Overview
Throughout the implementation of our program, we have always aimed to utilize the iGEM competition as a platform to connect and engage with the world. Our primary goal is to increase awareness about obesity as a global health concern so that more people can understand its harmful effects and co-morbidities, and be more proactive in preventing and treating obesity. In our interactions with individuals, we have also noticed that they are concerned about this issue and give it high importance. Our sincere hope is that our small effort can contribute towards promoting solutions to the worldwide obesity problem.
For primary school students
“Gene Editing” Popular Science Picture Books in Primary Schools
We have partnered with the Fudan, Shanghai Tech, and Tongji-Software teams to create a series of illustrated books for children. Our goal is to introduce the fascinating world of biology to children and cultivate their interest in the subject from a young age. The books explain what genes and gene editing are through vivid and engaging illustrations, easy-to-understand language, and interactive games. We hope that these books will guide children in their journey of understanding and exploring the magical and wonderful field of biology.
In our first picture book, we introduce children to the concept of genes through the experiments of scientist Mendel, who observed the characteristics of peas. We explain the relationship between genes and traits, as well as the location and structure of genes. Our goal is to help kids become better at observing and understanding interesting life phenomena in their daily lives, while also teaching them to respect and cherish the uniqueness of each life form.
Our second picture book builds upon the content of the previous book and introduces children to the concept of gene editing. We use relatable concepts such as magnifying glasses, scissors, and glue to illustrate the basic process of "finding, cutting, and repairing" genes. Additionally, we emphasize the importance of ethics in gene editing and encourage children to use this tool for meaningful purposes in the future. our first picture book, we introduce children to the concept of genes through the experiments of scientist Mendel, who observed the characteristics of peas. We explain the relationship between genes and traits, as well as the location and structure of genes. Our goal is to help kids become better at observing and understanding interesting life phenomena in their daily lives, while also teaching them to respect and cherish the uniqueness of each life form.
Figure2. A group photo with our picture book production partners Communication
To enhance the understanding of synthetic biology among primary school students, and to develop their interest in this field, we carried out an activity where we visited a primary school with a picture book. The objective of this activity was to promote the influence of picture books among children. During the activity, we read the book with the children and asked them to draw what they learned from it. We also encouraged them to share their thoughts on the knowledge presented in the pictures. The children seemed to enjoy the activity and found it very interesting. Some of them even came up with ideas related to synthetic biology, based on what they learned from the book. We spoke with the teachers present and they agreed that the activity was very meaningful and enjoyable for all.
For secondary school students
The Lecture in Chongqing Nankai Middle School
We have arranged a series of lectures for high school students with the aim of enhancing their knowledge of synthetic biology and helping them comprehend the social benefits of our project. On September 28th, we conducted a seminar on synthetic biology at Nankai Middle School in Chongqing. During the seminar, we explained the fundamental principles of synthetic biology and its practical applications to the middle school students. Moreover, we encouraged them to express their thoughts and connect synthetic biology with high school biology. Later, we discussed their opinions about the iGEM competition and why we find it fascinating. Our objective was to stimulate their interest in synthetic biology and the iGEM competition.
The Lecture in The First High School of Changsha
Following the lecture at Nankai Middle School, students gained a better understanding of synthetic biology. The lecture also sparked their interest in related research. Based on feedback from the students, we made appropriate adjustments to the science education content. As a result, we successfully launched the lectures at Changsha No.1 Middle School. On September 28th, we conducted a lecture on synthetic biology at Changsha No.1 Middle School. The lecture provided high school students with easy-to-understand information on the basic concepts, history, development, modern research techniques, and the wide range of applications of synthetic biology.
During the event, we provided an overview of the iGEM competition to the students. We also discussed the various applications of synthetic biology. Additionally, we gave a brief scientific talk. After the lecture, we distributed a questionnaire to the audience. 63.16% of respondents reported that their understanding of synthetic biology and related experiments had improved to some extent or greatly. Furthermore, 67.11% of the respondents expressed their interest in continuing to learn about synthetic biology or applying their knowledge to their future work. Our presentation helped raise awareness about synthetic biology and iGEM, and increased students' acceptance and interest in learning more about this exciting field.
High School Synthetic Biology Introduction Curriculum Framework
In the process of communicating with high school students, we realized that the interest of high school students in learning synthetic biology was a big surprise to our team, and we were very happy to see that more people were willing to learn synthetic biology and might be engaged in synthetic biology practice in the future, in order to help them learn synthetic biology better, we believe that a scientific and logical way of thinking about learning is necessary, therefore We have created a synthetic biology curriculum framework for high school students. Our hope is that this framework will help students gradually improve their understanding of synthetic biology, further stimulate their interest in the field, and potentially ignite their passion for synthetic biology research, which is an extremely rewarding endeavor for us.
For university students and above
A Biology and Intelligence academic conference series, "Intelligence + Biomedicine"
Our Department of Biology and Chemistry has recently organized a series of academic conferences called "Intelligence + Biomedicine" that took place on August 5-7. The conference was primarily aimed at undergraduate, master's degree and PhD students, as well as young scientists. We were honored to give a presentation at this event, where we had the opportunity to promote the development of synthetic biology applications. Our goal with this conference was to raise awareness about synthetic biology among students and scientists, both in biology and other fields, and to inspire them to participate in this exciting research area in their future academic careers.
For the general public
“iG20” Science Relay Video
We organized the iG20 event to introduce synthetic biology to individuals from diverse backgrounds and regions. Inspired by the G20 organization that brings together 20 countries to drive global economic growth, iG20 is a unique program that allows iGEM groups from different regions to participate and learn from each other.
We have created two videos, each about 30 minutes long. The first video provides an introduction to the iG20 group, including basic information about each team, project introductions, and expectations for the year. The second video is a relay-style science popularization video on synthetic biology, featuring all the teams in the group. Our goal is to disseminate the science popularization video about synthetic biology to a wider audience, with the participation of all the teams in the model. This will help people understand the concepts of synthetic biology and iGEM and have a greater impact on society.
Science Popularization Day Activity
Summarization
The National Science Popularization Day is a significant event in China that aims to promote the spread of science. It takes place during the last two weeks of September and involves a variety of activities throughout the country. We took advantage of this opportunity to promote the idea of synthetic biology on September 17th, together with HNU-China and CSU-CHINA. We participated in the Changsha Science and Innovation Bazaar as part of the 2023 National Science Popularization Day series, where we introduced the iGEM entries of three universities to the public.
Activity publicity
During the science popularization day, we collaborated with two other teams to design event flyers and posters. Our goal was to effectively promote the idea of synthetic biology. The designs were visually appealing and the content was informative. As a result, we had a lot of visitors approach us to pick up the flyers at the event.
Details of the activity
During our iGEM program, we organized various intriguing trivia questions for the public. We received a lot of interesting questions from the public, such as whether the introduction of a large amount of UCP1 could cause fever and other symptoms. The visitors were very curious about our project and showed interest in the current status and development of synthetic biology and the iGEM competition itself. Parents felt that this activity increased their children's enthusiasm and interest in synthetic biology.
Synthetic Biology Games & Card Games
In order to increase public awareness and understanding of synthetic biology, we believe that learning through entertainment is necessary, so we modeled a card game based on synthetic biology after the game Saboteur——”Arrow Forward”. The ultimate goal of our card game is to build up a successful track for our research. We hope and believe that through such a game, more people can know about our project, understand the difficulty of exploration and the great significance of iGEM and synthetic biology, and the spirit of cooperation in scientific research.
