Hardware

Whilst hardware was not a main part of our project and we do not expect to win the best hardware prize, we feel it is important to note that useful hardware can be made by teams for non-scientific uses, such as for human practices. Here, we 3D printed a plant-shaped housing unit to hold an electrical circuit, controlling a set of LEDs that protrude through holes in the leaf. There are two switches in the 'plant pot', one that can be switched to turn on green LEDs, represented as the standard plant genome. However, when a button is pressed in by the addition of a 'transgene' (a plastic block that inserts into the back of the pot, pressing the button), switching on red and blue LEDs, representing the addition of our two added reporter genes, Gus and mCherry. This simple design was useful for public outreach events, to help demonstrate genetic modification and our project. It was especially useful to help the children understand in a basic way. This page shows the structure, design, and use of our hardware. We also created and gave feedback on WashU's hardware, as part of our collaborations.