“The work…has led us into the new era of synthetic biology where not only existing genes are described and analyzed but also new gene arrangements can be constructed and evaluated.”
--Waclaw Szybalski
February 2011 found a computer lab full of enthusiastic Rutgers students that were to comprise the Rutgers iGEM team. Young, naïve, ignorant students of science they were, not one could answer the question “What is synthetic biology?” Indeed, it took spring, summer, and fall, nights programming on a computer, days miniprepping in a lab, and constant doodling on a drawing board before they would truly find out. Synthetic biology, a simple phrase that is yet not so simple to understand. In his video “Defining Synthetic Biology”, Drew Endy defines synthetic biology as “an approach”. While it uses different tools and principles of genetic engineering, molecular biology, and microbiology, it goes beyond these fields to present a new way to look at the possibilities of biology.
One of the reasons, we realized, that we didn’t truly understand synthetic biology it wasn’t something that was yet truly taught in the classroom. While we learned about basic techniques of genetic engineering, like gel electrophoresis, PCR, and bacterial transformations, we never really put it all together. We had the tools but we were never really told how to use them to construct something bigger.
As we enter a “new era of synthetic biology”, the fact that many students still don’t understand its concepts is a problem. The fields of science and synthetic biology are rapidly evolving and uncovering new questions and problems. Are we preparing our generation and the next to meet the challenge of this “new era”? The Rutgers iGEM team decided to take this human practice matter into its own hands.
“The secret of genius is to carry the spirit of childhood into maturity.”
--Aldous Huxley
Synthetic biology is novel. It’s developing. It opens the mind to new possibilities and gives us the tools to make them realities. It builds off of a sort of creativity that isn’t traditionally taught in a science class. We decided to take this concept of imagination and synthetic biology to the community and to especially reach out to the kids of New Jersey. We wanted to show them that synthetic biology can be FUN!
At Rutger’s Day, a fun-filled day where Rutger’s opens its campus to showcase to New Jersey its forthcoming research, teaching, and involvement with the community, we decided to reach out to the kids of New Jersey and introduce them to synthetic biology. We set up a station where we showcased a poster and concept maps of our projects. We also had pictures of different bacteria and an interactive activity for the children.
We started off by asking the children what they knew about bacteria. Most of the younger children had a vague idea of bacteria as germs that were ‘bad for you’. Middle school and high school students had a better idea of the structures of bacteria. We showed pictures of bacteria and explained how bacteria were actually found everywhere and good be ‘good’ as well by serving us various functions. We then went on to explain DNA and its role in not just humans but all forms of life. By leading up to synthetic biology by first explaining these simple concepts, we were able to help children gain an understanding of the foundations of synthetic biology.
We then explained synthetic biology as an approach of using genetic engineering to construct new genetic combinations with new functions. While most people had heard about genetic engineering, they only vaguely understood it as something that was done to food, or something that could alter animals, or something very sci-fi. By breaking synthetic biology down to the DNA level and explaining Biobricks and standardized parts, we were able to turn synthetic biology into a simple concept that children and adults alike could abstract.
To engage kids in thinking creatively about synthetic biology, we asked them ‘If you could make a superbacteria, what super power would it have?’ Though a simple and very childlike question on the surface, we found that asking ourselves similar questions helped us think of synthetic biology creatively and dynamically, and eventually led to the development of our iGEM projects. Through bacterial ‘parts’ of pipe cleaners, construction paper, markers, and other crafty odds and ends, we watched as the kids of New Jersey created all kinds of unique ‘superbacteria’. This activity not only introduced synthetic biology to the children in our community, but opened their minds to question and think of solutions to problems using synthetic biology. By planting the seeds of inspiration and creativity in children and introducing them to the scientific tools that could make their ideas a reality, we hope to prepare the coming generation for the “new era of synthetic biology”.
“We cannot always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future.”
--Franklin D. Roosevelt
As college students preparing for the workforce and our role in society, we know the value of inspiration and outreach. Many of us wanted to scientists, doctors, or engineers. As we grew older, we all had certain experiences that shaped our decisions for the future, be it that cool biology teacher that made us want to do research or that awesome biomedical engineering professor that showed us there was more to engineering than just computers. The earlier we were introduced to a field, the more time we had to learn about it and whether we wanted to be a part of it. Often, we were able to make connections between seemingly unrelated fields and see how they intersected in the real world. We decided we wanted students to be aware about synthetic biology early. While many children grow up hearing about traditional scientific fields, it’s not until late college or much later that they realize the different fields available in science. We decided to reach out to the high school and college community and introduce students to synthetic biology.
To reach out to high school students, we went to the New Jersey Governor’s School in the Sciences, a summer program for talented high school students that broadens their view of the sciences. At the Governor’s School, our team advisor, Dr. Stapleton, gave a talk about directed evolution. RU iGEMmers then explained synthetic biology, the iGem competition, and our projects. By introducing high school students to synthetic biology we hope to broader their knowledge and understanding of science and open their minds to new possibilities in science and their future roles in the scientific community.
In addition to high school students, we reached out to college students at the Rutgers University student involvement fair. At this fair, we presented the iGEM team and our projects to hundreds of Rutgers students. Many of these students had come in to Rutgers with an idea that they wanted to study the sciences sciences but weren’t aware of the various fields that the sciences encompassed. By explaining synthetic biology and the iGEM competition we showed college students a different side of science and engineering. Judging by the numerous pages of contact information of students interested in the Rutgers iGEM team, our outreach to college students was a success.
“I am not concerned that we will run out of exciting and novel ideas... in the synthetic biology, in general.”
----Waclaw Szybalski
Synthetic is a new, exciting, and developing field that will play a great role in our world in the future. By introducing synthetic biology to children and youth, we are preparing our generation and the next to engage with and contribute to this future. In this rapidly developing scientific age, we need synthetic biological literacy to be more mainstream, not only for budding scientists, but for future activists, educators, policy makers, and other individuals that will play a critical role in synthetic biology’s future. Through our outreach programs we hope we were able to inspire and educate our community about synthetic biology. More importantly, we hope and invite other iGEMmers, scientists, and citizens of the biological world to help inspire and educate the future of tomorrow.
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The Bacterial Full Adder
