Difference between revisions of "Team:BABS UNSW Australia/Practices"

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<h4>Creating Superman - is it ethical to genetically modify organisms?</h4>
 
<h4>Creating Superman - is it ethical to genetically modify organisms?</h4>
  
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<p>We hosted a faculty wide debate about ethics in synthetic biology. Teams were made up of volunteers selected from Biomolecular and Biotechnology courses.
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<p>We hosted a faculty wide debate about ethics in synthetic biology. Teams were made up of volunteers selected from Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences (BABS) courses.

Revision as of 06:27, 29 August 2015

Human Practices

Make Your Own GMO Workshop

We collaborated with the Australian BIOMOD team and ASPIRE (a UNSW high school outreach program) to run a workshop for students from across several rural and low SES schools. After a rudimentary introduction to cell biology and genetics, we explained design of basic genetic circuits with a focus on promoters and protein-coding genes.

a quick debrief on DNA and gene expression

Students had the opportunity to select from a list of real-world problems, and then design their solution by picking a chassis organism and choosing genes to add to it. Most groups designed hardy, nutritious plants to solve world hunger. Only one group chose a different problem - they aimed to solve boredom by generating a cow with endlessly regenerating limbs… “imagine a cow with like 100 legs!” Students enjoyed discussing all the possibilities, and those who wanted presented their creations to the group.

GMP: a genetically-modified plant to feed the world

A quick survey post-activity told us that students enjoyed the activity, and found the challenging aspects enriching. Some of the favourites of the genes available to them were the flagella-encoding gene and the apple-scented protein gene.

We also assisted the Biomod team in running a DNA extraction activity. By combining both activities into one session, we enabled students to participate in both the conceptual and hands on aspects of genetic modification.

Australian iGEM meet up

We hosted the first meet up for 2015 Australian iGEM teams. 75% of Australian teams (i.e. 3 out of 4 total) attended. It was a great day to meet, commiserate, and share our work. Each team gave a presentation about the project, and faced question time from other teams, advisors, and a past iGEM judge.

Some of the meetup attendees from UNSW, University of Sydney and Macquarie University

In the aussie tradition, we finished the day with a barbecue and some beers.

The Great Debate

Creating Superman - is it ethical to genetically modify organisms?

We hosted a faculty wide debate about ethics in synthetic biology. Teams were made up of volunteers selected from Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences (BABS) courses.