Difference between revisions of "Team:OLS Canmore Canada/Human Practices"

 
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<h1 class="title">The Design</h1>
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<h1 class="title">Outreach</h1>
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<p>
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<p>As a team, we have done substantial community outreach, including meeting key stakeholders and gaining more knowledge about our the recycling industry and our community. These outreach experiences overall helped us to enhance our project’s idea.</p>
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The project will use synthetic biology to create a novel fusion protein that can specifically bio-tag polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic, so that it can be sorted and recycled correctly. Synthetic biology is efficient, cost effective, and specific. The proteins, which are produced via a bacterial chassis called Bacillus subtilis, are created efficiently and at low cost. These proteins also provide high specificity due to a specific 3-dimensional shape that adheres selectively to PET polymers. The 4 constructs that we have designed, with the help of our mentors and previous iGem teams, include:
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</p>
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<ul class="standard">
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<li>a polyethylene terephthalate hydrolase (PET-ase) fused to a red fluorescent protein, (or RFP) called mCherry, which give the protein its <b>colour</b> aspect. </li>
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<li>a hydrophobin called BslA,</li>
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<li>a PET-ase without the RFP, and </li>
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<li>a BslA without RFP.</li>
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</ul>
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<h1 class="subtitle">Bow Valley Regional Science Fair</h1>
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<p>
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<p>Our first step into the outreach world was going to the Bow Valley Regional Science Fair, where we set up an interactive “Bio-Painting” kiosk, using the Amino Lab kit materials. We let students and parents use coloured bacteria (pre-transformed and prepared in “painting kits”) to draw on agar plates. The team did this in order to help the public better understand synthetic biology and to alleviate concerns around its safety and applicability.</p>
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A LipA secretion tag is added to each construct to signal the bacteria to secrete the proteins out of the cell for easier purification. We chose to use this Bacillus over E. coli because of its natural ability to produce hydrophobins, and because it is better at secreting proteins than other bacteria. Bacillus is also naturally occurring in the environment, and has reduced risk for environmental contamination concerns.  
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</p>
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<h1 class="subtitle">Meeting with Bow Valley Waste Management</h1>
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The PET-ase is an enzyme that naturally binds to PET plastic, and the mCherry RFP it is paired with will visually indicate when the protein has adhered. The hydrophobin is “water-fearing” and will therefore bind to several surfaces. However, for this project, it will be used to help adhere the PET-ase specifically to PET plastic. We are using the four proteins in combination with each other and test their effectiveness at tagging PET plastic.  
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<p>Months later, we had the idea of working with plastics. We talked with the Head of Waste Management in the Bow Valley, Peter Duck, who explained to us that the recycling of plastics is relatively easy and efficient. Rather, it is the sorting of plastics that proves challenging, and mis-sorted plastic cannot be recycled (therefore ending up in landfills). This critical meeting led to an entire pivot of our project, changing our direction completely.  </p>
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</p>
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<table style="width: 40%; float: right;" >
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<h1 class="subtitle">Visiting Recycling & Sorting Facilities and Alberta Recycling Conference</h1>
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<tr><td><img  width="100%" src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2018/d/d9/T--OLS_Canmore_Canada--prototypetext.svg"></td></tr>
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<p>We visited both our local bottle depot and recycling sorting facility to watch the process of sorting and even attempted to sort plastic ourselves. Some of our team members also attended the Alberta Recycling conference in Lake Louise to gain more contacts, and a first-hand appreciation for how plastics are sorted and recycled in our own community, as well as around our province, country, and the world.</p>
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<tr><td class="imagecaptiontext">Implemented prototype, what could be seen in a sorting facility.</td></tr>
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<h1 class="subtitle">Reaching Out To The Local Newspaper</h1>
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<p>In the spring of 2018 we were interviewed by our local newspaper, The Rocky Mountain Outlook. This amazing experience allowed some of our members to spread the word of our project and to inform our own community. This article explained and answered any ethical concerns or questions, along with giving us an outlet, in which we could ask for support of the community.</p>
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<table style="width: 40%; float: clear;" >
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<tr><td><img  width="100%" src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2018/d/d2/T--OLS_Canmore_Canada--newspaper.png"></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="imagecaptiontext">Excerpt from our local newspaper (online).</td></tr>
 
</table>
 
</table>
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<br>
 
  
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<h1 class="subtitle">Machine Prototype</h1>
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<h1 class="subtitle">Reaching Out To Businesses & Financial Groups</h1>
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<p>Some of our members reached out to our local Bow Valley Credit Union where we had an opportunity to pitch our project in hopes of gaining some financial support for bringing our project to Boston to share with the synthetic biology community. </p>
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<h1 class="subtitle">Instagram</h1>
 
<p>
 
<p>
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With our constructs design in place, we had to design a way of using them in a real life situation. Drawing on our experiences visiting real sorting facilities, and using the feedback and insights gained from the people working in this industry,  we have designed a prototype using existing technology to adapt to our solution. A simplified description of our prototype includes the following steps:
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OLS iGEM has created a team run Instagram page, through which we have been able to reach out to the people of Canmore. This page was not only used to engage with the community, but for learning about other teams and their progress and achievements. We also have posted updates on our team and many of our own achievements. Our team has each had an individual photo and brief introduction of themselves.
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</p>
 
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<ol style="margin-bottom: 20vh;" class="standard">
 
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<li>Incoming, unsorted plastics move along a conveyor belt and pass through a bath of our purified protein bio-tag. </li>
 
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<li>Our bio-tag selectively adheres only to PET plastics. </li>
 
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<li>Next all plastics will pass through a wash or rinse.  The bio-tag is removed from any non-PET plastics.</li>
 
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<li>An optical scanner detects the fluorescent signature of mCherry on the PET plastics, and will separate it from the rest of the plastic. </li>
 
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<li>In future, similar bio-tags can be developed to selectively mark all other recyclable plastics using similar design principles.</li>
 
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</ol>
 
  
  
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Latest revision as of 03:48, 18 October 2018

HUMAN PRACTICES

Outreach

As a team, we have done substantial community outreach, including meeting key stakeholders and gaining more knowledge about our the recycling industry and our community. These outreach experiences overall helped us to enhance our project’s idea.

Bow Valley Regional Science Fair

Our first step into the outreach world was going to the Bow Valley Regional Science Fair, where we set up an interactive “Bio-Painting” kiosk, using the Amino Lab kit materials. We let students and parents use coloured bacteria (pre-transformed and prepared in “painting kits”) to draw on agar plates. The team did this in order to help the public better understand synthetic biology and to alleviate concerns around its safety and applicability.

Meeting with Bow Valley Waste Management

Months later, we had the idea of working with plastics. We talked with the Head of Waste Management in the Bow Valley, Peter Duck, who explained to us that the recycling of plastics is relatively easy and efficient. Rather, it is the sorting of plastics that proves challenging, and mis-sorted plastic cannot be recycled (therefore ending up in landfills). This critical meeting led to an entire pivot of our project, changing our direction completely.

Visiting Recycling & Sorting Facilities and Alberta Recycling Conference

We visited both our local bottle depot and recycling sorting facility to watch the process of sorting and even attempted to sort plastic ourselves. Some of our team members also attended the Alberta Recycling conference in Lake Louise to gain more contacts, and a first-hand appreciation for how plastics are sorted and recycled in our own community, as well as around our province, country, and the world.

Reaching Out To The Local Newspaper

In the spring of 2018 we were interviewed by our local newspaper, The Rocky Mountain Outlook. This amazing experience allowed some of our members to spread the word of our project and to inform our own community. This article explained and answered any ethical concerns or questions, along with giving us an outlet, in which we could ask for support of the community.

Excerpt from our local newspaper (online).

Reaching Out To Businesses & Financial Groups

Some of our members reached out to our local Bow Valley Credit Union where we had an opportunity to pitch our project in hopes of gaining some financial support for bringing our project to Boston to share with the synthetic biology community.

Instagram

OLS iGEM has created a team run Instagram page, through which we have been able to reach out to the people of Canmore. This page was not only used to engage with the community, but for learning about other teams and their progress and achievements. We also have posted updates on our team and many of our own achievements. Our team has each had an individual photo and brief introduction of themselves.