Assignment

Option 1: Researching the field of synthetic biology.
Research an area of current research and development in Synthetic Biology. If possible try to relate it to your design project. You should be able to tell us who is doing this research and what they are inventing or discovering. Figure on about 4-5 "pages" in length. You should place this on your wiki page and the create 8-10 Power Point slides for your presentation. Your PowerPoint should be much less detailed than your wiki page. Hint: do the wiki page writing first. Your presentation should be about 15 minutes Pictures and diagrams will be valued. Be sure to include links to all your references.

Research topics (some suggestions also see the resources page)
Biopharmaceuticals Artemesinin RE coli Man made genome (Venter) Minimal cells Bacterial computing Bacterial counting Synthetic chloroplasts Cyanobacterial energy Biosensors and toxins/heavy metals Biosensors and landmines Bacterial photography Rewriting the genetic code Mosquito control Bioinformatics Biofuels Quorum sensing Two component signaling Regulating gene expression Genetic logic gates Ethics Safety
 * //Try searching for these terms with the phrases synthetic biology and/or iGEM//**

Option 2: The Design Proposal:
You will design a genetic machine. You should use your imagination and not be concerned if the genetic devices actually exist. Use the prompts below as your outline. One approach to deciding on a design topic is to think about a problem that can be solved (or at least addressed) by engineered bacteria (or yeast or cyanobacteria). Please try to keep your project simple. You may want to spend these weeks using synbio design to cure cancer but you will find you raise more problems than solutions. That's OK, after all, that's how things get done. However, you're better off focusing on a specific area. Look at the list above and the resources for some inspiration. You should add this to your wiki page and create around 8-10 Power Point slides for the final presentation.

Here is an outline and some prompts to help you. You should publish your design proposal on you wiki page and create a PowerPoint. Your PowerPoint should be much less detailed than your wiki page. Hint: do the wiki page writing first.

I. Purpose

 * Describe the problem or challenge you are trying to solve.
 * Why is solving this problem or meeting this challenge important?
 * What will your design do to address that problem (overview)?

II. Competing technologies

 * What technologies are being used to address this problem at present?
 * How effective are they?

III. The design

 * Using both words and diagrams, describe your design.
 * What input would the cell be responding to?
 * How would genetic expression be affected?
 * If possible make a list of the genetic device you would need (do not worry if these actually exist).

IV. Expected results

 * Using both words and a truth table, explain how you expect the cell to behave when the design system is working perfectly.
 * How will these results bring about a successful solution to the problem?

V. Advantages

 * How is your biological design an advantage over the existing technologies?
 * Why is your design worth funding? (Be convincing!)

VI. Potential problems

 * What are the potential problems with your system?
 * What safety features would be required to protect your employees during development of your design?
 * How would you protect the environment during development of your design?
 * In what ways could evolution of the cells you’ve engineered negatively affect use of your design in the future?
 * Are there inefficiencies or shortcomings of your design as compared to the existing technologies?
 * Does your design pose dangers to the environment, lab safety, and the security of the public?
 * In what ways are the potential rewards worth the risks?

VII. Testing

 * How would you test the effectiveness of the system?
 * (If your design has multiple components, you may select one component for testing.)
 * How would testing help improve the system?
 * How would testing help reveal greater potential for the system?

Option 3: Best of both
For this option you can do both option 1 and 2. However, you should do simpler and shorter versions of both.

The Final Presentation:
On our last day you will present your Power Point to the group. You should be prepared to discuss each slide and answer questions. Your presentation should take about 15 minutes. Please upload your Power Point to your wiki page.