IGEM at IU
From enfascination
The International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) is coming to Bloomington. It is a contest built on a set of standards that enable students to design novel organisms for engineering purposes with minimal capital and training.
The most fascinating projects I have found are:
- E. Coli that generates peppermint smell when it is growing and banana smell when it stops
- Another organism that emits a red dye if it is in arsenic laced water; providing a cheap arsenic test.
- Photosensitive E.Coli; literal biofilm. In the attached flier, you see a print of the classic "Hello World". There can be no more overt demonstration of the intent to turn biology into engineering/programming.
These are organisms engineered by students! The callout next Thursday is to recruit a team to participate in iGEM2009. Bioengineering experience is not required. It was started at MIT and in four years has grown from 5 to 84 participating schools from around the world.
Meetings Tuesdays at 5:30 COB (Classroom Office Building) 118
And for your browsing pleasure:
- iGEM 2008 is the most recent contest:
- The Registry of Standard Biological Parts, in which a 'part' is a gene that has been modified to suit the easy-to-work-with BioBrick standard:
- OpenWetWare provides tech support:
Best, -seth