How do we introduce our project to the non-scientific community and educate them about synthetic biology?

Since synthetic biology is an emerging concept, and for the general public, it's an entirely new term. Therefore, it's crucial to enhance societal awareness of this new technology, alleviate public concerns, and increase acceptance of biotechnological products. We utilize the internet as a tool for spreading ideas because it can convey information about synthetic biology to people of all ages, regardless of their location. We chose to employ visual and captivating content, including graphics and entertaining videos, on social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter to more effectively promote the concept of synthetic biology and other biological insights.

Figure social-media

    Science Education camps

1. Introduction

With an aim to promote synthetic biology to every age group, our team collaborated with a local cram school in Kaohsiung, and hosted a half-day science camp on August 13th, 14th, and 24th. We taught junior high school students from grade one to grade three and elementary school students about the concept of synthetic biology, iGEM competition, our project, biological information, current disease and experimental skills.

2. Preparation before the camp

Before the camp, we had to prepare the sheet for students to study and read during the class, so our team members had studied few scientific papers and integrated the knowledge into an easy version for junior high school students to study. We printed the documents and made a power point to let the students have a clear thought on the whole lesson.

Furthermore, our team members had to do the biological experiments and prepared the samples and equipment before the class to ensure there would not be any problems during the process. It was a challenge to prepare for the science camp because there was a distance between Kaohsiung and Hsinchu and our team members were not fully familiar with the environment. After all, we prepared well before the science camp.

3. The process during the camp

During the science camp, our team members first taught the students about the concept of synthetic biology and the purpose of iGEM competition. Then we explained about the project we were doing so far and mentioned the biological and medical knowledge related to Colorectal Cancer, such as the constructure of bowel and intestine and how did the mutation of cancer cell work. After that, we combined the concept of current COVID disease to our biological experiments, showed the students how to compare the CT value and how to conduct the biological experiments.

The experiments included extraction of chicken blood and pork mince, solid and liquid form of bacteria culture, anatomy of Phoenix snail and basic tutorial of equipment operation. It was so much fun explaining the concept of synthetic biology while teaching the students how to conduct the experiments. To see if the students have understood the lesson, our team also prepared gifts for them to answer easy quiz from the lesson, and we could tell that those kids did understand the concepts and enjoyed the whole process.

4. Reflection and feedback of the camp

In this science education camp, we taught approximately 60 high school students and nearly 20 elementary school students, for a total of around 80 students. What we learned from those kids was the spirit of “never give up”. Although it seemed like it was a cliché to say, they showed their consistency and passion for biology. Some of the students could not successfully completed the experiment, however, they did not complain about anything but just kept trying until the lesson was over. Even though they did not get a good result at the end, some of them came to ask our team member about why and how did the experiment went wrong. This was the spirit of doing research and trouble shooting. We had difficulties and met struggles during the process of our project, but our team learned the spirit of never give up and tried our best to progress and improve day by day, it was an amazing lesson to learn from those young kids as well as promoting the concept of synthetic biology.

5. Science camp educational program

Figure 1. Science camp educational program. (Left: Junior high school; Right: Elementary school)

Figure 2. Course material

    NTHU Biological Science Camp

NTHU Biological Science Camp is an annual flagship event of the College of Life Science and Medicine at National Tsing Hua University. It invites approximately 80 high school students around Taiwan to participate in a 6-day, 5-night camp. During the camp, participants engage in various activities and hands-on laboratory experiments.

In order to promote the primary objective of the iGEM competition, which is to deliver knowledge and practical applications of synthetic biology, we organized a brief presentation for both senior and junior high school students. Simultaneously, we introduced our project to the audience, effectively sharing our concept with the broader public.

Figure 3.

In order to introduce our project to the general public, we used Phaser 3 to design an interactive browser game that will provide visitors to our websites with a lively experience. Through the game, the player will go through the whole process of our project.

We created a story about NTHU Panda, who unfortunately lost his father due to colorectal cancer. Later on, he set on his journey to explore the innovative substance, circular RNA, with the aim of rescuing others from colorectal cancer.

Figure 4.

In the game, the player can move the character by clicking the left/right/up/down arrow button. They can also click on the shift button to move faster. In each level, there are various obstacles that require the player to avoid or jump off.

Figure 5.

They will be asked to collect several items that compose the main idea of our project.

Figure 6.

At the end of each level, they will be given some questions to double-check whether they understand our process.

Figure 7.

After the player finishes all levels, there will be a close-up story of NTHU Panda. If they are interested in our project, they can visit our homepage by clicking the bottom-right button.

Figure 8.

Click to go Wiki game!

We propose our subject at the College of Life Science and Medicine Alumni Association and reap significant improvements. Firstly, alumni associations are typically comprised of alumni with extensive experience in biomedical industries and fields. We can establish valuable connections with these professionals, gaining access to crucial resources and support, including funding, mentorship, and guidance. For example, some alumni introduced our team to authoritative physicians in the Gastroenterology Department. Additionally, we have the opportunity to showcase our proposal to professionals, receiving feedback and advice to refine our business model, strategies, and plans, ultimately creating a product that genuinely meets the market needs. Last but not least, the presentation at the conference helped us to attract the interest of potential clients, investors, and partners. Offering opportunities to secure the necessary funding to drive our research forward.

Figure 9.

We have designed a questionnaire to investigate the current severity of colorectal cancer worldwide and the acceptable price range for cancer screening among the general public. While designing the questionnaire, we also aim for individuals to acquire colorectal cancer-related knowledge during the process. This includes the importance of early colorectal cancer detection, early symptoms of colorectal cancer, the principles behind current methods of colorectal cancer screening, and etc. The questionnaire helps raise public awareness of health issues and motivates people to become more actively involved in prevention and early detection.

Click to go Entrepreneurship!