We are a team of undergraduate students from the University of Exeter who are participating in the iGEM 2015 competition (click this link to find out more). Briefly, our aim is to design and carry out a project over the next few months before presenting it at a jamboree in Boston, along with all of the other iGEM teams (over 250) from all over the world.
We currently have a few ideas and are in the process of deciding which we will take forward to develop and present, and would like your help in deciding!
Below is a short description about one of our ideas, followed by five questions. These questions aim to see what kind of a reaction the general public would have to this idea if it were to be carried on and reached the stage in which it became widely used.
The idea would be centred on helping to tackle the rising threat of bacterial antibiotic resistance across the world. This has lead to the appearance of so-called 'superbugs' (for example MRSA). Our idea is to create a novel treatment which could either be used with, or instead of, antibiotics.
Our idea would involve administering a non-harmful type of E.coli to a patient whom is infected with a harmful type of bacteria (Cholera, MRSA, etc.), which will then find the harmful bacteria and cause it to become less harmful or more susceptible to antibiotics. This would then either help the immune system to clear the infection naturally, or allow a course of antibiotics ,to which the bacteria had originally been resistant, to kill the bacteria as they normally would.
The way in which this would work is our E.coli cell would transfer into the harmful bacteria genetic material (DNA) which would then be expressed in the harmful bacteria and down-regulate genes involved in either resistance to antibiotics, or in causing damage to the infected patient. We like to think of this as a 'next-generation probiotic bacteria', a step-up from those found in probiotic drinks!
Questions
For each of the scenarios below, please rate from 1-5 (most likely to leas likely), how likely you would be to undergo the type of treatment mentioned above.