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From 2011.igem.org

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Our project this year is to design, create, and test a working cadmium water tester. We are going to do this by altering the existing biochemical pathway that Yeast has to recognize the cadmium, and then create our own code that will make it fluoresce red. When we originally had the idea for a water tester, we looked for metals, pesticides, and other harmful substances that are a problem in water supplies. Through much research, we found that cadmium is often a byproduct of many industrial processes, and is often leaked or exposed to the environment. Also, yeast recognizes the presence of cadmium already, so we figured it would be much more simple to alter an existing pathway than to create an entirely new one. We hope through research and experimentation that we are able to make cadmium much more detectable in the environment.
	Greenfield-Central High School Team Rihm

Safety

Researcher Safety

We will guarantee the safety of our team by wearing gloves, lab coats, and safety glasses when in the lab. We will also ban food and drinks from the lab. We will wash our hands every time we enter or leave the lab. We will always turn off all equipment after use, and make sure all equipment is working properly.

Public Safety

To ensure the safety of the general public, we decided to use non-pathogenic E.Coli and obviously harmless yeast. But just in precaution, we eliminate any and all waste via a bio-hazard container, we do not open any windows or doors while we are working, and we wash before we enter or leave the lab to prevent contamination.

Environmental Safety

Because we decided to use non-pathogenic e.Coli, there is no risk to the environment. We are still observing all local and national environmental health codes however.

Lab Biosafety

Our high school does not have any biosafety procedures that we know of. We are following the Biosafety Level 1 and cGLP guidelines.