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<tr><th>Idea</th><th>Track</th><th>Benefits</th><th>Limitations</th></tr> | <tr><th>Idea</th><th>Track</th><th>Benefits</th><th>Limitations</th></tr> | ||
− | <tr><td><B> | + | <tr><td><B>Biodegradation</B> - Removal of nitrates from water systems to reduce effects of eutrophication</td><td>Environment</td><td>High demand for environmental projects, Potential to use framework for broad water purification applications</td><td>Biological containment issues, Availability of chassis may limit scope of experimental data</td></tr> |
− | <tr><td><B> | + | <tr><td><B>Snake Bites</B> - Using protease composition to distinguish between different venoms</td><td>Diagnostics</td><td>Large impact in developing countries, High accuracy of protease detection</td><td>Hard to improve upon previous projects, Difficult to create cell-free device</td></tr> |
− | <tr><td><B> | + | <tr><td><B>Latex Allergy</B> - Designing a filter with an agent to bind/degrade the putative latex allergen hevein</td><td>Therapeutics</td><td>No current treatments focus on preventing latex exposure due to allergen molecule size, Possible application for other airborne allergens</td><td>Very small population affected, Lack of existing research: unclear if allergen cleavage reduces the response</td></tr> |
− | <tr><td><B> | + | <tr><td><B>Date Rape Drug Sensor</B> - Designing a cell-free biosensor for the detection of benzodiazepines in drinks</td><td>Environment</td><td>Important real world issue, Potential to build upon successful previous projects e.g. E.Chromi</td><td>Difficult to justify extent of improvement from previous work, Limits to sensitivity of detection</td><tr> |
− | <tr><td><B> | + | <tr><td><B>Biofertiliser</B> - Engineering nitrogen fixation pathways in non-leguminous plants</td><td>Food and Nutrition</td><td>Potential to be adapted for widespread issues such as desertification</td><td>Difficult to predict efficacy of system in plant models, Biological containment issues</td><tr> |
− | <tr><td><B> | + | <tr><td><B>Flavivirus Detection</B> - Distinguishing between different mosquito-borne infections via protein detection</td><td>Diagnostics</td><td>High morbidity in developing countries, Non-specific nature of symptoms often delays treatment onset</td><td>Similar devices have recently been developed, Difficult to improve upon existing diagnostics within given time frame</td></tr> |
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Revision as of 22:24, 14 October 2018
Initial Ideas
Prior to our initial survey, we had many different ideas for potential projects:
Idea | Track | Benefits | Limitations |
---|---|---|---|
Biodegradation - Removal of nitrates from water systems to reduce effects of eutrophication | Environment | High demand for environmental projects, Potential to use framework for broad water purification applications | Biological containment issues, Availability of chassis may limit scope of experimental data |
Snake Bites - Using protease composition to distinguish between different venoms | Diagnostics | Large impact in developing countries, High accuracy of protease detection | Hard to improve upon previous projects, Difficult to create cell-free device |
Latex Allergy - Designing a filter with an agent to bind/degrade the putative latex allergen hevein | Therapeutics | No current treatments focus on preventing latex exposure due to allergen molecule size, Possible application for other airborne allergens | Very small population affected, Lack of existing research: unclear if allergen cleavage reduces the response |
Date Rape Drug Sensor - Designing a cell-free biosensor for the detection of benzodiazepines in drinks | Environment | Important real world issue, Potential to build upon successful previous projects e.g. E.Chromi | Difficult to justify extent of improvement from previous work, Limits to sensitivity of detection |
Biofertiliser - Engineering nitrogen fixation pathways in non-leguminous plants | Food and Nutrition | Potential to be adapted for widespread issues such as desertification | Difficult to predict efficacy of system in plant models, Biological containment issues |
Flavivirus Detection - Distinguishing between different mosquito-borne infections via protein detection | Diagnostics | High morbidity in developing countries, Non-specific nature of symptoms often delays treatment onset | Similar devices have recently been developed, Difficult to improve upon existing diagnostics within given time frame |
Three ideas were subsequently shortlisted: