Team:UMaryland/Practices
Human Practices
As our project deals with alternatives to antibiotics as plasmid maintenance, we wanted to learn how and why others avoid using antibiotics in their industries. As the large majority of antibiotics used in the United States are used in farms INSERT SOURCE HERE, we decided to meet directly with farmers who choose to avoid antibiotics. In addition to learning about their rationale for using alternatives, these trips also helped inform us of the potential applications of our work with the Hok-Sok system.
Grand View Farms is a certified organic farm in Maryland that does not administer sub-therapeutic doses of antibiotics to their animals, uses no pesticides, and grows as few genetically modified crops as possible. Instead of using pesticides and antibiotics, the farm's owners employ classical crop and animal rotation methods in order to keep the soil healthy This explains why they don't use fertilizer, not why they don't use antibiotics or pesticides. As different animals consume different plants, they argued, rotating livestock through the land naturally maintains a healthy balance of growth and soil nutrients, while suppressing harmful weeds. Additionally avoiding repeatedly growing the same crop on one section of land prevents depletion of nutrients in the soil.<-- again, fertilizer, not pesticides or antibiotics
Interestingly, the owners of Grand View Farms did not express any particular ethical or health concerns with GMO crops. Instead, they informed us that, for a farm of their size, having an organic label made them more profitable and allows them to compete better with larger, more industrial farms.
*One a side note, some hungry members of our team sampled the farms ribs, eggs, and vegetables, and according to them, the farms practices have only improved the taste of the food.*
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In mid-August, we sent some members to the Montgomery County Agricultural Fair to canvas the site. The MoCo Fair witnesses the annual meeting and celebration of farmers, artist, craftsman, carnival rides, and pie cooking contests. We interviewed the fair-goers – farmers, high school students, county executives, and everyone in between – about their opinions and concerns about GMOs using a carefully crafted electronic survey. In keeping with our dedication to sustainable practices, and in response to our conversation with the owner of Grand View Farm, we gathered information from the general populace to better understand and navigate the misconceptions and ethical limitations our local community associates with bioengineered consumables.
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Last July, we hosted a meetup of several iGEM teams from around the Mid-Atlantic region in order to meet other teams in our area. Our plans were to facilitate interlab connections and collaboration, learn from each others' successes and struggles, and gain valuable insights on synthetic biology.
We were grateful to have representatives from the College of William and Mary, the University of Virginia, Duke University, and Rock Ridge High School come and meet us!
Over the summer, we sent out surveys in order to analyze the public's knowledge on GMOs and to inform us about how the expansion of community labs and DIY biology would be received by local communities.
We visited the Wilmer Eye Institute, a part of Johns Hopkins University, in order to learn about the current conditions of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), its symptoms, and its treatments.
We met with a researcher who studies the causes of AMD, Dr. Noriko Esumi. She currently studies retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) and how it relates to AMD. After giving her an explanation of what iGEM is and why we were choosing to study lutein production, she told us that, while her experience with lutein itself was limited, she was well informed about retinal health and some of the causes of macular degeneration.
From our conversation, we learned that age-related macular degeneration can be attributed to a few factors: smoking, immune responses based on bacterial infections, genetics, and, as its name suggests, aging. She also supported the notion that lutein is an effective vitamin supplement to help maintain and improve ocular health.
Our next interview was with Dr. Nosheen Ahmed. While Dr. Esumi had more experience with the tissue cells that cause AMD when dysfunctional, Dr. Ahmed had more experience with the disease itself, its symptoms, its common treatments, how it affects the lives of patients, etc.
From the interview with Dr. Ahmed, we learned that a good prevention method for those at risk for AMD is a change in lifestyle habits. For example, quitting smoking, minimizing computer use, and improving one's diet all could benefit eye health. Optometrists recommend a lot of leafy greens and dark vegetables, which contain a variety of carotenoids, including lutein.
Dr. Ahmed stated that not many studies has been done with lutein but there is a consensus it has a positive effect on AMD.
She also discussed that many patients will not recognize AMD as it develops. As the vision decreases or spotting occurs, they think they may only need glasses. More research is needed for the disease and potential treatments as well as vitamins like lutein which can help.
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