We are the Synthetic Biology Club at the University of British Columbia.
Synthetic biology, an emerging and rapidly growing field, is seeking talented minds cross disciplines to tackle problems in our changing world.
iGEM aims at promoting this budding field in the academic world.
Objective: Create an engineered bacteriophage that eliminates Staphylococcus aureus
To achieve our objective we have divided the project into 6 tracks that will be pursued in parallel:
1. Biofilm- observe Staphylococcus aureus biofilm growth under lab conditions so we can characterize effectiveness of our engineered phage
2. DspB- extract the Dispersin B gene from A. pleuropneumoniae so we can integrate into the phage genome
3. Phage- develop standard protocol to manipulate the phage genome in a simple and well-defined manner
4. Quorum- characterize the existing P2 biobrick part
5. Modelling- model the interaction between s. aureus biofilm, phage, and relevant molecules in the system, to supplement our wet lab experiment
6. Human Practices- gather feedback from public opinion of synthetic biology
Thanks to everybody who came out to the AMBL Science Field Trip! We hope you enjoyed the lessons on genetics, the AMBL Jeopardy (and it’s live music), and hope that you will continue to support the club in the future!
Here are some photos from the field trip – please enjoy them!
The Advanced Molecular Biology Laboratory (AMBL) will be holding a special one-day Science Field Trip FREE for UBC iGEM members! You will be performing DNA fingerprinting analysis – commonly used by forensic scientists and CSI – to check for genetic elements in your own DNA. Using the powerful PCR technique, you will be isolating and amplifying your DNA then analyzing it for the Alu genetic element. This field trip promises to a fun and entertaining way to get into contemporary molecular biology!
Where: Advanced Molecular Biology Lab, Michael Smith Laboratories, UBC (Map)
When: Friday May 14th, 2010
How to Sign Up: RSVP Here. Spaces are limited and FREE Admission for iGEM Club Members and only $5 for non-members. Password: check in by e-mailing the execs.
There will be no Journal Club this term. Special thanks to those who presented and participated this year!
http://www.plosbiology.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pbio.0050058
More on the issue of patenting, law, and intellectual property.
http://www.nature.com/nbt/journal/v28/n4/full/nbt0410-293.html
This is a very insightful article on the impact of President Obama’s recent healthcare legislation on the biotechnology industry. Not just about economics, this article also discusses how economics itself will drive innovation in the biotechnology industry w.r.t. healthcare products in diagnosis and treatment.
We have decided our project this year: biofilm degradation! Thanks to those who participated in the discussion last week and it was a close race. With an awesome team we have this year, we will use this week’s JC time for them to further discuss and develop the biofilm idea, but all are welcome to participate!
We are hosting a movie night, featuring GATTACA, to wrap things up for this term. It is will this Wednesday (April 7) from 5-7 in MSL 101. This is a good way to hang out, relax, and not think about project selection (although we will still be thinking about bioethics!) before finals are here. Popcorn will be provided!
Congratulations to everybody who made it onto the 2010 UBC iGEM Team! The club execs wish you all a year of accomplishment and success – do us proud!
http://www.nature.com/news/2010/100120/full/463288a.html
A very insightful article on the challenges that synthetic biologists have to face. It seems, then, that the “minimal cell” is the way to go. Without the minimal cell, there wouldn’t be any standardization of synthetic biology possible.
Otherwise, cell-free synthetic systems will have to play a huge part in this.
