaching practices in synthetic biology undergraduate education, which we describe through our proposed Framework for Transdisciplinary Synthetic Biology Education (FTSBE).

The iGEM competition: research-led teaching in microbiology

2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 81
Author(s):  
Nicholas V Coleman
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Synthetic Biology ◽  
Genetic Engineering ◽  
Systematic Approach ◽  
Genetically Engineered ◽  
Model Systems ◽  
Science Fair ◽  
Global Science

The International Genetically Engineered Machine Competition (iGEM) is a global science fair in synthetic biology (SynBio). The relatively new discipline of SynBio is distinguished from ‘genetic engineering’ in its more systematic approach, and its focus on understanding life via creation, rather than dissection1. Microbiology is central to SynBio, which usually relies on Escherichia coli or yeast as model systems.

scholarly journals Building Science: Synthetic Biology and emerging technologies in architectural research

2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martyn Dade-Robertson
Keyword(s):  
Synthetic Biology ◽  
Genetically Engineered ◽  
Alternative Form ◽  
Technology Readiness ◽  
Building Science ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Physical Forces ◽  
Architectural Research ◽  
Mechanical Sensing

The paper examines the concept of Building Science through the role of emerging scientific research and technologies. The paper takes as its starting point the Technology Readiness Strategy which is a way of judging the state of a technology in terms of its readiness for environmental deployment and relevance to industry. The paper argues that this model is limited and uses the example of Synthetic Biology to argue for a type of building science which is both speculative and grounded and which may not lead to immediate or short-term applications but is driven by hypothetical contexts and imagined futures. The paper argues that both scientific knowledge and architectural research may be enhanced through deeper collaboration and gives the example of a project to develop a genetically engineered mechanical sensing bacteria capable of making materials which respond to physical forces in their environment. The paper suggests that, while initiated with an application domain in mind, the knowledge gained from the project has pointed to alternative avenues for creative design explorations. The paper concludes that an alternative form of Building Science may be possible in which the term ‘building’ is both a verb and a noun.

scholarly journals ChassiDex: A microbial database useful for synthetic biology applications

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
B P Kailash ◽  
D Karthik ◽  
Mousami Shinde ◽  
Nikhita Damaraju ◽  
Anantha Barathi Muthukrishnan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Synthetic Biology ◽  
Model Organism ◽  
Genetically Engineered ◽  
Model Organisms ◽  
Host Organism ◽  
Transformation Protocol ◽  
Non Profit ◽  
Link Type ◽  
User Friendly ◽  
Biobrick Parts

ChassiDex is an open-source, non-profit online host organism database that houses a repository of molecular, biological and genetic data for model organisms with applications in synthetic biology. The structured user-friendly environment makes it easy to browse information. The database consists of a page for each model organism subdivided into sections such as Growth Characteristics, Strain diversity, Culture sources, Maintenance protocol, Transformation protocol, BioBrick parts and commonly used vectors. With tools such as CUTE built for codon usage table generator, it is also easy to generate and download accurate novel codon tables for unconventional hosts in suitable formats. This database was built as a project for the International Genetically Engineered Machine Competition in 2017 with the mission of making it easy to shift from working with one host organism to another unconventional host organism for any researcher in the field of synthetic biology. The code along with other instructions for the usage of the database and tools are publicly available at the GitHub page. We encourage the synthetic biology community to contribute to the database by adding data for any additional or existing host organism.https://chassidex.org; https://github.com/ChassiDex

scholarly journals Synthetic bionanotechnology: synthetic biology finds a toehold in nanotechnology

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (5) ◽  
pp. 507-516 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander A. Green
Keyword(s):  
Nucleic Acid ◽  
Synthetic Biology ◽  
Self Assembly ◽  
Cell Function ◽  
Genetically Engineered ◽  
Molecular Networks ◽  
Network Synthesis ◽  
Network Function

Enabled by its central role in the molecular networks that govern cell function, RNA has been widely used for constructing components used in biological circuits for synthetic biology. Nucleic acid nanotechnology, which exploits predictable nucleic acid interactions to implement programmable molecular systems, has seen remarkable advances in in vitro nanoscale self-assembly and molecular computation, enabling the production of complex nanostructures and DNA-based neural networks. Living cells genetically engineered to execute nucleic acid nanotechnology programs thus have outstanding potential to significantly extend the current limits of synthetic biology. This perspective discusses the recent developments and future challenges in the field of synthetic bionanotechnology. Thus far, researchers in this emerging area have implemented dozens of programmable RNA nanodevices that provide precise control over gene expression at the transcriptional and translational levels and through CRISPR/Cas effectors. Moreover, they have employed synthetic self-assembling RNA networks in engineered bacteria to carry out computations featuring up to a dozen inputs and to substantially enhance the rate of chemical synthesis. Continued advancement of the field will benefit from improved in vivo strategies for streamlining nucleic acid network synthesis and new approaches for enhancing network function. As the field matures and the complexity gap between in vitro and in vivo systems narrows, synthetic bionanotechnology promises to have diverse potential applications ranging from intracellular circuits that detect and treat disease to synthetic enzymatic pathways that efficiently produce novel drug molecules.

scholarly journals Functionalizing cell-mimetic giant vesicles with encapsulated bacterial biosensors

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 20180024 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tatiana Trantidou ◽  
Linda Dekker ◽  
Karen Polizzi ◽  
Oscar Ces ◽  
Yuval Elani
Keyword(s):  
Synthetic Biology ◽  
Genetically Engineered ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Giant Vesicles ◽  
Artificial Cells ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Regulatory Pathways ◽  
Genetically Engineered Microbes ◽  
Molecular Components ◽  
Cellular Components

The design of vesicle microsystems as artificial cells (bottom-up synthetic biology) has traditionally relied on the incorporation of molecular components to impart functionality. These cell mimics have reduced capabilities compared with their engineered biological counterparts (top-down synthetic biology), as they lack the powerful metabolic and regulatory pathways associated with living systems. There is increasing scope for using whole intact cellular components as functional modules within artificial cells, as a route to increase the capabilities of artificial cells. In this feasibility study, we design and embed genetically engineered microbes ( Escherichia coli ) in a vesicle-based cell mimic and use them as biosensing modules for real-time monitoring of lactate in the external environment. Using this conceptual framework, the functionality of other microbial devices can be conferred into vesicle microsystems in the future, bridging the gap between bottom-up and top-down synthetic biology.

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