• INTRODUCTION

  With the initial interest of learning the relationship between RNA-structure and gene expression intensity under different temperatures, our project this year has participated in the basic research study. Actually, a laboratorial achievement should go through a long way to apply into various kinds of fields. There are many issues should be considered during the long-term scientific transformation process. After the tour of fermentation factory, we were aware of those considerations as well. A research of views about current investment and transformation situation in China guided our further HP activities. Ultimately, we took eyes into developing our collection as a Scientific Tool and create a Decades Work Flow.

SEE OUR JOURNEY

• 1. TOUR OF THE DIARY FACTORY

  Hoping to know who our potential users is, we did some research and consulted relevant teachers about how temperature regulation is applied in industry and manufacture.

  Here, according to our research, a form illustrating production and required temperature is shown.

  

  On the basis of the first batch of statistics: RNA thermosensors response to temperature at around 37-42°C, our thermosensors may fit to need of yogurt production. Then we visited the Ground Dairy Industry Co.,Ltd, the biggest local diary products supplier in Changchun.

  After visiting the manufacturing shop and interviewing the technical staff, we realized the sensing section of RNA thermosensors we set before is quite fit to the product requirement. However，they’re not quite satisfied with the intensity and sensitivity of our thermosensors. Then we decided to make continuous intensity intervals and sensitivity for users. With the help of Model team, our toolkit was improved into SynRT toolkit 1.0. (link)

  Bonus Track

  Our initial idea of this tour is to find an output of our toolkit, and we did find out that our kit could be useful in future fermentation process. However, to our surprise, the technicist there also told us, ‘ If you can lower down the temperature of initial fermentation, it would bring huge economic profits.’ From the point of view, we believed that our toolkit can realize this temperature shift.

  Compared with our Positive Control, which turns into open conformation at around 42°C, some of thermosensors in our toolkit can realized the same purpose at lower temperature. The data has been shown below.

• 2. CURRENT SITUATION & PUBLIC VIEWS OF TRANSFORMATION

  On the basis of our research in industry, we’ve realized that there’re truly some problems in transformation today.

  Moving forward to learn about technology transformation situations in data and public views, we read Statistical Yearbook of Science and Technology of China and Do A Questionnaire to get guidance. After that, we made a research report to analyze and summarize the results.

  In summary, we decided to turn our focus into finding medical output while visiting relevant institutions. Also, we need to know more about investment situations due to the results from Yearbook and the Questionnaire.

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• 3. TOOLKIT DEVELOPMENT

  Due to the results of our previous research, we decided to turn our focus on medicine output of our toolkit. After visiting Institute of Translational Medicine in Jilin University and Changchun BCHT Biotechnology Company, we knew that it could take a long time for a foundational project to apply into clinical research. Also, according to what Prof. Jiang in BCHT said, controlling low temperature in pharmacy is a essential factor, we decided to perfect our toolkit into a more stable and multi-functional tookit. Then Toolkit 2.0 and Toolkit 3.0 were born! As our potential users in current stage, some researchers joined in our toolkit evaluation. According to their suggestions, we designed an expression vector.

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• 4. MORE EXPLORATION

  To complete our investigation, we put more efforts in exploring the current situations from more specific views. We asked the questions about transformation issues with Nobel Prize Winners, Hartmut Michel and Dan Shechtman, Dean of College of Life Sciences, Prof. Yu Xianghui and Mr Zhao Lu, CEO from TAIMEI TECH.

  The Nobel Prize Winners focus more on the research itself while they believe that applications also should be considered when there’s a new discovery. For investment, Prof. Yu, she told us that the government is the largest department to give finical support to research, however, they refuse venture capital most of time. And Mr Zhao, as an entrepreneur, thinks that potential market value is the most important when a company choose to support a basic or applied research. Fortunately, Mr Zhao showed great interest in our project, so this year, he decided to be our sponsor this year hoping our Toolkit can realize potential value in medicine someday.

• 5. DECADE WORKFLOW

  As a foundational RNA-based temperature sensor toolkit, we have tried our best to find some potential users and relevant output. Our toolkit would be applied in some fields in the future potentially. However, there’re still too much to be considered if we want the toolkit widely used and marketized. It is a good vision for us to build a Decades Work Flow to make plan for our future work and perfect the toolkit while benefiting the world. From a recent view, we hope that the Decades Work Flow can inspire the other iGEM teams in the long-term scientific research.