Difference between revisions of "Team:Valencia UPV/Public Engagement"
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<p>Under the core values of <b>affordability</b> and <b>reproducibility</b>, Printeria is a compact device with which SynBio can be approached to the public in an <b>innovative, friendly</b> and <b>reduced-cost way</b>. | <p>Under the core values of <b>affordability</b> and <b>reproducibility</b>, Printeria is a compact device with which SynBio can be approached to the public in an <b>innovative, friendly</b> and <b>reduced-cost way</b>. | ||
| − | <p>Thus, Printeria has been conceived as both and educational and bioartistic tool. With a user-friendly software, it can introduce SynBio into the high school classrooms without the necessity of lab equipments. In the same way, it offers a wide range of opportunities for the bioartist disposal. </p> | + | <p>Thus, Printeria has been conceived as both and educational and bioartistic tool. With a user-friendly software, it can introduce SynBio into the <b>high school classrooms</b> without the necessity of lab equipments. In the same way, it offers a wide range of opportunities for the <b>bioartist disposal</b>. </p> |
<p>To prove its social </b>usefulness</b>, we have explored Printeria <b>impact possibilities</b> into society. </p> | <p>To prove its social </b>usefulness</b>, we have explored Printeria <b>impact possibilities</b> into society. </p> | ||
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</p> | </p> | ||
<p> Art exists since the origins of humanity. Likewise, science has always been prompted by a desire of knowing more and more about the world, the nature and life. </p> | <p> Art exists since the origins of humanity. Likewise, science has always been prompted by a desire of knowing more and more about the world, the nature and life. </p> | ||
| − | <p>While developing Printeria, we had the chance to get into the vast applications of the <b>BioArt world</b>: a contemporary art form that adapts scientific methods and biotechnology to explore living systems as artistic subjects (1). <p>As a consequence, we decided it was necessary to | + | <p>While developing Printeria, we had the chance to get into the vast applications of the <b>BioArt world</b>: a contemporary art form that adapts scientific methods and biotechnology to explore living systems as artistic subjects (1). <p>As a consequence, we decided it was necessary to explore the existant synergy between art and science by getting into BioArt ways of expression. </p> |
<p></p> | <p></p> | ||
<p></p> | <p></p> | ||
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| − | Then, using solid <b>agar plates</b> as a <b>canvas</b>, <b>inoculating loops</b> as <b>brushes</b> and the palette of <b>pigmented bacteria</b> we self-made in the lab as <b>tempera</b>, they blew their minds to do imaginative <b>Microbial Art</b>. As soon as they finished, petri dishes were collected, kept and sealed for a later incubation in our lab. Finally, a gallery of all their beutiful works was published in <a href="https://www.instagram.com/printeriaupv/?hl=es">printeriaupv</a> | + | Then, using solid <b>agar plates</b> as a <b>canvas</b>, <b>inoculating loops</b> as <b>brushes</b> and the palette of <b>pigmented bacteria</b> we self-made in the lab as <b>tempera</b>, they blew their minds to do imaginative <b>Microbial Art</b>. As soon as they finished, petri dishes were collected, kept and sealed for a later incubation in our lab. Finally, a gallery of all their beutiful works was published in <a href="https://www.instagram.com/printeriaupv/?hl=es">printeriaupv Instagram profile</a>, so everyone could share them and so create interest into Bacterial Art among society. </p> |
<p>As a conclusion, this workshop was a total success, and both the public and ourselves were delighted to realize the beauty of the microbial world and the simple but yet appealing applications. | <p>As a conclusion, this workshop was a total success, and both the public and ourselves were delighted to realize the beauty of the microbial world and the simple but yet appealing applications. | ||
<p><img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2018/d/de/T--Valencia_UPV--placasMAGUPV2018.jpg" alt=""></p> | <p><img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2018/d/de/T--Valencia_UPV--placasMAGUPV2018.jpg" alt=""></p> | ||
Revision as of 09:03, 13 October 2018
Social outreach: exploring the relation between art and science
Education: enhancing hand-on STEAM curricula for the future generations
European Research Night: fighting against common SynBio misconceptions
Design Factory Exhibition: promoting SynBio to the university community
Education and Public Engagement
Synthetic Biology challenges have only real sense taking into account the effect it has on the improvement of nowadays issues. However, it is also one of the most controversial scientific fields for the public opinion.
Currently, access to Synthetic Biology field is hampered by several barriers, such as the necessity of deep technical knowledge and high-cost technologies. In the same way, the presence of common misconceptions in regard to bacteria handling and genetic engineering makes it even more difficult to reach to the general public.
Thus, our aim is to break down all these barriers in order to increase SynBio accessibility into society.
To do so, we have created Printeria: a bio-engieering device capable of automating the process of printing genetic circuits in bacteria.
Printeria: SynBio has never been easier
Under the core values of affordability and reproducibility, Printeria is a compact device with which SynBio can be approached to the public in an innovative, friendly and reduced-cost way.
Thus, Printeria has been conceived as both and educational and bioartistic tool. With a user-friendly software, it can introduce SynBio into the high school classrooms without the necessity of lab equipments. In the same way, it offers a wide range of opportunities for the bioartist disposal.
To prove its social usefulness, we have explored Printeria impact possibilities into society.
Bio Art
“To develop a complete mind: Study the science of art; Study the art of science. Learn how to see. Realize that everything connects to everything else.” - Leonardo da Vinci
Art exists since the origins of humanity. Likewise, science has always been prompted by a desire of knowing more and more about the world, the nature and life.
While developing Printeria, we had the chance to get into the vast applications of the BioArt world: a contemporary art form that adapts scientific methods and biotechnology to explore living systems as artistic subjects (1).
As a consequence, we decided it was necessary to explore the existant synergy between art and science by getting into BioArt ways of expression.
Printone: express yourself
While creating our Printeria Part Collection, we decided to provide bioartists with a complete DNA toolkit for their artwork production. To do so, we assembled several transcriptional units with our differents reporters (GFPmut3, sfGFP, YGP, mRFP, amilCP ) and a variety of promoteres and RBS of diverse relative strenghts.
By this way, we finally obtained Printone: a palette of pigmented bacteria, composed of different colours and intensity tones, for the entire disposal of the bioartist.
We used this variety of colours to introduce, both ourselves and the general public, to the Microbial Art field: an artistic form based on the creation of agar plates artworks with living cells. We were introducen into this kind of art thanks to the advice and information gathered as part of our Integrated Human work with artist professionals. In fact, the spanish Bioartist María Peñil, who works hand-by-hand with the researcher Mehmet Berkmen, helped us to in-depth understand the Microbial Art. Indeed, we sent them some of our Printone samples, as they were really interested in increasing the use of genetic engineered bacteria to paint with.
FOTO COLORES
Bioartist for one day
How to attract people to SynBio? It is possible to achieve this challenge in a subjective and eye-appealing way?
While developing Printeria, we realized we had there the perfect way to approach SynBio in a nerby way to the non-researcher world. Thus, we organized the practical session ‘Bioartist for one day’.
The activity took place in the Mustang Art Gallery (Elche), a cultural space dedicated to the diffusion of contemporary art. This workshop involved last year high school students of arts, science and social sciences, so we could be able to interact with a wide range of different profiles. However, this activity not only involved students, but also their teachers and some local artists who were interested in getting into the world of the bacterial art.
In this activity, they created their own ‘living masterpice’. Previously, we did detailed explanation on how to properly use the lab material and cells during simple microbiology protocols. Thus, they learned both from the art and microbiology worlds.
Then, using solid agar plates as a canvas, inoculating loops as brushes and the palette of pigmented bacteria we self-made in the lab as tempera, they blew their minds to do imaginative Microbial Art. As soon as they finished, petri dishes were collected, kept and sealed for a later incubation in our lab. Finally, a gallery of all their beutiful works was published in printeriaupv Instagram profile, so everyone could share them and so create interest into Bacterial Art among society.
As a conclusion, this workshop was a total success, and both the public and ourselves were delighted to realize the beauty of the microbial world and the simple but yet appealing applications.
Yturralde: fusion between art and science
José María Yturralde is an spanish artist widely known for his relationship with science. He collaborated with artists and scientists to redefine his understanding of shapes, and explored ways that the mainframe computer could be used as a tool for complementing his art practices (2). In this context, we thought it could be a great idea to introduce him to the vast possibilities of the BioArt world, and so learn about his life experiences all at once.
As part of this outreach collaboration, we decided to recreate one of his masterpieces, from the well-known collection 'Impossible Figures', with our own genetic engineered bacteria.
To do so, we printed a 3D mold of the figure to delimitate the barriers of the drawing, so we could then inoculate each coloured bacteria in a compartiment of the solid agar medium. Finally, using bigger than usual agar plates, we were able to recreate his artwork. After several trials with different colour tones and molds, the final result was perfect.
Impossible figure artwork. Yturraldes's masterpiece and the equivalent Microbial Art version
Future generations
High school students are eager to know more about the world they live in. However, students rarely learn about Synthetic Biology inside classrooms. As there is a lack of hand-on STEM curricula, basic concepts such as gene, DNA and bacteria are only explained theoretically. In order to stimulate young people to be curious about science, we decided to do our part in changing this educational approach.
Communication: divulgue SynBio
First and most simple, we gave some talks to high school students, in which we talked about:
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Bacteria: enemies or friends?
We wanted to beat the stigma against bacteria, explaining their importance and benefits, not only naturally (i.e.: they form our microbiote and they are the base of the trophic chains), but also in biotechnology (i.e.: bacteria as biofactories for medicine, industry, etc.)
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Printeria: how it really works?
As SynBio is not only about biology, we thought it was also highly important to demonstrate the role of engineering and electronics. Thus, we decided to explain them, from an educational approch, the basis of Printeria: our software interface and how the digital microfluidic system allows us to control each biotech process with high accuracy. During the talk, they were able to life in first person the droplets controlled movement around our PCB surface and the basic functioning of our entry and output areas. Moroever, we showed them several videos and gifs to ensure students could understand such kind of a priori complex concepts. As a result, many of them finished the talk being completely interested in learning more about the Microfluidic technology.
Printeria: educational approach
European Research Night
The European Research Night is a wide-public event, promoted under the EU Programme Horizon 2020, whose objective is to to encourage the scientificyouth vocations and lay public interest into science. It involves research organizations, science museums and public organizations all around Europe.
Activity
As part of this event the City of Arts and Science, one of the biggest scientific and cultural leisure complexes in Europe, organized a complete program of free access activities. We were invited to be part of this program, so we decided to present there Printeria future applications to a public from different ages, who dialogued with us about common synbio misconceptios.
Design Factory Exhibition
UPV_iGEM is part of the Design Factory Global Network, a network of universities innovation hubs whose mission is to create change in the world of learning through passion-based culture.
Activity
As part of the Design Factory Exhibition, we we had the chance to show Printeria to all the university community and to introduce the basic concepts of SynBio to those who didn't know about them.
References
(1) Bioart: An introduction https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/11/151123203619.htm
(2) Bravo, E. G. & García, J. A. (2015). Yturralde: Impossible Figure Generator. Leonardo 48(4), 366-374. The MIT Press. Retrieved October 8, 2018, from Project MUSE database.