Team:HKUST-Hong Kong/workshop.html
From 2011.igem.org
1. Overview 2. Workshop Introduction of Synthetic BiologyAppendix - Card Game Game Rules Synthetic Biology is an emerging field combining conventional Biology with engineering principles. Employing techniques rooted in genetic engineering, scientists attempt to introduce new biological functions to existing organisms, ranging from creating biosensors to detect viruses and bacteria, to those which can actively degrade pollutants in the environment. Since this is a relatively new field of science with great potential to influence our lives in the future, we feel that iGEM teams should not only enjoy the iGEM process, but also at the same time try to promote synthetic biology to the general public so that more people will gain a better understanding of this cutting-edge field. In order to achieve this goal, our iGEM human practice group this year held a Synthetic Biology Workshop for secondary school students on 17th, Sep. Apart from the workshop, our human practice group also modified a Synthetic Biology Survey provided by our partners in Austria for the Hong Kong public. The aim of this survey is to collect data on the general public’s perception of synthetic biology, what influences their impression of it, and their thoughts on the future development of synthetic biology. [Top] 2. iGEM 2011 HKUST Synthetic Biology Workshop The iGEM 2011 HKUST Synthetic Biology Workshop aims to introducing some basic idea of synthetic biology as well as molecular biology in general to secondary school students, primarily at Grade 9 and 10.
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Introduction to Synthetic Biology ![]() Activity 1 : The Life of E. coli Our human practice group has designed a card game for secondary students in order to introduce the general principles of Synthetic Biology and the techniques employed in this field. In this card game, students play as an E. coli, a bacterial species often used in Synthetic Biology due to its fast growth rate, resilience to environmental stress and ease of cultivation. Throughout the game, students will attempt to evolve by constructing pathways (combining a promoter with a gene). By activating promoters and pathways, they will score points, which are tallied at the end, with the highest scorer declared the winner.
After playing this game, students can aquire basic knowledge of pathways and how they function. For example, they will learn that promoters need to be activated to initiate gene transcription, different genes code for different proteins for different functions, and also some techniques commonly used in constructing pathways, such as PCR. [Top] |
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How to Play Our Card Game? ![]() ![]() ![]() |
In order to give secondary school students a chance to get closer to understand how synthetic biology is practiced in real life, we organized a lab tour for them, visiting HKUST's MBMS (Molecular Biomedical Science) Lab where our iGEM Team works for the iGEM project. With the help of one of our instructors, Dr. Jessica Ce Mun Tang, these students learnt about the things that can be done in a synthetic biology lab for research purpose. For example, they learn how to use pipetman and how to run an agarose gel using electrophoresis to check the DNA sizes of digestion products. All of the students showed a great interest in doing synthetic biology research after visiting the lab. [Top] Activity 2 : Be a Plasmid Engineer Isaac Newton discovered the laws of motion because of an apple falling from tree, Friedrich August Kekulé discovered the structure of benzene after having dreamt of a snake eating its tail…History has repeatedly showed us that many a ground-shaking discovery originated from leaps of creativity and imagination. Synthetic Biology is no different. Like a sand box, it houses a staggering amount of possibilities, limited only by people’s imagination, and by what people perceive as possible. In this activity, secondary students get a chance to show everyone what they think Synthetic Biology can do, after getting some basic idea of synthetic biology through all the activities! We had helpers go into each group to inspire them to think out of the box, and assist them in designing their own Synthetic Biology project! We asked secondary students to construct a plasmid that carries characteristics from one or more species, and specify which host species they wish to introduce the plasmid into. The following are some interesting examples designed by these students.
1. Extract starfish DNA and put them into human embryo to create a human body which is able to change colors, as well as gain the ability to regenerate limbs.
After collecting all their designs, we discovered that a significant portion of them were interested in improving the human body by introducing a combination of genes from other animals to grant specific traits and abilities. |
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At the end of the workshop, we distributed a feedback form for all the participating secondary students to fill in. Gathering from all the feedback forms, the students in general felt that the whole workshop was interesting and helpful. They came to the workshop without much prior knowledge about Synthetic Biology, but after this workshop, they all agreed that they were able to learn some basic ideas about what synthetic biology is. Below are some feedback given by them: ![]() ![]() "The workshop is very interesting and informative. You explained it in a way that I can understand and take in the knowledge easily." "Thank you to everyone involved in this workshop which all of us greatly enjoyed. All the activities were interesting and well organized and all of the iGEM Team members encourage all students to participate in the workshop actively. " "I thought the card game was very thought-out and was very useful as well as interesting." "I really liked this workshop! It used creative ways to introduce a very new topic and it was extremely successful!" "This was a very inspiring workshop-not only was it fun, but it was also very informative. Thank you!" [Top] Acknowledgement We would like to give our heartfelt thanks to: The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Prof. King L. Chow Dr. Jessica Ce Mun Tang Ms. Kit Ng Mr. ZHAO Guanlun Members of the iGEM2011 HKUST Team Whose continuous support and guidance make this workshop possible. [Top] |
Here are some of the reflection of our iGEM Team members. Claire, WU Yunmin: Steven, Deng Yisong: Michael, LU Yang: Shirley, XU Jiajing: [Top] |
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Dice Types There are three dices types in the game, a “move” dice for steps; a “card” dice for drawing cards; an “activation” dice for activating promoter.
Playing the Game |
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