Difference between revisions of "Team:SF Bay Area DIYBio/Safety"

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<h2>Safety in iGEM</h2>
 
<h2>Safety in iGEM</h2>
  
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<p>Please visit <a href="https://2015.igem.org/Safety">the main Safety page</a> to find this year's safety requirements & deadlines, and to learn about safe & responsible research in iGEM.</p>
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<p>On this page of your wiki, you should write about how you are addressing any safety issues in your project. The wiki is a place where you can <strong>go beyond the questions on the safety forms</strong>, and write about whatever safety topics are most interesting in your project. (You do not need to copy your safety forms onto this wiki page.)</p>
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<u>Lab safety considerations for this project</u><br><br>
  
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Team members have received safety training instruction relevant to specific experiments. Both BioCurious and Counter Culture Labs have specific multi-person biosafety teams. One of the team advisors, Patrik D’haeseleer, is on the safety team for both labs and has briefed both teams on the project. Both labs strictly meet the guidelines for BSL-1. <br><br>
  
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<h4>Safe Project Design</h4>
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E. coli (lab strains that are not harmful to humans) will be modified by adding Anabaena pigment genes and antibiotic resistance genes. The organism will also be encouraged to mutate by addition of error prone DNA repair genes. All organisms will be sterilized before disposal. In addition, extra precautions were taken to protect our team from exposure to UV light, including physical barriers surrounding our experiment, as well as safety googles and lab coats. All biological waste is disposed of after bleach sterilization.A safety precaution we have put in place to make sure our project stays contained is that only plasmids will be allowed to leave the lab and be transported from one location to the other – no live bacteria or purified mycosporine at this stage. As we work on the project we continue to address safety considerations and ensure that the experiments and work is done with best lab practices.<br><br>
  
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<p>Does your project include any safety features? Have you made certain decisions about the design to reduce risks? Write about them here! For example:</p>
 
  
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<u>Safety of UV Light in the Lab</u><br><br>
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<li>Choosing a non-pathogenic chassis</li>
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Aren’t you burning your retinas, working with that much UV light?”<br><br>
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<li>Choosing parts that will not harm humans / animals / plants</li>
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Our lamps only produce wavelengths found in natural sunlight - no UVC! In addition, there is a strong visible light component; this acts as a built-in safety warning. The overall intensity is 1/10th lower than walking in bright sunlight. Additionally, all the UV exposure work is done inside the biosafety cabinet, behind a layer of glass. Turning on the germicidal UV lamp built into the biosafety cabinet, or staring into a gel illuminator is more dangerous than the UVA/UVB lamps we are working with!
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<li>Substituting safer materials for dangerous materials in a proof-of-concept experiment</li>
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<li>Including an "induced lethality" or "kill-switch" device</li>
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<h4>Safe Lab Work</h4>
 
  
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<p>What safety procedures do you use every day in the lab? Did you perform any unusual experiments, or face any unusual safety issues? Write about them here!</p>
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<h4>Safe Shipment</h4>
 
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<p>Did you face any safety problems in sending your DNA parts to the Registry? How did you solve those problems?</p>
 
  
  
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Latest revision as of 15:05, 20 November 2015

Safety in iGEM

Lab safety considerations for this project

Team members have received safety training instruction relevant to specific experiments. Both BioCurious and Counter Culture Labs have specific multi-person biosafety teams. One of the team advisors, Patrik D’haeseleer, is on the safety team for both labs and has briefed both teams on the project. Both labs strictly meet the guidelines for BSL-1.

E. coli (lab strains that are not harmful to humans) will be modified by adding Anabaena pigment genes and antibiotic resistance genes. The organism will also be encouraged to mutate by addition of error prone DNA repair genes. All organisms will be sterilized before disposal. In addition, extra precautions were taken to protect our team from exposure to UV light, including physical barriers surrounding our experiment, as well as safety googles and lab coats. All biological waste is disposed of after bleach sterilization.A safety precaution we have put in place to make sure our project stays contained is that only plasmids will be allowed to leave the lab and be transported from one location to the other – no live bacteria or purified mycosporine at this stage. As we work on the project we continue to address safety considerations and ensure that the experiments and work is done with best lab practices.

Safety of UV Light in the Lab

Aren’t you burning your retinas, working with that much UV light?”

Our lamps only produce wavelengths found in natural sunlight - no UVC! In addition, there is a strong visible light component; this acts as a built-in safety warning. The overall intensity is 1/10th lower than walking in bright sunlight. Additionally, all the UV exposure work is done inside the biosafety cabinet, behind a layer of glass. Turning on the germicidal UV lamp built into the biosafety cabinet, or staring into a gel illuminator is more dangerous than the UVA/UVB lamps we are working with!