Team:WITS-CSIR SA/Scrapbook/Calendar/08 14-05-2011

From 2011.igem.org

08-14 May

Monday

Sasha and Natasia spoke about the toggle switch that could be used for the circuit. We will be synthesizing the toggle switch and testing its response concentration through the use of a graph as was done in the papers we read through. We went through the CSI handbook to find potential donors. The book contains information on the funding interests of over 100 companies in South Africa! We found over 20 that are interested in donating money for tertiary research. We approached Michelle to source strategies on how to appeal to all of these sponsors.

Tuesday

Natasia met with Karl and got some ideas for a pamphlet to entice companies to donate. Sasha, Gloria and Ezio took a roadtrip to Pretoria to CSIR, our partners. For the full experience, visit our gallery.

Wednesday

Team photoshoot! The pamphlet to go to the donors requires scientific photos of the team. The entire team donned lab coats and posed for very serious, academic photos. We hope to prove that the value of donations will be directly proportional to the scientific-ness of the photos. Hold thumbs! The team also edited the pamphlet to go to companies and added in our nerdy pictures.

Thursday

Natasia worked on the Wiki, adding styles to all the pages. Research continues on toggle switches and aptamers...

Friday

Ezio and Sasha put together a document containing information on the genetic circuit used in the project. This was then sent to an expert on chemotaxis to gather some valuable opinions on the genetic construct and any advice on optimizing it. The pamphlet for the donors was also completed and is ready for printing!