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                    jQuery("#slide1Paragraph").text('For years, bacterial biofilms have been a cause for concern in medicine. Biofilms are comprised of colonial microorganisms that can adhere to almost any surface with adequate moisture and nutrients. Biofilms often harbour pathogens, and can be extremely problematic in clinical settings. 65% of all hospital acquired infections can be attributed to pathogenic biofilms. Current methods to destroy biofilms include antimicrobial agents and hydraulic flushing. These are ineffective because biofilms are surrounded by a matrix of sugars and DNA. We intend to create an all-purpose biological counterattack capable of dispersing and eliminating a wide variety of biofilms by utilizing enzymes to destroy the structures within. This will be achieved through the secretion of dextranase, which degrades the exopolymeric matrix, and DNase, that targets the extracellular DNA responsible for maintaining biofilm structure. This double phased attack will be highly efficient compared to current removal methods.');
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                    jQuery("#slide1Paragraph").text('The top 100 food crops produced provide 90% of the world’s nutrition. 70% of these crops are pollinated by bees. A phenomenon called Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) has decimated honeybee colonies across the world, halving the number of productive colonies worldwide. One of the main factors hypothesized to contribute to CCD is the mite and viral vector Varroa destructor. While feeding on the bee’s hemolymph, Varroa destructor expels RNA viruses into the bee crippling colony’s strength. Current commercial methods to eradicate Varroa have seen a gradual development of resistance in treated populations. Using synthetic biology, we plan to target Varroa more effectively by directly delivering the miticide, oxalic acid into Varroa and utilizing RNA interference to eliminate Varroa populations within commercial hives.');
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                <p id="pageTitleText">Human Practices<br></p><p id="pageSubtitleText"><span>More than the science</span></p>
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                                <ul>
                                    <li><a href="#section1"><h2>Introduction</h2></a></li>
                                    <li class="bees"><a href="#section2"><h2>Government</h2></a></li>
<li class="bees"><a href="#section3"><p>Meeting with MLA―Shannon Phillips</p></a></li>
<li class="bees"><a href="#section4"><p>City Council By-Law and Petition</p></a></li>
<li class="bees"><a href="#section5"><h2>Community</h2></a></li>
<li class="bees"><a href="#section6"><p>Seed bombs</p></a></li>
<li class="bees"><a href="#section6"><p>Urban Planning</p></a></li>
<li class="bees"><a href="#section7"><h2>Integrated Human Practices</h2></a></li>
<li class="bees"><a href="#section8"><p>Beekeepers Visit and Interview</p></a></li>
<li class=""><a href="#section9"><h2>Outreach</h2></a></li>
<li class=""><a href="#section10"><p>School Presentations</p></a></li>     
<li class="bees"><a href="#section10"><p>Newspaper and Radio</p></a></li>                                   
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                            <section id="section1">
<h1 id="" class="contentSubTitle"> Introduction <br><small></small></h1>
<p id="humanpractices_hp">Although the science is an integral part of our project, we put some emphasis on human practices as well. Every team member contributed so that we could have a diverse and engaging set of human practices. We reached out many individuals, including one of our MLAs, who is also the Minister of Environment to get her support of our project; rural beekeepers in Southern Alberta to ask about the viability of our project; we also talked to our city council, and an urban planner to see how we could make our city more “bee-friendly”. We interacted with the public by handing out seed packets in parks, and informing them about the decline of bees and the city by-law that makes urban bee-keeping illegal; many signed a petition that we created to remove this by-law. To promote iGEM, we went to two middle schools to tell the students a little bit about our project and what iGEM is.</p>
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<section id="section2" class="bees">
<h1 id="" class="contentSubTitle"> Government <br><small></small></h1>

<section id="section3">
<h2 id="" class="contentSubSubTitle"> Meeting with MLA—Shannon Phillips<br><small></small></h2>
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<figcaption>Team members with Shannon Phillips</figcaption>
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<p>In August, three members of the Lethbridge High School iGEM team held an interview with Shannon Phillips, the Member of Legislative Assembly for Lethbridge West, and the Minister of Environment, as well as the Minister Responsible for the Status of Women. Our conversation with Minister Phillips was very interesting, and she had many interesting views on our project, and beekeeping in general.  Additionally, Minister Phillips showed support for our project. She exemplified respect for our work as well as that of other scientists, stating that “there needs to be a healthy respect for scientific method, for evidence based decision making”. She also recognized that our society may be entering “a phase of people being skeptical of science”. She felt that the only way to overcome this obstacle is through education. Minister Phillips also showed support for genetic engineering in general, stating that she “[doesn’t] see any problem with genetic engineering at large and in most of its applications”. </p>
<section id="section4" class="bees">
<h2 id="" class="contentSubSubTitle"> City Council By-Law<br><small></small></h2>
<p>Prior to 1983, residents of the City of Lethbridge were able to beekeep within city limits. However, an amendment to Bylaw 3383 that pertains to bees now prevents residents from being able to do so. In Southern Alberta, bee populations are currently decreasing with reports saying that North American beekeepers are losing approximately one third of their bees each year. As a way to help the bee population, our team made it a goal to try and have this bylaw amended to allow urban beekeeping within city limits.<br><br>

We drafted a petition to have residents of our city to sign, indicating that if they signed, they support wanting Lethbridge to have urban beekeeping. As we talked to residents, they agreed that bees play a crucial role in our lives and we need them in order to survive.<br><br>

After petitioning city residents, we presented to our city council about what we want to change in our city.   
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 <section id="section5" class="bees">                    
<h1 id="" class="contentSubTitle"> Community<br><small></small></h1>

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<h2 id="" class="seedbombs"> Seed bombs<br><small></small></h2>
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<p>We made seed bombs to help spread awareness about the decline of bees, while simultaneously promoting bee population growth. A seed bomb is basically a ball of soil, clay, water, and seeds. The idea is that people plant them in empty lots, undeveloped fields, or even their backyards so that flowers can grow, giving the bees more access to food. We used Smooth Blue Aster, Purple Prairie Clover, and Prairie Coneflower to make our seed bombs because they are native to Southern Alberta, and they would not be considered an invasive species.<br><br>
 
We distributed seed bombs to members of the public and informed them about our project and the plight of the bees. Many people accepted our project and showed their support by signing a petition that supported urban beekeeping in Lethbridge, which is currently illegal.  </p>

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<section id="section7" class="bees">
<h1 id="" class="contentSubTitle"> Integrated Human Practices<br><small></small></h1>
<section id="section8" class="bees">
<h2 id="" class="contentSubSubTitle">Beekeepers Visit and Interview<br><small></small></h2>
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<img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2015/d/d2/LethHS2015_beevisit.jpg" width=400px height=300px class="img-responsive">
<figcaption>Team members visiting bees</figcaption>
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<p>	Following this interview, we were able to get in contact with two urban beekeepers. They allowed two of our team members and an advisor to tour their beehives and to speak with them about their experience with urban beekeeping. The beehives were surprisingly inconspicuous. Both of their neighbours are aware of their beekeeping practice, and have not had any issues with the bees, observing they rarely notice them. The beekeepers did mention that with urban beekeeping, in comparison to commercial beekeeping, you must be “really diligent with hive management” in order to control swarms, which may instill fear in citizens. When asked about their speculations on why the bylaw may exist, the beekeepers (who asked to remain anonymous) reported a heavy stigma surrounding beekeeping, and a lack of education on the subject. They felt that legislators and the general public were uneducated, and therefore fearful of urban beekeeping. The beekeepers also provided some advice on how urban beekeeping could be successful in Lethbridge. They stated that beekeeping was so easy in B.C. due to the “excellent beekeeping community”. Based on their experience with beekeeping in B.C., they recognized that an essential service to facilitate urban beekeeping is a beekeeping club. This would help in a variety of ways. It would provide a source of information and support for new beekeepers, a collective organization to share tool, information, and expertise, and would also be a great resource for the government to fall back on in the case of a problem arising. They also mentioned that holding large-scale events such as press conferences may be counter-productive and further scare the community, and that it is more effective to educate people in small, more personal ways. They suggested beginning with those “who are comfortable and who understand” urban beekeeping. We took this into account with our human practices approaches, including the seed bombs and speaking to smaller groups rather than holding large presentations or events. Additionally, the beekeepers mentioned combining the more common gardening passion with beekeeping hobbyists, to create a partnership where both pollination and food sources can occur. We also asked them if they have experienced mites, and they stated that over their beekeeping career they have certainly experienced this, however it has not been an issue in Lethbridge thus far. We also asked them for their opinion on the feasibility and practicality of our project, and they raised concerns regarding contamination of the honey harvest. Specifically, there was concern over how the public would feel about the presence of oxalic acid in “honey, which is seen as such a natural product”. This is a factor which we have considered throughout the development of our project.<br><br>
	In general, beekeeping in Lethbridge has a relatively non-existent past, but a bright future. Minister Shannon Phillips provided valuable insight on both legal and civilian opinions of urban beekeeping, while the urban beekeepers provided information on the effectiveness and feasibility of urban beekeeping, and on ways to facilitate it within city limits. The questions, comments, opinions, and concerns of both parties were taken into consideration when developing and evaluating the construct, safety, and ethics of our project. 

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<section id="section9" class="">
<h1 id="" class="contentSubTitle"> Outreach<br><small></small></h1>
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<h2 id="" class="seedbombs"> School Presentations<br><small></small></h2>
<p>We presented to Grade 8. students at G.S. Lakie Middle School and Wilson Middle School in order to expand their interest in synthetic biology and iGEM. We started with a basic introduction to DNA and synthetic biology. This included an engaging experiment in which student volunteers assisted in the extraction of DNA from a banana. We also presented the biofilm and bee issues that we are tackling this year. The students were very interested in the presentations, and asked many questions. Some were even wondering how they could join the iGEM team. Overall, our presentation left a positive mark on the students. 
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