$("#TB2P").html("Drawing on research from Taiwan, we discovered a gene from Sphingomonas bacteria called OecA that encodes the enzyme 17,ꞵ-estradiol dehydrogenase, which converts E2 into estrone, resulting in a fifty fold decrease in oestrogenic activity (Chen et al, 2017). The aim of our project was to insert this gene into <i>E.coli</i> with a secretion signal attached, to create a bacteria that produces and secretes the OecA enzyme, with the intent of it being able to efficiently convert E2 into estrone, thus reducing the oestrogenic activity of sewage effluent.");

                         $("#TB3P").html("Gas vesicles are found, naturally occuring, in five phyla of bacteria and two species of archaea^{<a href='https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8177173'>5</a>}. They provide aquatic microorganisms with a way of moving vertically, enabling suspension at ideal depth. Across different organisms, eight to fourteen genes have been identified that are involved in the production of gas vesicles, however, only two of these genes have been directly found in the gas vesicle structure^{<a href='https://www.nature.com/articles/nrmicro2834'>6</a>}. These genes combine to form a hollow, proteinous structure.<img style='width: 60%' src='https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2018/7/7d/T--Warwick--leaddesc1.png'><br>^{Geometry of the Anabaena Gas vesicle <a href='https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC372955/?page=15'>7</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Electron Micrograph Image of Gas Vesicle <a href='https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14695294'>8</a>}<br>Forming like an organelle, the gas vesicle increases cell buoyancy by decreasing density and thus allowing the cell to float.");       

                         $("#TB3P").html("The goal of our project is unlike anything that's been done before as we aim to induce gas vesicles in Bacillus subtilis in order to allow for the bioremediation of toxic metals, such as lead. <i>Bacillus subtilis</i> has been shown to naturally absorb such metals^{<a href='https://jb.asm.org/content/127/3/1502'>9</a>} in its outer membrane to aid in its biofilm forming^{<a href='https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24770836'>10</a>} properties. Thus, in making bacillus float, we hoped to allow for easier removal of such metals. Using bacillus in bioremediation is not a novel approach for removal of metals. <i>Bacillus megaterium</i> has been used in soils in order to remove several heavy metals such as iron, copper and magnesium^{<a href='https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283820633_Bioremediation_Perspective_of_Bacillus_Megaterium_Towards_Heavy_Metals_in_Environments_Enriched_with_Phosphogypsum'>11</a>}.");

                         $("#TB3P").html("Attempting to make <i>Bacillus subtilis</i>float, to say the least, an ambitious idea. However, we were intrigued by its novelty, and how hopefully simple it would be to incorporate. We also noted the massive potential our research may have: we looked at this summer as an iGEM team as a starting point. Eventually, some of the ideas that could make our project more realistic would include attaching, or SpyTagging, a magnetic protein to the surface of the gas vesicle in order to allow for the collection of the particles inside it after lysing the cells.");

For the organic aspect of our water safety focus, we looked at the growing problem of high oestrogen levels in British waterways negatively impacting fish populations, and attempted to provide a solution using synthetic biology.