1.
Overview/Intro
Lack of awareness of ‘antibiotics’ and ‘antimicrobial
peptides’ was revealed in our questionnaire within the community. Therefore, we held a popular science
speech targeting children aged 7-12, to help them gain a better understanding of those professional
terms and emphasize the significance of our project simultaneously.
What’s more, we also
created social media accounts to share some educational information and
carried out the online education by sharing the PPT as well as utilizing the Tencent app for the online
meeting and recorded the whole process so that other interested students could watch it later.
2.
Offline education activities
Title: Popular Science Activity on Antimicrobial Peptides
and Antibiotics for Children
Introduction:
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Background: Our community lacks awareness of
"antibiotics" and "antimicrobial peptides" concepts
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Goal: Popularize these concepts to children aged 7-12
and emphasize the importance of our project
Methods:
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Use diagrams, storytelling, and roleplaying to explain
professional terms to students new to biology
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Roleplay on antibiotic abuse, antimicrobial peptides,
and superbugs to set the context
Since our audience was students new to biology,
abundant illustrations and story-telling approaches were utilized when explaining expertise vocabulary.
In the beginning, we started with a role play about the overuse of antibiotics, and the function of
antimicrobial peptides and superbugs. As expected, the role play was conducive to activating the
atmosphere. Also, it offered students fundamental knowledge of antibiotics and antimicrobial peptides.
The subsequent Q&A session has proven that such an introduction is remarkably constructive for students'
comprehension.
Students were actively participating in offline education activities.
Explaining Key Concepts:
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Use metaphors to simplify complex terms like
antibiotics and antimicrobial peptides (e.g. castle guards)
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Explain in detail what are "antibiotics" and
"antimicrobial peptides"
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Analogies help students truly master relevant
knowledge and stimulate interest in biology
Following was a detailed illustration of ‘antibiotics’
and ‘antimicrobial peptides’. To facilitate students’ understanding of those complex terms, numerous
metaphors were adopted to make comparisons to objects like castle guards. By this means, students
obtained relevant knowledge of antimicrobial peptides thoroughly. Meanwhile, their interest in biology
was motivated and some even proposed becoming a biologist. As a student said in our return visit, "I am
looking forward to the next biology lesson. When my mom got sick taking antibiotics, I told her it was
wrong and we should see the doctor."
We were sharing
.
Consolidating Understanding:
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Conduct Q&A sessions to reinforce knowledge and gauge
students' comprehension
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Reward students for actively answering to encourage
participation
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Organize a drawing game to apply antimicrobial peptide
concepts and analyze market prospects
After the conceptual explanation, a Q&A session was
conducted, which strengthened their knowledge and enabled us to realize their mastery levels. Each
active respondent was rewarded for inspiring participation and enthusiasm. Apart from this, a
draw-and-guess game regarding the application of antimicrobial peptides was organized. We attached great
importance to the topic selection, taking the application of antimicrobial peptides as the theme and
analyzing its market prospects.
Takeaways:
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Combined concepts with daily life scenarios to improve
understanding and problem-solving skills
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Introduced iGEM competitions and encouraged
participation in the future
Through this game, students' divergent thinking and
imagination were cultivated. The combination of antimicrobial peptides and daily life scenarios
facilitated their comprehension and integration of new knowledge. Moreover, associating the functions of
antimicrobial peptides with real-life issues enhanced their capability in problem-solving and logical
reasoning, which may assist them in dealing with problems in daily life. Additionally, we introduced the
International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) competition and encouraged them to participate in
the future.
Group photo with kids.
Education slides
（
Click here to see our
slides
-attachment 1
）
3.
Online education activities
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Online lecture
Our team's online education record covers various aspects. First and foremost, we made a
meticulous PPT for this online teaching and displayed it publicly during the lecture, enabling learners
to review it afterwards. Secondly, we utilized Tencent app for the online meeting and recorded the whole
process, so that other interested students could watch it later. Meanwhile, we took advantage of the
transcription function embedded in the Tencent APP to transcribe the nearly one-hour speech into text,
which was integrated into a document for reference, not just by attendees but also by students
potentially interested in synthetic biology.
In our online lecture, we collaborated with the college iGEM team - CPU China to educate people about
antimicrobial peptides, antibiotic resistance, and bifidobacteria. The primary audience was high school
and college students. Throughout the science popularization, we expect to stimulate their interest in
synthetic biology and take this discipline into account when selecting majors and career paths in the
future.
Our poster and slides
（
Click here to see our
slides
-attachment 2
）
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Social media
Additionally, our team has an account on social media that enthusiasts of synthetic biology
or iGEM competitions can follow, where we update the content in real time.
Moreover, we have established accounts on social platforms such as Bilibili and
TikTok
across different districts. Popular science videos regarding iGEM competition and
synthetic biology are uploaded periodically, containing text, images and soundtracks corresponding to
the scenes. The purpose is to help more individuals understand synthetic biology, our competition, team
and products, thereby evoking their interest in this discipline or competition.
3.1 TikTok
Platform
By using
TikTok
, our team can widely publicize the knowledge of antimicrobial peptides and antibiotics,
which raises awareness among the general public. In total, we published five videos on
TikTok
with a total of more than 1,000 views. They are about synthetic biology, iGEM
competition, the mechanisms and advantages of antimicrobial peptides, bacterial infections, and
antibiotic resistance. In addition, we also talk about the severity of antibiotic abuse in the video,
which can better let people understand the purpose of our invention and promote public acceptance. At
the same time, we also open the comment function, looking forward to people’s discussion with us, and
accept people’s suggestions to us. There are videos explaining what is iGEM competition and what is
synthetic biology in plain language so that the public has a basic understanding of iGEM competition and
synthetic biology. This also creates opportunities for young people to learn this discipline, so more
innovative young people with dreams and creativity can join the iGEM family.
TikTok
3.2
Bilibili Platform
We created a Bilibili account and uploaded the same videos as
TikTok
, in order to expand the scope of our video promotion and raise public
awareness of antimicrobial peptides and antibiotics. In order to explain the different concepts, our
videos are always very long, and it is easier to push traffic in
B
ilibili, so it just makes up for the shortcomings of
TikTok
only giving segment video traffic.
Bilibili
3.3
Wechat Official Account
We created a WeChat Official Account in order to let more people know about AMPs. The
WeChat official account is a really efficient way for people around us to get information directly. We
first introduced our team, basically where we are from. Then we had articles related to AMP scientific
facts and methods to use them properly. We also listed the serious issues that the infection of bacteria
and the mystery in it, which aims to raise people's awareness of the serious consequences of resistance
to bacteria. We had a considerably large pageview, for example, our group intro part had 114 pageviews
in total.
WeChat Official Account
Our first popular science article delves into the
historical development of the relationship between humans and microorganisms. In ancient times, humans
were completely unaware of the existence of microorganisms, while bacteria quietly thrived. However, in
a certain era of antiquity, a tribe suddenly fell victim to a mysterious illness, causing panic with
symptoms like high fever, headaches, and difficulty breathing, all without any understanding of the
culprit. As time progressed, humanity gradually became aware of the presence of bacteria and began their
battle against these microorganisms. Bacterial infections encompass a range of diseases, including
respiratory tract infections, gastrointestinal infections, skin infections, and urinary tract
infections. The discovery of antibiotics brought hope for the treatment of bacterial infections, but
over time, bacteria developed resistance to these drugs, leading to the immense challenge of antibiotic
resistance. Throughout history, fascinating stories emerged, such as Alexander Fleming's discovery of
penicillin and modern research into antimicrobial peptides, reflecting humanity's relentless efforts and
innovations in combating bacterial infections.
part of article about the historical development of the relationship
between humans and microorganisms
Our second popular science article about antibiotic resistance in a
peaceful town. A sudden outbreak of infections caused high fevers, slow-healing wounds, and
difficulties in treating common colds, painting a grim picture of antibiotic resistance quietly
spreading through the town. Bacteria have grown smarter over time, learning to evade antibiotics,
much like a thief deftly avoiding detection. Excessive reliance on antibiotics and their misuse
allowed bacteria to master the art of resisting these drugs. To combat antibiotic resistance, we
must change our behaviors and take proactive measures. This includes using antibiotics correctly,
raising self-protection awareness, and intensifying scientific research to discover new treatment
methods.
part of article about antibiotic resistance
Our third popular science article introduces another solution to the
problem of antibiotic resistance - antimicrobial peptides. These small molecular peptide chains are
nature's gifted defense tools to humans, capable of defeating bacteria in various ways and resistant
to quick development of resistance. Antimicrobial peptides hold the promise of becoming a new option
for treating bacterial infections, but solving the problem requires global cooperation and the
relentless efforts of scientists. By cultivating good hygiene habits and continuously researching
new drugs and treatment strategies, we can effectively curb the spread of antibiotic resistance,
safeguarding human health and the future.
part of article about antimicrobial peptides
4
Conclusion
Through online and offline publicity, we help the public to popularize the abuse of
antibiotics and antimicrobial peptides, so that they have a basic understanding of this. The result
shows that most people do not know about the abuse of antibiotics and antimicrobial peptides. Therefore,
we feel that the offline and online publicity campaigns we have implemented are necessary to further
enhance public awareness of antimicrobial peptides and antibiotics.