Difference between revisions of "Team:Warwick/Home"

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<h5>Project Overview</h5>
 
<h5>Project Overview</h5>
 
<p>
 
<p>
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Fluorescent microscopy helps validate protein expression, and  
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<ul class="img-list">
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  <li>
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    <a href="http://nataliemac.com">
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      <img src="http://www.microscope-microscope.org/basic/microscope-images/138-microscopes-lg.jpg" width="150" height="150" />
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      <span class="text-content"><span>Fluorescent microscopy helps validate protein expression, and  
  
 
we will be tying the expression of cell surface zinc fingers with that  
 
we will be tying the expression of cell surface zinc fingers with that  
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unique binding sites we allow different cell types to bond to our DNA  
 
unique binding sites we allow different cell types to bond to our DNA  
  
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structure.
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structure.</span></span>
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    </a>
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  </li>
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</ul>
 
</p>
 
</p>
 
<p>
 
<p>
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<h5>Experimentation</h5>
 
<h5>Experimentation</h5>
 
<p>
 
<p>
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As a proof of concept, that it is possible to bind different cell types to the same structure we are
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<ul class="img-list">
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  <li>
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    <a href="http://nataliemac.com">
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      <img src="http://www.microscope-microscope.org/basic/microscope-images/138-microscopes-lg.jpg" width="150" height="150" />
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      <span class="text-content"><span>As a proof of concept, that it is possible to bind different cell types to the same structure we are
  
 
engineering E. coli to express different fluorescent proteins along with their unique zinc  
 
engineering E. coli to express different fluorescent proteins along with their unique zinc  
  
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finger, showing how many different coloured cells can coexist in an environment.
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finger, showing how many different coloured cells can coexist in an environment.</span></span>
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  </li>
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</p>
 
<p>
 
<p>
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<h5>Art Inspiration</h5>
 
<h5>Art Inspiration</h5>
 
<p>
 
<p>
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Our art is influenced by diatom art made during the Victorian era using single celled algae
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  <li>
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    <a href="http://nataliemac.com">
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      <img src="http://www.microscope-microscope.org/basic/microscope-images/138-microscopes-lg.jpg" width="150" height="150" />
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      <span class="text-content"><span>Our art is influenced by diatom art made during the Victorian era using single celled algae
  
 
(called diatoms) to make intricate geometric patterns. These artists slaved over a microscope  
 
(called diatoms) to make intricate geometric patterns. These artists slaved over a microscope  
  
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with a pair of tweezers tirelessly arranging and rearranging the diatoms.
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with a pair of tweezers tirelessly arranging and rearranging the diatoms.</span></span>
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<h5>Meta Materials</h5>
 
<h5>Meta Materials</h5>
 
<p>
 
<p>
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By engineering cells to export carbon, it may be possible to have multiple different cells
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  <li>
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    <a href="http://nataliemac.com">
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      <img src="http://www.microscope-microscope.org/basic/microscope-images/138-microscopes-lg.jpg" width="150" height="150" />
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      <span class="text-content"><span>By engineering cells to export carbon, it may be possible to have multiple different cells
  
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working together to create carbon nanotubes in a way much cheaper than current methods. Nanotubes are an extraordinary material which exhibit enhanced mechanical properties.  
+
working together to create carbon nanotubes in a way much cheaper than current methods. Nanotubes are an extraordinary material which exhibit enhanced mechanical properties. </span></span>
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<p>
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<h5>Applications</h5>
 
<h5>Applications</h5>
 
<p>
 
<p>
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<ul class="img-list">
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+
  <li>
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We could engineer synthetic tissues of  
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    <a href="http://nataliemac.com">
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      <img src="http://www.microscope-microscope.org/basic/microscope-images/138-microscopes-lg.jpg" width="150" height="150" />
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      <span class="text-content"><span>We could engineer synthetic tissues of  
  
 
mixed cell types in a novel method. By controlling the exact placement of specific cells, it would  
 
mixed cell types in a novel method. By controlling the exact placement of specific cells, it would  
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be possible to create simple synthetic organs such as skin, or potentially to recreate more  
 
be possible to create simple synthetic organs such as skin, or potentially to recreate more  
  
−
complex systems such as kidneys or even livers.
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complex systems such as kidneys or even livers.</span></span>
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Revision as of 08:33, 31 July 2015

Warwick iGEM 2015

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Thank you for visiting our website! Feel free to contact us for more information.

  • Dare to

    Dream

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    Dare to

    Hope

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    Smile

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    Dare to

    ask

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    Dare to

    refuse

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    give

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    Love

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    Warwick iGEM

    2015

"Warwick iGEM 2015 is the greatest team in the world" - Winston Churchill

What we did

Project Overview

Learn more

Experimentation

Learn more

Art Inspiration

Learn more

Meta Materials

Learn more

Applications

Learn more

At Warwick iGEM we are passionate about the art of science, the way we can meld biology with design to make a product greater than the sum of its parts. We were inspired by this paper on using zinc fingers to barcode cells with fluorescently tagged double stranded DNA oligos; and considered whether it was possible to use these same zinc finger proteins in a way that has never been done before. By modifying our cells to express zinc finger binding domains on the outside of the cell wall could we, in the same manner that the DNA is bound to the cells in the paper, instead bind the cells to fixed structured DNA on a 2D plane? And then, using existing DNA origami research, could we expand this into creating self assembling 3D cell structures.

Fluorescent microscopy has long been the go to method for validating protein expression, and we are carrying on this long tradition by tying the expression of cell surface zinc fingers with the expression of fluorescent proteins inside the cell. By using multiple different zinc fingers with unique specific binding sites we allow different cell types to bond simultaneously to our DNA structure. The potential applications of this are limitless, imagine layers of different types of synthetic tissues; the construction of lab made skin and other organs. Imagine also a world where advanced materials with enhanced properties made cheaply by multiple different cells working together is possible.

As a proof of concept, that it is possible to bind different cell types to the same structure we are engineering E. coli to express different coloured fluorescent proteins along with their unique zinc finger proteins, showing visually how many different coloured cells can coexist in a controlled environment. Coincidentally, this allows us also to create art by arranging groups of coloured cells into images, allowing for some of the first fully coloured images made using only living cells.

Design by Warwick iGEM 2015