Team:REC-CHENNAI/humanpractices

Human Practices

BEACH HP

At the dawn of September 2, 2018, a set of students clad in black and blue descended on the Elliot’s beach, Besant Nagar. The team from REC joined the spirited public campaign of iGEMers in raising awareness about synthetic biology. We were equipped with survey forms that tested public knowledge about synthetic biology and took with us a packet of chocolates for the children. In one of the games, the crowd moved a loop around a twisted wire without it coming in contact with the wire, with each contact eliciting a loud beep. In the game of spot the differences, the crowds lifted green and red coloured placards on completion of the game. These were symbolic of our project where the mutants fluoresce in green colour. We explained the intent and nature of synthetic biology and collected filled survey forms. It was a wonderful morning as the dog walkers, students, families and marathon runners engaged us with intense conversations on synthetic biology.

EACH CLEAN UP

As a part of our collaboration with VIT, we joined the beach cleanup on June 17 on the shores of Marina. Armed with trash bags and gloves, we scoured the entire area clearing the trash. Teams from VIT, REC and IIT Madras were part of the initiative and we believed truly in the cause. By the time we were done, the stretch had returned to its natural magnificence. We are immensely thankful to have been a part of the initiative.

ALL INDIA Igem MEET

We took part in the All India IGEM meet up 2018 that was held in Banglore. In a welcoming atmosphere of Igem teams from across the country, we had an opportunity to learn about multiple projects and listen to suggestions and comments regarding each project. We explained the mutagenesis technique that we were developing and in the end received an overall positive review regarding the scope of the project. The comments recognized the startling simplicity and the reduction in time consumption of the project. One recurrent question that we were asked was how we were planning to eliminate the false positive and negative results that could arise from the binding of a single primer as opposed to two primers amidst other encouraging comments. The meet was a very fruitful experience with invaluable inputs for our project.

IHP with Mr Phaneeshwar Rao

On the 14th of August 2018, our team had a very productive discussion with Mr Phaneeshwar Rao of **. The inputs he gave our team were twofold, first being that we add two primers, one for the sense strand and the other for the antisense strand of a double stranded plasmid. The second input was about how we could compare the efficiency of primers binding to a single stranded plasmid and double stranded plasmid and a suggestion to add the studies to the modelling objectives. This input arose from the doubts on the stability of single stranded plasmid, which he believed could be unstable upon laboratory handling. Another valid consideration he gave us was about the decrease in gene expression levels upon increased number of mutations to one sequence. He suggested that we further study the decrease in gene expression levels upon mutation.

Science Sketch

In collaboration with NYU Abu Dhabi, our team created a sketch highlighting the basic details of our project ‘FluoroScreen’. The video started with a brief introduction about mutagenesis. It explained in length the conventional process of inducing mutations using the pALTER system and the reversal in antibiotic sensitivities upon mutagenesis which is used for screening. The video proceeded to explain our intended procedure which involves the use of a gene expressing Dual Fluorescence Protein (DFP) that fluoresces in both green and red colours. Upon inducing a point mutation, the gene expresses a Green Fluorescence Protein and loses its ability to express dual fluorescence. The video caters to all eyes and its deep narration enthralls all ears. Simple depictions such as scissors for restriction endonucleases and glue for ligases made the video understandable.