Team:Newcastle/Public Engagement
Alternative Roots
Outreach
OUTREACH
Great Exhibition of the North
On the 12th July, Heather Bottomley (Team member of Newcastle iGEM) presented at ‘The Future of Nature: Engineering living systems with synthetic biology’ talk ran by Ángel Goñi Moreno as part of the Great Exhibition of the North Programme. The presentation was regarding our team’s plan to engineer root colonising microbes for the production of flavonoids that would attract nitrogen fixing bacteria to increase the uptake of nitrogen by the plant. Following this questions were asked by scientific professionals and members of the public regarding its safety, regulation as a GMO, it’s containment in the fields and possible other applications of this technology.
GrowModule 365
We were lucky enough to arrange an interview with GrowModule 365. As a company, they produce shipping containers that contain hydroponics systems. There concept adopts a new approach to farming, allowing crop production in unconventional places. The visit allowed us to see how traditional farming is being challenged and gain an insight into hydroponics systems. We gained lots of useful information from the meeting; we learned which wavelengths are most effective for increased yields, the alternative growing mediums available, the markets perception to innovative farming and which control parameters are most important. Paul Brown (Director) gave us lots of useful contacts within the industry and seemed very passionate about our project, however he did mention some areas of the market may be sceptical when it comes to eating produce that has been grown using genetically engineered microbes.
KWS Seeds
We had a Skype meeting with Chris Tapsall, Research Director, at KWS Seeds. KWS are in the top 5 of the biggest seed producers in the world. The meeting was eyeopening, we discussed consumers views towards the use of GMO's in crop production and how some markets may be more accepting of our product than others. We learn't about certain EU regulations, and methods in which a manufacturer could apply our bacteria to a seed. Chris was passionate about our project and forwarded our information to other researchers in KWS.