Difference between revisions of "Team:Lethbridge HS/Practices"
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function makeBiofilms(){ | function makeBiofilms(){ | ||
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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.'); | 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.'); | ||
document.getElementById("projectIcon").src ="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2015/4/4b/LethHS2015_Plasmid.png"; | document.getElementById("projectIcon").src ="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2015/4/4b/LethHS2015_Plasmid.png"; | ||
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document.getElementById("slide1Image").src = "images/408.jpg"; | document.getElementById("slide1Image").src = "images/408.jpg"; | ||
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} | } | ||
function makeBees(){ | function makeBees(){ | ||
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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.'); | 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.'); | ||
document.getElementById("projectIcon").src ="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2015/8/88/LethHS2015_Varroa_icon.png"; | document.getElementById("projectIcon").src ="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2015/8/88/LethHS2015_Varroa_icon.png"; | ||
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Revision as of 00:28, 11 September 2015
Human Practices
More than the science
Overview
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.
Government
Meeting with MLA—Shannon Phillips
City Council By-Law
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.
Community
Seed bombs
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.
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.
