Difference between revisions of "Team:Gaston Day School/Safety"

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<h2>Safety in iGEM</h2>
 
<h2>Safety in iGEM</h2>
  
<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>We are studying E. coli K12. It is one of the most studied strains of E. coli. It is safe and practical for high school labs, but may cause irritation to skin, eyes, respiratory system, and kidneys. It is dangerous if E. coli K12 is able to transfer its antibiotic resistance to other bacteria, but E. coli K12 itself causes minimal harm to organisms. All bacteria samples and cadmium are maintained safely in a separate lab.  
 
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All team members are required to wash their hands on entrance and exit. E. coli K12 have a very small risk of surviving in the environment so the risk of transfer is already low. All water disposed will go through a wastewater treatment center to make sure all contaminations been removed. All bacteria disposed by the lab will be decontaminated by 10% bleach. All used containers, tubes, and tips will also be decontaminated by 10% bleach or or by treatment for 15 minutes at 15 psi in a pressure cooker. Our materials pose few risks to humans, animals, and plants.
<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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All students were trained with both safety and lab procedures by our supervisor, Anne Byford. She reviews all our procedures and experiments and worked in a genetics lab for over 10 years. Students were trained to handle hazardous chemicals and bacteria. We dress in proper lab attire with safety glasses and aprons. We also learned how to use the eyewash station and chemical shower. No experiment will proceed without the presence of any well trained members. We teach every member through hand-on experiences and we operate under BioSafety Level 1 because we work in high school laboratory.
 
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We have also begun design work for a passive killswitch. The kill switch will be arabinose-repressible, incorporating a pBAD promoter for a TetR repressor of a TetR repressible promoter of colicin. When the concentration of arabinose drop, the colicin will no longer be repressed and will kill the cell, preventing any contamination.
 
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<h4>Safe Project Design</h4>
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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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<ul>
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<li>Choosing a non-pathogenic chassis</li>
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<li>Choosing parts that will not harm humans / animals / plants</li>
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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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</ul>
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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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Revision as of 13:42, 17 September 2015

Safety in iGEM

We are studying E. coli K12. It is one of the most studied strains of E. coli. It is safe and practical for high school labs, but may cause irritation to skin, eyes, respiratory system, and kidneys. It is dangerous if E. coli K12 is able to transfer its antibiotic resistance to other bacteria, but E. coli K12 itself causes minimal harm to organisms. All bacteria samples and cadmium are maintained safely in a separate lab. All team members are required to wash their hands on entrance and exit. E. coli K12 have a very small risk of surviving in the environment so the risk of transfer is already low. All water disposed will go through a wastewater treatment center to make sure all contaminations been removed. All bacteria disposed by the lab will be decontaminated by 10% bleach. All used containers, tubes, and tips will also be decontaminated by 10% bleach or or by treatment for 15 minutes at 15 psi in a pressure cooker. Our materials pose few risks to humans, animals, and plants. All students were trained with both safety and lab procedures by our supervisor, Anne Byford. She reviews all our procedures and experiments and worked in a genetics lab for over 10 years. Students were trained to handle hazardous chemicals and bacteria. We dress in proper lab attire with safety glasses and aprons. We also learned how to use the eyewash station and chemical shower. No experiment will proceed without the presence of any well trained members. We teach every member through hand-on experiences and we operate under BioSafety Level 1 because we work in high school laboratory. We have also begun design work for a passive killswitch. The kill switch will be arabinose-repressible, incorporating a pBAD promoter for a TetR repressor of a TetR repressible promoter of colicin. When the concentration of arabinose drop, the colicin will no longer be repressed and will kill the cell, preventing any contamination.