Ensuring accessibility for individuals with color vision deficiencies was paramount throughout our project's development. Throughout the development of our solution, accessibility for those with color vision deficits was a top priority. Color vision disorders, including Deuteranopia (red-green color blindness), Protanopia (red color blindness), and Tritanopia (blue-yellow color blindness), affect 1 in 12 males and 1 in 200 women, respectively. One of our team members made us aware of these figures, prompting us to carefully consider our color scheme and look at color contrast ratios.

This meticulous approach helped us choose the best color palette for the whole project. It ensured that people with different color blindness could quickly distinguish the colors used in their visual identity. Given that there are over 300 million colorblind persons around the globe, we designed our logo utilizing a colorblind-friendly palette. We deliberately kept the color scheme throughout the project to appeal to a broad audience regardless of how well they could perceive color. We embrace accessibility as a crucial component of our projec

Interpretation of Colour Blind Palette

Disability inclusion in science is a moral and practical must, not a choice. It aims to acknowledge and celebrate the unique skills and viewpoints that people with disabilities provide to the scientific community. As we go forward in iGEM, we are dedicated to promoting inclusion and diversity in science and transforming it into a more welcoming and equitable environment for everyone. We can close the gap and ensure that science accurately captures the variety of the human experience. Our most recent Instagram post on disabilities was a small but significant step in promoting diversity in science. Inclusion should be a crucial component of the scientific process, from the lab through outreach and engagement. We seek to inspire change and open opportunities for upcoming generations of scientists by recognizing the difficulties experienced by people with disabilities and emphasizing their significant research contributions.

Please check our Instagram page for more information.

The difficulties and restrictions presented by linguistic variations when doing scientific research, distributing findings, and working with scientists from various linguistic origins are called the "language barrier" in science.

Making scientific knowledge more approachable, encouraging multilingualism, and developing an inclusive scientific community are steps to overcome this obstacle. For international scientific cooperation and innovation to reach its full potential, linguistic barriers in research must be eliminated.

The biggest challenge during the COVID-19 Pandemic was overcoming the language barrier and spreading awareness to a larger population due to the multi-diverse nature of languages spoken in India. We decided to take the initiative to overcome this barrier. We designed posters on COVID-19 awareness and general hygiene in not just English but in Hindi, which is the most spoken language in India, and Gujarati, Marathi, and Punjabi, the three other languages spoken in Indian states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Punjab, respectively.

Women of Science

“Closed labs and increased care responsibilities are just two of the challenges women in scientific fields are facing during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

    --The UN chief said in his message for the International Day of Women and Girls in Science

According to UNESCO, just 35% of all students in STEM-related fields of study are female, which is lower than the global average of 33.3% for female researchers. Although data demonstrate that boys and girls perform similarly in science and mathematics, persistent gender stereotypes prevent many girls from pursuing STEM careers and provide them with few (if any) options for furthering their education and professional development. Vertical and horizontal segregation still act as obstacles. Therefore, even nations that achieve gender parity regarding researchers face significant obstacles in obtaining it in all other areas. Despite recent progress, relatively few women are still in high-level jobs, and just 22 women have received a Nobel prize in a scientific field. Thus, As a part of encouragement and motivation for the young women following our iGEM Journey, our recent post focuses on the Women who won a Nobel prize in the past, along with a feature on our latest 2023 Nobel prize winner in physiology or medicine, Katalin Kariko. This post aims to inspire young women to pursue and continue Science. Science is for everyone and anyone, and no obstacle or social construct is big enough to stop a young woman from achieving the greatest in Science.

Being Queer in Science

According to a 2019 study on the workplace for LGBT+ physical scientists, 20% of trans persons have frequently contemplated leaving. One in three American physicists have received advice to remain in the closet to advance in their careers. The fact that 28% of LGBT+ persons have at some point thought about leaving their jobs due to a hostile workplace or discrimination against them is only one of their many problems. LGBTQ+ individuals in STEM fields were often more likely than their cisgender, heterosexual peers to encounter professional devaluation, marginalization, and harassment. For LGBTQ+ persons of color, women, and gender minorities, this is much more complicated.

To reflect the struggles of the LGBTQIAA+ community and to instill a feeling of inclusivity through our project, we communicated with Chetan Sadhotra, a valuable member of our team and the instructor for Wetlab. As a part of the Queer community and a PhD Student, We had a valuable conversation with Chetan on what it is like to be Queer in STEM.

Read what Chetan has to say!

We are proud of the linguistic, cultural, and gender diversity and inclusivity we foster as a team. Our team prides itself on having a relatively equal representation of each gender and being multicultural, with members from different parts of India and cultural backgrounds. Our idea of Synthetic biology has benefitted from the unique perspectives, knowledge, and passions that each team member brings. Our team's wide variety has been essential in helping us fully comprehend every aspect of our project. We created Pathoglow into the perfect amalgamation of many experiences thanks to ideas collected from brains spanning such a wide range of backgrounds.