Difference between revisions of "Team:UChile-OpenBio/Practices"

 
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             <img id="logo" alt="OpenBio Uchile PLA Project" src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2015/b/b0/Cabecera.png" />
 
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             <section class="human_practices">
 
             <section class="human_practices">
 
                 <span class="titulo_seccion">Human practices</span>
 
                 <span class="titulo_seccion">Human practices</span>
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                 <img alt="Human practices overview" src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2015/5/54/Hp_overview.png" usemap="#overview" />
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                 <img alt="Human practices overview" src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2015/5/5c/Overview_hp_test.png"
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usemap="#overview" />
 
                 <map name="overview">
 
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                     <area shape="circle" coords="419,114,108" alt="Awarness" href="#" />
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                     <area shape="circle" coords="419,114,108" alt="Awarness" href="#awareness" />
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                     <area shape="circle" coords="149,292,105" alt="Diffusion" href="#diffusion" />
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                     <area shape="circle" coords="149,292,105" alt="Diffusion" href="#diffusionC" />
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                     <area shape="circle" coords="274,547,104" alt="Synthetic Biology Platform" href="#" />
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                     <area shape="circle" coords="274,547,104" alt="Synthetic Biology Platform" href="#SBp" />
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                     <area shape="circle" coords="430,361,108" alt="Difussion SB" href="#" />
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                     <area shape="circle" coords="430,361,108" alt="Difussion SB" href="#diffusionSB" /> <!--# es para referenciar-->
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                     <area shape="circle" coords="681,358,113" alt="Connection" href="#" />
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                     <area shape="circle" coords="681,358,113" alt="Connection" href="#conection" />
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                     <area shape="circle" coords="850,170,91" alt="FabLab UChile" href="#" />
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                     <area shape="circle" coords="850,170,91" alt="FabLab UChile" href="#fablabU" />
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                     <area shape="circle" coords="850,533,89" alt="Fablab Santiago" href="#" />
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                     <area shape="circle" coords="850,533,89" alt="Fablab Santiago" href="#fablabS" />
 
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                             <p>In Chile, little is known about Synthetic Biology. There is only one Chilean start’up really related to this area, and universities only began to participate in iGEM in 2012.</p>
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                             <p>In Chile, little is known about Synthetic Biology. There is only one Chilean start’up <a href="http://www.kaiteklabs.com">(web page)</a><!--link a la paina web--> really related to this area, and universities only began to participate in iGEM in 2012 <a href="https://2012.igem.org/Team:UC_Chile">Team UC_Chile</a>.<br> </p>
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                            <p>Synthetic Biology is not taught in educational institutions, particularly in high schools, and few people know what it is even in the Engineering Faculty of the University of Chile, the most prestigious public University of the country. So how can we talk about the applications of Synthetic Biology if nobody knows what it is? How can we raise awareness with our project if people got stuck in their minds that genetically modified organisms are dangerous? How can we make people know about Synthetic Biology and trust in its technology?<br/>
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                            <img class="" src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2015/f/f7/HP_hoja2_jose.png" WIDTH=500 HEIGHT=400 /> <!--imagen de jose-->
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                                To answer these questions, we developed a diffusion plan of this methodology based on three activities:<br/>
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                                A pedagogical workshop in high schools, diffusion and participation in the design of a Synthetic Biology course in the Engineering Faculty of the University of Chile and the development of a Synthetic Biology Platform in which participate members of several universities.</p>
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                        <img class="" src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2015/4/41/HP_hoja2_preguntas.png" WIDTH=420 HEIGHT=250 />
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                        <p> To answer these questions, we developed a diffusion plan of this
 +
methodology based on three activities:<br> </p>
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                        <img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2015/5/54/HP_hoja2_esquemaactividades.png" WIDTH=390 HEIGHT=220 BORDER=2 VSPACE=3 HSPACE=3/>
 
                         </div>
 
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             </section>
 
             </section>
 
             <section>
 
             <section>
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             <section id="diffusion">
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             <section id="diffusionSB"> <!--todo lo que es'algo id' es para indicar como se referencia antes-->
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                 <span class="titulo_seccion">Difusion about<br/>syntethic biology</span>
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                 <span class="titulo_seccion" style="background:#39B54A">Diffusion about<br/>synthetic biology</span><!--style=bckgound es para cambiar el color del fondo de el cuadrado donde esta el titulo-->
 
                 <article>
 
                 <article>
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                     <h2>Awareness-raising activity in high schools</h2>
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                <article id="awareness"
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                    <p> <br/> </p> <!-- linea en blanco para leer bien el titulo de awareness-->
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                     <h2><span style="color:#39B54A">Awareness-raising activity in high schools </span></h2> <!--style=color es para color de la letra-->
 
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                             <p>Synthetic Biology is still little known in Chile but its numerous applications and its rapid development at international scale make it relevant to teach in educational institutions. Moreover, pupils are the future professionals of the country, so it is necessary to broaden young minds introducing Synthetic Biology, how it works and its collaborative vision. This would help forming responsible citizens.</p>
 
                             <p>Synthetic Biology is still little known in Chile but its numerous applications and its rapid development at international scale make it relevant to teach in educational institutions. Moreover, pupils are the future professionals of the country, so it is necessary to broaden young minds introducing Synthetic Biology, how it works and its collaborative vision. This would help forming responsible citizens.</p>
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                             <h2>The Goal</h2>
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                             <img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2015/8/8a/HP_hoja3_goal.png" >
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                            <p>This goal, aligned with the main principles of OpenBio-UChile, drove the team to realize activities centred on Synthetic Biology in high schools, contributing at the same time to the knowledge spreading about Synthetic Biology and to strengthening the group cohesion by empowering its members.<br/>
+
                           
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                                The pedagogic activity consisted in an introduction to Synthetic Biology, a short debate about the use of genetically modified microorganisms and a workshop based on legos to applicate the concepts and principles of Synthetic Biology described during the introduction. The whole activity lasted 1h30 and all the pupils aged from 15 to 18 could participate.</p>
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                             <p>Since this kind of activity was new for the high schools the team worked with, teachers helped with internal diffusion and they also invited other teachers and authorities of the institution.</p>
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                             <p>As this kind of activity was new for the high schools the team worked with, teachers helped with internal diffusion and they also invited other teachers and authorities of the institution.</p>
 +
                        <img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2015/1/19/HP_hoja3_educationalactivity.png" WIDTH=480 HEIGHT=350/>
 
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                     <h2>The introductive activity</h2>
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                     <h2><span style="color:#39B54A">The introductive activity </span></h2>
 
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                             <p>The introduction consisted in presenting what Synthetic Biology is, how it works, what the main engineering principles are and why the collaborative and open work is so important. To make sure all these concepts had been understood, the team organized a game in which the pupils had to find the word corresponding to the projected picture...and some sweets were given to the winners!</p>
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                            <img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2015/4/42/HP_hoja4_introduction.png">
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                            <img class="" alt="The introductive activity" src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2015/5/56/Hp_introductive_activity.jpg" />
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                             <p>To make sure all these concepts had been understood, the team organized a game in which the pupils had to find the word corresponding to the projected pictures and some sweets were given to the winners!<br> </p>
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                             <label class="caption">Activity in the Mariano de Schoenstatt high school. On the left: our team leader making guess to the pupils the key concepts explained in the previous presentation. On the right: pupils playing the game to win sweets!</label>
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                         </div>
 
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                         <div class="half last">
 
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                             <p>Right after this game the pupils were asked what they thought about the genetic modification of living beings...and the conversation reached the topic of Super Heroes and improved human beings!</p>
 
                             <p>Right after this game the pupils were asked what they thought about the genetic modification of living beings...and the conversation reached the topic of Super Heroes and improved human beings!</p>
 +
                        <img class="" alt="The introductive activity" src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2015/0/0e/HP_hoja4_foto1.png" ALIGN=left WIDTH=215 HEIGHT=160/>
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                        <img class="" src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2015/4/49/HP_hoja4_foto2.png" ALIGN=right WIDTH=215 HEIGHT=160 />
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                                <label class="caption">Activity in the Mariano de Schoenstatt high school. On the left: our team leader making guess to the pupils the key concepts explained in the previous presentation. On the right: pupils playing the game to win sweets!</label>
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                            </div>
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                            <div class="half past">
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                                <img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2015/c/ca/HP_hoja4_downloadactivity.png" WIDTH=150 HEIGHT=149>
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                     <h2>The Legos workshop</h2>
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                     <h2><span style="color:#39B54A">The Legos workshop</span></h2>
 
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                             <p>Pupils had to assemble promotors, RBS, coding sequences and terminators, represented by pieces of different colours and lengths, and make the modules interact between them with pieces of wool. This way, they could represent events like activation or inhibition of a promotor and production of a protein. Activation, inhibition and production were symbolized by green, red and white threads, respectively.</p>
 
                             <p>Pupils had to assemble promotors, RBS, coding sequences and terminators, represented by pieces of different colours and lengths, and make the modules interact between them with pieces of wool. This way, they could represent events like activation or inhibition of a promotor and production of a protein. Activation, inhibition and production were symbolized by green, red and white threads, respectively.</p>
 
                             <img class="" alt="The Legos workshop" src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2015/4/42/Hp_lego_ws_2.jpg" />
 
                             <img class="" alt="The Legos workshop" src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2015/4/42/Hp_lego_ws_2.jpg" />
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                             <label class="caption">Example of a representation of a genetic circuit: UV light enhances the production of lactate, which inhibits the repressor “Inh” of the module responsible for the production of the Green Fluoresent Protein (GFP). Conclusion: in the presence of UV light, GFP can be produced.</label>
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                             <label class="caption">Example of a representation of a genetic circuit: UV light enhances the production of lactate, which inhibits the repressor “Inh” of the module responsible for the production of the Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP). Conclusion: in the presence of UV light, GFP can be produced.</label>
 
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                     <h2>The Goal</h2>
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 +
                 
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                <article>
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                     <h2><span style="color:#39B54A">The value of workshop</span></h2>
 
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                             <p>The goal was to make the pupils collaboratively find solutions to the exposed problems, which difficulty grade increased as the workshop progressed. The workshop can be downloaded here. The team also elaborated an electronic glossary to make sure that the concepts wouldn’t be forgotten after the activity.</p>
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                             <p>The goal was to make the pupils collaboratively find solutions to the exposed problems, which difficulty grade increased as the workshop progressed. The workshop can be </p> <a href="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2015/b/be/Taller_de_Biolog%C3%ADs_Sint%C3%A9tica_Spanish.pdf" target="_blank">downloaded here</a><p>. The team also elaborated an </p> <a href="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2015/0/09/Glosario-Colegios.pdf" target="_blank">electronic glossary</a><p> to make sure that the concepts wouldn’t be forgotten after the activity.</p>
 
                             <img class="" alt="The Goal" src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2015/5/50/Hp_the_goal_1.jpg" />
 
                             <img class="" alt="The Goal" src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2015/5/50/Hp_the_goal_1.jpg" />
 
                             <label class="caption">Girls from the high school solving the challenges of the workshop.</label>
 
                             <label class="caption">Girls from the high school solving the challenges of the workshop.</label>
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                             <p>As it was the first time that such an activity was implemented, the team asked for students and teachers feedback, in order to improve the pedagogical material for the next collaboration with an educational institution.</p>
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                             <p>As it was the first time that such an activity was implemented, the team asked for students' and teachers' feedback, in order to improve the pedagogical material for the next collaboration with an educational institution.</p>
 
                         </div>
 
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                         <div class="half last">
 
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                             <p>This great and valuable experience taught us that young generations are very creative, so they could contribute to Synthetic Biology as much as Synthetic Biology can contribute to their personal and professional development. We also demonstrated that the complex concepts of Synthetic Biology could be explained to people who don’t have any specific knowledge about this methodology, just by finding a pedagogical support that raises interest (here, the legos). Finally, we also believe this workshop can be used, re-used, scaled up and its grade of complexity can be adapted to the course; indeed, we realized this activity for publics from 12 to 40 people and from 15 to 18 years old pupils.<br/>
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                                If you are interested in knowing more about how the activity was received, here you can read some comments and see a video recorded at the end of the last activity. If you want to see more photos, please visit our gallery.</p>
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                             <img class="" alt="The Goal" src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2015/d/d1/UChile_Openbio_pag6.png" />
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                             <img class="" alt="The Goal" src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2015/3/36/Hp_the_goal_2.png" />
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                        </div>
 +
                    </div>
 +
                </article>
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                    <h2><span style="color:#39B54A">The value of workshop</span></h2>
 +
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                            <p>If you are interested in knowing more about how the activity was received, here you can read some comments and see a </p> <a href="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2015/4/4e/Feedback.mp4 " target="_blank">video</a><p> recorded at the end of the last activity.</p>
 +
                             <img class="" alt="The Goal" src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2015/b/bf/UChile_Openbio_pag7.png" />
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                            <img class="" src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2015/e/e7/UChile_Openbio_pag7.2.png" />
 
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                     <h2>Acknowledgments</h2>
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                     <h2><span style="color:#39B54A">Acknowledgments</span></h2>
 
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                             <p>We want to thank the two high schools we worked with, for the coordination of the activity and the opportunity they gave us to make the pupils discover this new method: Synthetic Biology. We particularly thank the diffusion of the activity on the website of the high schools. Here you can see the article written on the websites of <a href="http://www.colegiomariano.cl/sitio/index.php/servicios/noticias-nulo/noticias-de-colegio/694-la-biologia-desde-una-nueva-perspectiva" target="_blank">Colegio Mariano de Schoenstatt</a>, and <a href="http://www.lamaisonnette.cl/noticias.php?id=2915" target="_blank">Colegio La Maisonnette</a>.</p>
+
                             <p>We want to thank the two high schools we worked with, for the coordination of the activity and the opportunity they gave us to make the pupils discover this new method: Synthetic Biology. We particularly thank the diffusion of the activity on the website of the high schools. Here you can see the article written on the websites of <a href="http://www.colegiomariano.cl/sitio/index.php/servicios/noticias-nulo/noticias-de-colegio/694-la-biologia-desde-una-nueva-perspectiva" target="_blank">Mariano de Schoenstatt high school</a>, and <a href="http://www.lamaisonnette.cl/noticias.php?id=2915" target="_blank">La Maisonnette high school</a>.</p>
 
                             <img class="" alt="Acknowledgments" src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2015/f/f1/Hp_colegios.jpg" />
 
                             <img class="" alt="Acknowledgments" src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2015/f/f1/Hp_colegios.jpg" />
 
                         </div>
 
                         </div>
 
                         <div class="half last">
 
                         <div class="half last">
−
                             <p>We also particularly want to thank the Chilean National Commission of Cooperation with UNESCO, which provided us its support to realize this activity through a letter (<a href="#" target="_blank">download here FALTA LINK</a>)</p>
+
                             <p>We also particularly want to thank the Chilean National Commission of Cooperation with UNESCO, which provided us its support to realize this activity through a letter (<a href="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2015/8/8a/Uchile-openbio_Letter_Unesco.pdf">download here</a>)</p>
 
                             <img class="" alt="Acknowledgments UNESCO" src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2015/1/17/Hp_unesco.png" />
 
                             <img class="" alt="Acknowledgments UNESCO" src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2015/1/17/Hp_unesco.png" />
 
                         </div>
 
                         </div>
 
                     </div>
 
                     </div>
 
                 </article>
 
                 </article>
 +
 
                 <article>
 
                 <article>
−
                    <h2>Diffusion of a Synthetic Biology course in the Engineering Faculty</h2>
+
                <article id="diffusionC">
 
                     <div class="division">
 
                     <div class="division">
 
                         <div class="half">
 
                         <div class="half">
−
                             <p>Last year, for the first time, was implemented an optional course of Synthetic Biology in the Engineering Faculty, that everyone from the different Departments could take. As it was planned to open the course this year too, two members of the iGEM team decided to be part of the teaching staff, to re-design and improve the first version of the course, taking advantage of the experience gained with iGEM and including the open source philosophy.</p>
+
                            <h2><br><span style="color:#39B54A">Diffusion of a Synthetic Biology course in the Engineering Faculty</span></h2>
−
                            <p>As it was said in the introduction, the main difficulty consisted in making people know the existence of Synthetic Biology, which meant for the team making a large diffusion campaign that could reach the whole Faculty.</p>
+
                             <p> Last year, for the first time, was implemented an optional course of Synthetic Biology in the Engineering Faculty, that everyone from the different Departments could take. As it was planned to open again the course this year, two members of the iGEM team decided to be part of the teaching staff, to re-design and improve the first version of the course, taking advantage of the experience gained with iGEM and including the open source philosophy.<br></p>
−
                             <p>To do that, we used all the social networks we had and the institution diffusion channels, designing a poster and several short posts that showed the connection that synthetic biology has with Engineering. Moreover, the team organized an activity</p>
+
                             <img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2015/f/f1/Openbio_Hoja_cursosfcfm.png" >
 
                         </div>
 
                         </div>
 
                         <div class="half last">
 
                         <div class="half last">
−
                             <p>opened to the entire Faculty, in which the teacher could talk about the course and answer the questions pupils had. The team made an introduction to Synthetic Biology with an activity very similar to the workshop realized in high schools. Even so, very few people registered the course. Twelve people came to the activity realized in the Faculty and 5 registered the course.</p>
+
                             <p> <br>To do that, we used all the social networks we had and the institution diffusion channels, designing a poster and several short posts that showed the connection that synthetic biology has with Engineering. Moreover, the team organized an activity opened to the entire Faculty, in which the teacher could talk about the course and answer the questions pupils made. The team made an introduction to Synthetic Biology with an activity very similar to the workshop realized in high schools. Even so, very few people registered the course. Twelve people came to the activity realized in the Faculty and 5 registered the course. However we felt we were giving birth to something that could impact the Faculty, so the motivation to design the course is still intact.</p>
−
                            <p>However we felt we were giving birth to something that could impact the Faculty, so the motivation to design the course is still intact.</p>
+
 
                             <img class="" alt="Diffusion of a Synthetic Biology course in the Engineering Faculty" src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2015/f/fa/Hp_diffusion_FCFM.png" />
 
                             <img class="" alt="Diffusion of a Synthetic Biology course in the Engineering Faculty" src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2015/f/fa/Hp_diffusion_FCFM.png" />
 
                             <label class="caption">The teaching staff, iGEM team members and the students who came to learn more about Synthetic Biology together after the activity.</label>
 
                             <label class="caption">The teaching staff, iGEM team members and the students who came to learn more about Synthetic Biology together after the activity.</label>
Line 147: Line 185:
 
                     </div>
 
                     </div>
 
                 </article>
 
                 </article>
−
                 <article>
+
                  
 +
<               article>
 
                     <div class="division">
 
                     <div class="division">
 
                         <div class="half">
 
                         <div class="half">
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                             </div>
 
                             </div>
 
                             <div class="one_third last caption">
 
                             <div class="one_third last caption">
−
                                 Students listening to the explications of the teacher Alvaro Olivera, about the Synthetic
+
                                 Students listening to the explanations of the teacher Alvaro Olivera, about Synthetic Biology.
 
                             </div>                         
 
                             </div>                         
 
                         </div>
 
                         </div>
 
                     </div>
 
                     </div>
 
                 </article>
 
                 </article>
−
                 <article>
+
<article>
−
                     <h2>Synthetic Biology Platform</h2>
+
                 <article id="SBp">
 +
                     <h2><span style="color:#39B54A"><br>Synthetic Biology Platform</span></h2>
 
                     <div class="division">
 
                     <div class="division">
 
                         <div class="half">
 
                         <div class="half">
−
                            <p>Considering the different projects of OpenBio-UChile, it appeared they would have more impact if they came from an organization bigger than a Faculty Organized Group. That’s why we joined an initiative launched by a professor from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, aiming to gather people from different Chilean Universities and related to Synthetic Biology into a global organization which could be a Foundation or NGO.</p>
+
                          <p>Considering the different projects of OpenBio-UChile, it appeared they would have more impact if they came from a wider organization than a Faculty Organized Group. That’s why we joined an initiative launched by a professor from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Fernán Federici, aiming to gather people from different Chilean Universities and related to Synthetic Biology into a global organization which could be a Foundation or a NGO. </p>
−
                            <p>At the date, the organization is composed of members from three universities, the majority coming from the University of Chile since many students are part of OpenBio-UChile. This initiative was born in March, 2015 and the members met every month to define what would be the objective of the organization, its activities and the ways we could diffuse them.</p>
+
                          <div class="division">
−
                            <p>During these months, we defined the mission, the vision and the business model of the organization, which are described as follows:</p>
+
                              <div class="half">
 +
                                  <img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2015/8/83/Openbio_Hoja_syntheticplataform.png">
 +
                              </div>
 +
                              <div class="half last">
 +
                                  <p> At the date, the organization is composed of members from three universities, the majority coming from the University of Chile since many students are part of OpenBio-UChile. This initiative was born in March, 2015 and we met every month to define what would be the objective of the organization, its activities and the ways we could diffuse them.</p>
 +
                              </div>
 +
                          </div>
 
                         </div>
 
                         </div>
 +
 
                         <div class="half last">
 
                         <div class="half last">
−
                             <h2>Mision</h2>
+
                             <img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2015/d/d2/Openbio_Hoja_splataform_lucho.png">   
−
                             <p>We are a non-lucrative, collaborative and open source organiza-
+
                            <h3><span style="color:#39B54A">Mision </span></h3>
−
                                tion, pioneer in promoting Synthetic Biology development in
+
                             <p> We are a non-lucrative, collaborative and open source organization, pioneer in promoting Synthetic Biology development in Chile to establish a continuous diffusion and education and generate tools about this technic. Centralizing information about Synthetic Biology and diffusing it through a Web platform will enable us to reach a large spectrum of Chilean society.</p>
−
                                Chile to establish a continuous diffusion and education and ge-
+
                             <h3><span style="color:#39B54A">Vision </span></h3>
−
                                nerate tools about this technic.
+
                             <p> To promote the collaboration and Open Access to knowledge about Synthetic Biology in Chile.</p>
−
                                Centralizing information about Synthetic Biology and diffusing it
+
−
                                through a Web platform will enable us to reach a large spectrum
+
−
                                of Chilean society.</p>
+
−
                             <h2>Vision</h2>
+
−
                             <p>To convert into the most relevant organization for the Open
+
−
                                Access to knowledge about Synthetic Biology in Chile.</p>
+
−
                            <h2>Business Model</h2>
+
−
                            <h2>Customers</h2>
+
−
                            <ul>
+
−
                                <li>Students and teachers from every kind of educational institutions (high schools, universities, technical formation etc)</li>
+
−
                                <li>Research Centers</li>
+
−
                                <li>Public Organizations/Government</li>
+
−
                                <li>Large public (empowerment)</li>
+
−
                            </ul>
+
 
                         </div>
 
                         </div>
 
                     </div>
 
                     </div>
 +
                 
 +
                   
 +
                </article>
 +
 
 +
                <article>             
 +
                    <img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2015/3/3b/HP_hoja9_modelonegocios.png"> <!--aqui pincha-->                         
 +
                </article>
 +
 +
                <article>
 +
                    <div class="division"><!--para dividir en partes una zona-->
 +
                        <div class="one_third"><!--para dividir un tercio la zona-->
 +
                            <img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2015/8/8c/Openbio_BM_Customers.png" align=top>
 +
                            <img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2015/c/c3/Openbio_BM_keypartners.png" >
 +
                        </div>
 +
                        <div class="one_third">
 +
                        <img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2015/1/15/Openbio_BM_valueproposition.png" align=middle>                         
 +
                        </div>
 +
 +
                        <div class="one_third last"><!--para dividir en el tercer tercio de la zona-->
 +
                            <img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2015/2/2e/Openbio_BM_Costestructure.png" align=top>
 +
                            <img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2015/d/d0/Openbio_BM_customersrelationship.png">
 +
                        </div>
 +
 +
                </article>
 +
             
 +
           
 +
                <article>
 +
                <div class="division">
 +
                    <div class="half"><!--para poner cosas en la primera mitad de la zona-->
 +
                        <img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2015/a/a5/Openbio_BM_flowofincome.png">
 +
                    </div>
 +
                    <div class= "half last">
 +
                        <img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2015/e/e8/HP_hoja11_keyactivities_5.png" >
 +
                    </div>
 +
                </article>
 +
 +
                <article>
 +
                    <img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2015/9/96/Openbio_BM_Keyresou.png">
 
                 </article>
 
                 </article>
 
                 <article>
 
                 <article>
−
                    <h2>Value proposition</h2>
 
 
                     <div class="division">
 
                     <div class="division">
 
                         <div class="half">
 
                         <div class="half">
−
                            <p>Generate, organize and distribute knowledge about Synthetic biology through public events related to science and technology and a web page in which:</p>
+
                        <h2> <span style="color:#39B54A"> Why this platform would be relevant? </span> </h2>
−
                            <ul>
+
                            <p> This will be the first organization of that type in Chile which could centralize information about Synthetic Biology and constantly diffuse it through a Web platform in an open data way. Also, the organization is composed of members from different universities and disciplines, where each one has diverse skills which can complement each other, allowing a faster share of information and technological development through collaboration. Also, we think creating a perdurable organization would have a bigger impact, in the long term, compared to different activities performed by iGEM Teams year to year.</p>
−
                                <li>all the activities are published and documented</li>
+
−
                                <li>all the protocols and methodologies are open access</li>
+
−
                                <li>all the information about SB events is uploaded</li>
+
−
                                <li>there is a friendly design which allows to easily contact the members of the organization</li>
+
−
                                <li>there is a section where customers can leave comments, visible for all the community.</li>
+
−
                            </ul>
+
−
                            <h2>Channels</h2>
+
−
                            <p>OpenBioChile will communicate about its activities through several channels:</p>
+
−
                            <ul>
+
−
                                <li>the organization’s web page</li>
+
−
                                <li>social networks: mail, facebook, twitter, etc.</li>
+
−
                                <li>scientific events</li>
+
−
                                <li>interventions in educational institution</li>
+
−
                            </ul>
+
 
                         </div>
 
                         </div>
 
                         <div class="half last">
 
                         <div class="half last">
−
                            <h2>Customer relationship</h2>
+
 
−
                            <p>Since the organization aims to reach different kinds of customers, the relationship must be based on a close and careful listening of their necessities and the provided answers must be adequate to their preferences.</p>
+
−
                            <h2>Flow of income</h2>
+
−
                            <p>As the organization doesn’t dedicate its activity to the generation of a specific product, the income will mainly come from:</p>
+
−
                            <ul>
+
−
                                <li>public funds</li>
+
−
                                <li>particular donations</li>
+
−
                            </ul>
+
 
                         </div>
 
                         </div>
 
                     </div>
 
                     </div>
 +
                </article>
 +
 +
               
 +
            </section>
 +
 +
            <section>
 +
                <section id="conection">
 +
                    <section class="conection"><!--seccion de conection-->
 +
                    <span class="titulo_seccion" style="background:#39B54A">Conection with the environment</span>
 +
                    <article>
 +
                    <article id="fablabU">
 +
                   
 
                     <div class="division">
 
                     <div class="division">
 
                         <div class="half">
 
                         <div class="half">
−
                            <h2>Key resources</h2>
+
 
−
                             <p>Since the organization wants to promote the development of such a new field in Chile like Synthetic Biology, its members have to obtain several key resources:</p>
+
                        <h2><br><span style="color:#39B54A"> FabLab UChile </span></h2>
−
                             <ul>
+
                           
−
                                 <li>Human resources:<br/>
+
                            <img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2015/4/47/HP_hoja13_david.png" WIDTH=320 HEIGHT=250>
−
                                     <ul>
+
                             <p> Since the idea of our project had born talking with the Fab Lab of the University of Chile, as mentioned in the attritubution section (conception of the idea), we presented our project to the director of the Fab Lab, who wrote us a  letter of inquiry. </p>
−
                                         <li>One or several experts in Scientific and/or Engineering disciplines</li>
+
                             <div class="division">
−
                                        <li>Professionals of the educative field</li>
+
                                 <div class="half">
−
                                        <li>Lawyers for legal issues</li>
+
                                    <img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2015/2/2c/HP_hoja13_david_bacteria.png"WIDTH=150 HEIGHT=100 usemap="#cU">
−
                                        <li>Economy experts to lead with business issues</li>
+
                                     <map name="cU">
−
                                        <li>Graphic Designer to develop a friendly and professional web page</li>
+
                                         <area shape="square" coords="100,100,108" alt="cU" href="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2015/8/8e/Uchile-openbio_Letter_Fab_Lab_Uchile.pdf" />
−
                                        <li>To satisfy this necessity the organization chose members whose abilities correspond to these profiles: students and teachers from three different universities, all with knowledge about Synthetic Biology, and relatives whose professional career is connected to legal and business issues.</li>
+
                                  </map>
−
                                    </ul>
+
                                </div>
−
                                </li>
+
                                <div class="half last">
−
                                <li>Funding:<br/>
+
                                    <img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2015/3/35/HP_hoja13_fablab.png"WIDTH=180 HEIGHT=100>
−
                                    As the organization does not possess a productive line, it does not have access to a constant flow of income, which makes it very dependant on public funds or particular donations, so funding becomes a key issue</li>
+
                                </div>
−
                                <li>Internet Domain:<br/>
+
                            </div>
−
                                     Since the main value and channel communication of the organization is its web page, it is absolutely necessary to count with an internet domain which supports a highly developed and professional web page.</li>
+
                        </div>
−
                            </ul>
+
                        <div class=half last">
 +
                            <p><br>We also talked with Andres Briceño, co-founder of the Santiago Fab Lab, to make our project cross the frontier of the University and see if there was a real need or interest for biological PLA. There, we discovered other ways to use PLA, since in this Fab Lab they combine PLA with other biodegradable materials such as wood to make composite materials and help the technology to reach the market. Indeed, if PLA is quite used to build prototypes, product designers don’t like working with it because plastic products are not as attractive as wood products, for instance. So the idea of mixing PLA with a more “esthetical” material such as wood allows a friendly design for many objects, which makes composite PLA a good candidate for new 3D-printed products. Moreover, composite PLA can have better mechanical properties than PLA according to the material it is mixed with, and can last more than 2 years without losing its biodegradable properties, which allows a wider range of use.</p>
 +
                            </div>
 +
                </div>
 +
                </article>
 +
                <article>
 +
                <article id="fablabS">
 +
     
 +
 
 +
                    <div class="division">
 +
                    <h2> <br><span style="color:#39B54A"> FabLab Santiago </span></h2>
 +
                        <div class="half">
 +
                            <p> When we presented our project, Andres Briceño agreeded that although prices can vary a lot according to the country of origin, it is expensive to buy PLA. He added that if we could demonstrate our fabrication process is cheaper than the current ones, the project would turn very attractive for many digital fabrication laboratories, for he gave us his support at the end of the visit, sending us another letter of inquiry.</p>
 +
                            <img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2015/8/86/HP_hoja14_anariky.png" usemap="#fbs">
 +
                                <map name="fbs">
 +
                                     <area shape="square" coords="320,100,108" alt="fbs" href="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2015/f/f9/Uchile-openbio_Letter_of_interest_FabLab.pdf" />
 +
                                </map>
 +
 
                         </div>
 
                         </div>
 
                         <div class="half last">
 
                         <div class="half last">
−
                             <h2>Key activities</h2>
+
                             <p>We reached the Government through the Ministry of the Environment, which manifested its interest through a letter of inquiry, in which it recognizes the importance of “the fabrication of biodegradable materials which implies fewer possible impacts on the environment".</p>
−
                            <ul>
+
                            <img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2015/b/b2/HP_hoja14_anariky_2.png" usermap="mma" usemap="#mma" />
−
                                <li>Workshops/Ferias SB.</li>
+
                             <map name="mma">
−
                                <li>Documentation and regular reports about the projects being developed.</li>
+
                                 <area shape="circle" coords="130,100,108" alt="mma" href="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2015/f/f9/Uchile-openbio_Letter_of_interest_FabLab.pdf" />
−
                                <li>Registration of the construction process of biological modules.</li>
+
                             </map>
−
                                <li>Registration of the construction process of low cost equipments.</li>
+
−
                                <li>Content generation for educational institutions related with Science and Synthetic Biology.</li>
+
−
                                <li>Outreach activities to bring SB to the large public and to raise awareness about this new field.</li>
+
−
                            </ul>
+
−
                            <h2>Key Partners</h2>
+
−
                             <ul>
+
−
                                 <li>Educational Institutions.</li>
+
−
                                <li>Research Centres in Biotechnology.</li>
+
−
                                <li>Entrepreneurs (empowerment).</li>
+
−
                             </ul>
+
 
                         </div>
 
                         </div>
 
                     </div>
 
                     </div>
 
                 </article>
 
                 </article>
 
                 <article>
 
                 <article>
−
                    <h2>i. Costs Structure</h2>
+
               
 
                     <div class="division">
 
                     <div class="division">
 
                         <div class="half">
 
                         <div class="half">
−
                             <p>The most relevant costs associated to the organization’s activities are:</p>
+
                             <h2> <span style="color:#39B54A"> Discussion about the impacts of PLA production </span> </h2>
−
                            <ul>
+
                            <p>In order to evaluate those impacts, the positive and negatives ones, we met with Claudia Mac Lean, in charge of the Sustainability Office of the Faculty. She made us present our project to her pupils in the context of a Sustainable Project Workshop and she gave us some pieces of advice, like developping a Life Cycle Assessment analysis or asking us the functionality of our plastic; will it be used for every kind of plastic objects? What consequences could have such a production? This was useful to wonder, for example:<br> </p>
−
                                <li>The communication campaign (web page, advertising cartels for forums, scientific/technological events, etc)</li>
+
                             <img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2015/6/6e/Preguntas_bacterias.png">
−
                                <li>Wages</li>
+
                        </div>
−
                             </ul>
+
                        <div class="half past">
−
                            <p>Connexion with the environment</p>
+
                             <p> <br>After analysing and debating this problem, our main discussions and conclusions were:
−
                             <p>In order to identify PLA users and people interested in this new methodology, we talked with several institutions and representatives. Since the idea of our project had born talking with the Fab Lab of the University of Chile, as mentioned in the project time line (hyperlink), we presented our project to the director of the Fab Lab, who wrote us a letter of inquiry (<a href="#" target="_blank">download here ****FALTA</a>).</p>
+
A Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) analysis would bring us a lot of quantitative information about our project, because it would make us know the specific impacts of the production process in term of equivalent CO2 (carbon dioxide) generation[1] . Nevertheless, we discovered LCA in a late phase of the project, so we didn’t have enough time to do this quantitative analysis because we should have looked for all the inputs and outputs of equivalent CO2 of feedstock and energy, for each stage of our process, which is a complex task.</p>
−
                             <p>We also went to talk with Andres Briceño, co-founder of the Santiago Fab Lab, to make our project cross the frontier of the University and see if there was a real need or interest for biological PLA.</p>
+
                        </div>
−
                            <p>There, we discovered other ways to use PLA, since in this Fab Lab they combine PLA with other biodegradable materials such as wood to make composite materials and help the technology to reach the market. Indeed, if PLA is quite used to build prototypes, product designers don’t like working with it because plastic products are not as attractive as wood products, for instance. So the idea of mixing PLA with a more “esthetical” material such as wood allows a friendly design for many objects, which makes composite PLA a good candidate for new 3D-printed products. Moreover, composite PLA can have better mechanical properties than PLA according to the material it is mixed with, and can last more than 2 years without losing its biodegradable properties, which allows a wider range of uses.</p>
+
                    <div>
 +
                    <p> </p>
 +
                </article>
 +
                <article>
 +
                    <div class="division">
 +
                        <div class="half">
 +
                             <p> We infer PLA can be degraded into lactate, which could enter into the metabolic cycle of anaerobic bacteria, generating CH4 (methane) and/or CO2[2] . Environments without oxygen could be found in typical landfills, so in a hypothetical situation where PLA would be established in our society (it means PLA would have totally replaced plastic from fossil origin), huge amounts of PLA could worsen the global warming (due to greenhouse gases emissions)[3] . Nevertheless, a controlled degradation of PLA would allow to take advantage of CH4 generation by producing energy from its combustion and would help to reduce the effects of climate change[4]. If we implemented our project in the long term we would promote cultivation of macroalgae which could contribute to economic development of Chile. Also, macroalgae don’t require any farmland, fertilizer or fresh water and is a renewable resource, so it is a better alternative than corn cultivation (which is one of the main current production modes). Nevertheless, the Chilean regulation of macroalgae uses should be constantly checked to avoid overexploitation and imbalance of natural ecosystem where macroalgae live. </p>
 
                         </div>
 
                         </div>
 
                         <div class="half last">
 
                         <div class="half last">
−
                             <p>When we presented our project, Andres Briceño agreed that although costs can vary a lot according to the country of origin, it is expensive to buy PLA. He added that if we could demonstrate our fabrication process is cheaper than the current ones, the project would turn very attractive for many digital fabrication laboratories, for he gave us his support at the end of the visit, signing us another letter of inquiry (download here).</p>
+
                             <p>We think one advantage of using macroalgae is that it could close the carbon cycle; it means macroalgae would consume environmental CO2 generated in the PLA production process, allowing global reduction of CO2. In the case of fossil plastic this wouldn’t occur because current plastics are made of fossil combustible, which positively contributes to increase global CO2 amounts if they are partially degraded or combusted . </p>
−
                             <p>In parallel, we tried to connect our project with the environmental problematic, looking for an institutional support to evaluate the potential of biological PLA. We reached the Government through the Ministry of the Environment, which manifested its interest through a letter of inquiry (download here), in which it recognizes the importance of “the fabrication of biodegradable materials which implies fewer possible impacts on the environment”.</p>
+
                        <img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2015/5/56/UChile_Openbio_pag15_questions.png">
−
                            <p>In order to evaluate those impacts, the positive and negatives ones, we met with Claudia Mac Lean, in charge of the Sustainability Office of the Faculty. She offered us to present our project to her pupils in the context of a Sustainable Project Workshop and to help us with an analysis of impacts through the Life Cycle Assessment methodology. And here we are.</p>
+
                        </div>
 +
             
 +
                </article>
 +
                <article>
 +
                    <div class="division">
 +
                        <div class="half">
 +
                             <p> On the other hand, the big problem of fossil plastic is its accumulation[5] . For example, if we suppose a constant production of the same amount of PLA and PET (a fossil plastic), after 5 years, higher amounts of PET would b expected to be found because a percentage of PLA should be degraded in the first two years[5] . But if PLA had a short degradation time, we guess people would replace it more frequently by buying more PA products, so higher amounts of PLA could be thrown away and the accumulation rate would increase. We think the trade off between replacing fossil plastics and avoiding an overproduction of PLA should need further analysis to evaluate the real impact of the PLA production process.
 +
 
 +
According to the previous reflection, we recommend to use PLA for products which will have a short life-time (<2 years), for example plastic cups or bags. On the contrary, for long life-time products such as pipes, chairs or big structures, it would be appropriate to keep using fossil plastics. On the particular case of medical use, we think PLA should be used like suture, because sutures need to be degraded in a short time. Moreover, the degradation would have no nefast consequences on the organism as PLA is a biocompatible material.[6]</p>
 +
                        </div>
 +
                        <div class="half last">
 +
                            <img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2015/8/8c/UChile_Openbio_pag15_conclusion.png">
 
                         </div>
 
                         </div>
 
                     </div>
 
                     </div>
 
                 </article>
 
                 </article>
 +
                <article>
 +
                <p> <span style="color:#39B54A"> Referencias </span> <br>  [1]CRA Europe. 12 Benefits of Life Cycle Assessment. [online]<www.cra.co.uk/news/12-benefits-of-life-cycle-assessment> [consulted: 16-09-2015]
 +
 +
[2] Shang-Tian Yang, I-Ching Tang. Methanogenesis from lactate by a co-culture of Clostridium formicoaceticum and Methanosarcina mazei (1991) Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology. Volume 35, Issue 1, pp 119-123
 +
 +
[3] Com. Nacional del Medio Ambiente de Chile. GUIA METODOLOGICA ESTUDIO DE CICLO DE VIDA ECV: Proyecto Minimización de Residuos provenientes de Envases y Embalajes. 2001. pp31
 +
 +
[4]  Methane Capture and Use. [online]<epa.gov/climatestudents/solutions/technologies/methane.html> [consulted: 16-09-2015]
 +
 +
[5] Garlotta, 2002. A Literature Review of PolyLactic Acid. Journal of Polymers and the Environment, Vol. 9, No. 2.
 +
[6] Athanasiou, Niederauer  and Agrawal, 1996 . Sterilization, toxicity, biocompatibility and clinical polyglycolic acid copolymers. Biomoterials N° 17 pp:93-102.
 +
</p>
 +
                </article>
 +
 +
            </section>
 +
               
 +
 +
             
 +
               
 
             </section>
 
             </section>
 +
    <script>
 +
     
 +
    </script>
 +
        <footer>
 +
            <h1>Our Sponsors</h1>
 +
            <img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2015/4/4f/Footer_sponsors.png" alt="UChile Sponsors" />
 +
        </footer>
 
         </div> <!-- #contentContainer -->
 
         </div> <!-- #contentContainer -->
 
     </body>
 
     </body>
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</html>
 
</html>

Latest revision as of 21:47, 20 November 2015


TODO supply a title

Human practices Human practices overview Awarness Diffusion Synthetic Biology Platform Difussion SB Connection FabLab UChile Fablab Santiago
Human practices

In Chile, little is known about Synthetic Biology. There is only one Chilean start’up (web page) really related to this area, and universities only began to participate in iGEM in 2012 Team UC_Chile.

To answer these questions, we developed a diffusion plan of this methodology based on three activities:

Diffusion about
synthetic biology

Awareness-raising activity in high schools

Synthetic Biology is still little known in Chile but its numerous applications and its rapid development at international scale make it relevant to teach in educational institutions. Moreover, pupils are the future professionals of the country, so it is necessary to broaden young minds introducing Synthetic Biology, how it works and its collaborative vision. This would help forming responsible citizens.

As this kind of activity was new for the high schools the team worked with, teachers helped with internal diffusion and they also invited other teachers and authorities of the institution.

The introductive activity

To make sure all these concepts had been understood, the team organized a game in which the pupils had to find the word corresponding to the projected pictures and some sweets were given to the winners!

Right after this game the pupils were asked what they thought about the genetic modification of living beings...and the conversation reached the topic of Super Heroes and improved human beings!

The introductive activity

The Legos workshop

The practical activity was based on analogies between the genetic parts of biological systems and the different standardized parts of the game, as it is shown in the picture below.

The Legos workshop

Pupils had to assemble promotors, RBS, coding sequences and terminators, represented by pieces of different colours and lengths, and make the modules interact between them with pieces of wool. This way, they could represent events like activation or inhibition of a promotor and production of a protein. Activation, inhibition and production were symbolized by green, red and white threads, respectively.

The Legos workshop

The value of workshop

The goal was to make the pupils collaboratively find solutions to the exposed problems, which difficulty grade increased as the workshop progressed. The workshop can be

downloaded here

. The team also elaborated an

electronic glossary

to make sure that the concepts wouldn’t be forgotten after the activity.

The Goal

As it was the first time that such an activity was implemented, the team asked for students' and teachers' feedback, in order to improve the pedagogical material for the next collaboration with an educational institution.

The Goal

The value of workshop

If you are interested in knowing more about how the activity was received, here you can read some comments and see a

video

recorded at the end of the last activity.

The Goal

Acknowledgments

We want to thank the two high schools we worked with, for the coordination of the activity and the opportunity they gave us to make the pupils discover this new method: Synthetic Biology. We particularly thank the diffusion of the activity on the website of the high schools. Here you can see the article written on the websites of Mariano de Schoenstatt high school, and La Maisonnette high school.

Acknowledgments

We also particularly want to thank the Chilean National Commission of Cooperation with UNESCO, which provided us its support to realize this activity through a letter (download here)

Acknowledgments UNESCO


Diffusion of a Synthetic Biology course in the Engineering Faculty

Last year, for the first time, was implemented an optional course of Synthetic Biology in the Engineering Faculty, that everyone from the different Departments could take. As it was planned to open again the course this year, two members of the iGEM team decided to be part of the teaching staff, to re-design and improve the first version of the course, taking advantage of the experience gained with iGEM and including the open source philosophy.


To do that, we used all the social networks we had and the institution diffusion channels, designing a poster and several short posts that showed the connection that synthetic biology has with Engineering. Moreover, the team organized an activity opened to the entire Faculty, in which the teacher could talk about the course and answer the questions pupils made. The team made an introduction to Synthetic Biology with an activity very similar to the workshop realized in high schools. Even so, very few people registered the course. Twelve people came to the activity realized in the Faculty and 5 registered the course. However we felt we were giving birth to something that could impact the Faculty, so the motivation to design the course is still intact.

Diffusion of a Synthetic Biology course in the Engineering Faculty
< article>
Diffusion of a Synthetic Biology course in the Engineering Faculty
Diffusion of a Synthetic Biology course in the Engineering Faculty
More photos of the students,working on solving the exposed challenges with legos.
Diffusion of a Synthetic Biology course in the Engineering Faculty
Diffusion of a Synthetic Biology course in the Engineering Faculty
Students listening to the explanations of the teacher Alvaro Olivera, about Synthetic Biology.


Synthetic Biology Platform

Considering the different projects of OpenBio-UChile, it appeared they would have more impact if they came from a wider organization than a Faculty Organized Group. That’s why we joined an initiative launched by a professor from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Fernán Federici, aiming to gather people from different Chilean Universities and related to Synthetic Biology into a global organization which could be a Foundation or a NGO.

At the date, the organization is composed of members from three universities, the majority coming from the University of Chile since many students are part of OpenBio-UChile. This initiative was born in March, 2015 and we met every month to define what would be the objective of the organization, its activities and the ways we could diffuse them.

Mision

We are a non-lucrative, collaborative and open source organization, pioneer in promoting Synthetic Biology development in Chile to establish a continuous diffusion and education and generate tools about this technic. Centralizing information about Synthetic Biology and diffusing it through a Web platform will enable us to reach a large spectrum of Chilean society.

Vision

To promote the collaboration and Open Access to knowledge about Synthetic Biology in Chile.

Why this platform would be relevant?

This will be the first organization of that type in Chile which could centralize information about Synthetic Biology and constantly diffuse it through a Web platform in an open data way. Also, the organization is composed of members from different universities and disciplines, where each one has diverse skills which can complement each other, allowing a faster share of information and technological development through collaboration. Also, we think creating a perdurable organization would have a bigger impact, in the long term, compared to different activities performed by iGEM Teams year to year.

Conection with the environment


FabLab UChile

Since the idea of our project had born talking with the Fab Lab of the University of Chile, as mentioned in the attritubution section (conception of the idea), we presented our project to the director of the Fab Lab, who wrote us a letter of inquiry.

cU


We also talked with Andres Briceño, co-founder of the Santiago Fab Lab, to make our project cross the frontier of the University and see if there was a real need or interest for biological PLA. There, we discovered other ways to use PLA, since in this Fab Lab they combine PLA with other biodegradable materials such as wood to make composite materials and help the technology to reach the market. Indeed, if PLA is quite used to build prototypes, product designers don’t like working with it because plastic products are not as attractive as wood products, for instance. So the idea of mixing PLA with a more “esthetical” material such as wood allows a friendly design for many objects, which makes composite PLA a good candidate for new 3D-printed products. Moreover, composite PLA can have better mechanical properties than PLA according to the material it is mixed with, and can last more than 2 years without losing its biodegradable properties, which allows a wider range of use.


FabLab Santiago

When we presented our project, Andres Briceño agreeded that although prices can vary a lot according to the country of origin, it is expensive to buy PLA. He added that if we could demonstrate our fabrication process is cheaper than the current ones, the project would turn very attractive for many digital fabrication laboratories, for he gave us his support at the end of the visit, sending us another letter of inquiry.

fbs

We reached the Government through the Ministry of the Environment, which manifested its interest through a letter of inquiry, in which it recognizes the importance of “the fabrication of biodegradable materials which implies fewer possible impacts on the environment".

mma

Discussion about the impacts of PLA production

In order to evaluate those impacts, the positive and negatives ones, we met with Claudia Mac Lean, in charge of the Sustainability Office of the Faculty. She made us present our project to her pupils in the context of a Sustainable Project Workshop and she gave us some pieces of advice, like developping a Life Cycle Assessment analysis or asking us the functionality of our plastic; will it be used for every kind of plastic objects? What consequences could have such a production? This was useful to wonder, for example:


After analysing and debating this problem, our main discussions and conclusions were: A Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) analysis would bring us a lot of quantitative information about our project, because it would make us know the specific impacts of the production process in term of equivalent CO2 (carbon dioxide) generation[1] . Nevertheless, we discovered LCA in a late phase of the project, so we didn’t have enough time to do this quantitative analysis because we should have looked for all the inputs and outputs of equivalent CO2 of feedstock and energy, for each stage of our process, which is a complex task.

We infer PLA can be degraded into lactate, which could enter into the metabolic cycle of anaerobic bacteria, generating CH4 (methane) and/or CO2[2] . Environments without oxygen could be found in typical landfills, so in a hypothetical situation where PLA would be established in our society (it means PLA would have totally replaced plastic from fossil origin), huge amounts of PLA could worsen the global warming (due to greenhouse gases emissions)[3] . Nevertheless, a controlled degradation of PLA would allow to take advantage of CH4 generation by producing energy from its combustion and would help to reduce the effects of climate change[4]. If we implemented our project in the long term we would promote cultivation of macroalgae which could contribute to economic development of Chile. Also, macroalgae don’t require any farmland, fertilizer or fresh water and is a renewable resource, so it is a better alternative than corn cultivation (which is one of the main current production modes). Nevertheless, the Chilean regulation of macroalgae uses should be constantly checked to avoid overexploitation and imbalance of natural ecosystem where macroalgae live.

We think one advantage of using macroalgae is that it could close the carbon cycle; it means macroalgae would consume environmental CO2 generated in the PLA production process, allowing global reduction of CO2. In the case of fossil plastic this wouldn’t occur because current plastics are made of fossil combustible, which positively contributes to increase global CO2 amounts if they are partially degraded or combusted .

On the other hand, the big problem of fossil plastic is its accumulation[5] . For example, if we suppose a constant production of the same amount of PLA and PET (a fossil plastic), after 5 years, higher amounts of PET would b expected to be found because a percentage of PLA should be degraded in the first two years[5] . But if PLA had a short degradation time, we guess people would replace it more frequently by buying more PA products, so higher amounts of PLA could be thrown away and the accumulation rate would increase. We think the trade off between replacing fossil plastics and avoiding an overproduction of PLA should need further analysis to evaluate the real impact of the PLA production process. According to the previous reflection, we recommend to use PLA for products which will have a short life-time (<2 years), for example plastic cups or bags. On the contrary, for long life-time products such as pipes, chairs or big structures, it would be appropriate to keep using fossil plastics. On the particular case of medical use, we think PLA should be used like suture, because sutures need to be degraded in a short time. Moreover, the degradation would have no nefast consequences on the organism as PLA is a biocompatible material.[6]

Referencias
[1]CRA Europe. 12 Benefits of Life Cycle Assessment. [online] [consulted: 16-09-2015] [2] Shang-Tian Yang, I-Ching Tang. Methanogenesis from lactate by a co-culture of Clostridium formicoaceticum and Methanosarcina mazei (1991) Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology. Volume 35, Issue 1, pp 119-123 [3] Com. Nacional del Medio Ambiente de Chile. GUIA METODOLOGICA ESTUDIO DE CICLO DE VIDA ECV: Proyecto Minimización de Residuos provenientes de Envases y Embalajes. 2001. pp31 [4] Methane Capture and Use. [online] [consulted: 16-09-2015] [5] Garlotta, 2002. A Literature Review of PolyLactic Acid. Journal of Polymers and the Environment, Vol. 9, No. 2. [6] Athanasiou, Niederauer and Agrawal, 1996 . Sterilization, toxicity, biocompatibility and clinical polyglycolic acid copolymers. Biomoterials N° 17 pp:93-102.

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