Sustainable Development

Overview

With the development of social economy, environmental heavy metal pollution is becoming more and more serious. After entering the environment or ecosystem, these heavy metal ions will remain, accumulate and migrate, and continue to be concentrated and enriched through the food chain, causing great harm. Therefore, timely and effective monitoring of heavy metal pollution plays an important role in guiding people's life and health. However, the existing heavy metal pollution monitoring means, usually expensive equipment, high technical requirements, are not suitable for promotion and large-scale application in remote and backward areas

We genetically modified Drosophila melanogaster to have the ability to detect heavy metal concentrations in the environment and become a visual heavy metal pollution monitoring system. One can determine the concentration of heavy metals in the environment by looking at changes in the size of the eyes or wings of these engineered flies. In this way, we can achieve low-cost and highly visible environmental heavy metal pollution monitoring, which is conducive to the development of heavy metal pollution monitoring in remote and underdeveloped areas, so as to make countermeasures for different pollution situations and provide a wide range of data support for the improvement of environmental problems

Therefore, the development of our Drosophila visual heavy metal detection system has positive implications for the achievement of Goals 6, 9 and 11 of the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Here are the results of our research and research.

Goal 6: CLEAN WATER AND SANITATION

Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.

  • Water quality monitoring: Using Drosophila as bioindicators provides water managers and agencies with a quick, intuitive and cost-effective way to assess and monitor heavy metal contamination in water. This may be more convenient and efficient than some traditional chemical analysis methods

Compared with domestic sewage, there are more types of pollutants in industrial wastewater, and many pollutants show toxic and harmful characteristics, which will inhibit the growth of animals, plants and microorganisms in the water environment, and their living conditions will also change with the increase of pollutant concentration, which can be used as a basis for monitoring and evaluating the quality of water environment. The application of biological monitoring technology can obtain the

information of the element content in microorganisms and the community quantity and distribution characteristics, etc., and understand the specific pollution status of industrial wastewater through comprehensive analysis. Compared with traditional methods, this technology has higher sensitivity and accuracy, avoiding large errors in monitoring results. [1]

The application of biological monitoring system is due to the large number of objective factors affecting living organisms and the weak basis of the collaborative judgement mechanism of biological monitoring and physical and chemical detection, the reliability and accuracy of the system are still insufficient. Its establishment and operation have no national and industry standards for reference, and the current application in water quality early warning is still limited. However, as an effective supplement to physical and chemical monitoring, as well as a complementary monitoring of unknown poisons and long-term continuous monitoring of chronic poisons, biological monitoring system is indispensable. How to find a monitoring method with higher universality, better economy, lower technical threshold and better stability without affecting the intrinsic nature of raw water will be the main research direction in the future. [2]

  • Early warning system: This biological response in Drosophila may provide an early warning system for certain areas that can warn of heavy metal contamination before it reaches harmful levels.
  • Public health and safety: Heavy metal pollution can cause serious harm to human health. Real-time monitoring using drosophila melanogaster can help ensure the safety of water systems, identify contamination in time, and take steps to prevent it from entering drinking water supplies.
  • Scientific research and education: This genetic modification technology provides researchers, students and communities with a practical tool for research, education and awareness of heavy metal pollution.
  • Assisted pollution Control: By accurately identifying and quantifying heavy metal pollution in water, this technology may help guide the selection and application of pollution control strategies and technologies to effectively reduce or eliminate these pollution.

According to incomplete statistics, one sixth of China's soil is polluted by heavy metals, common pollutants are lead, mercury, cadmium, etc., which will not only reduce soil fertility, but also affect the growth and development of crops. [3]

Other agricultural soil heavy metal pollution detection technologies (spectral technology, chemical colorimetric technology, soil magnetic susceptibility detection technology, electrochemical analysis technology, etc.) all have certain shortcomings, but the biochemical technology of drosophila melanogaster monitoring is relatively stable and more conducive to sustainable management [1].

  • Enhanced community engagement: An intuitive biological indicator, if the size of a fly's eye or wing changes, may arouse public interest and encourage them to participate in water quality protection and monitoring activities.

Goal 9: INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE

Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation.

  • Promoting technological innovation: This Drosophila genetic modification technology is a combination of modern biotechnology and environmental science. It shows how the latest discoveries in biology can be used to solve environmental and industrial problems.

    • The types of pollutants in industrial wastewater are complex and the discharge is relatively unstable. The biological monitoring technology can realize continuous monitoring of the environmental impact of pollutants and conduct comprehensive biological effect analysis on the effluent from each link of the sewage treatment plant [4]

  • Environmental monitoring and industrial development: Industrial activities are one of the main sources of heavy metal pollution. This technology can provide an effective tool for industrial enterprises to assess and monitor the environmental pollution that may be caused by their production processes
  • Risk-resistant infrastructure: Knowing exactly where places are at risk from heavy metal pollution can help decision makers plan and build safer and more sustainable infrastructure, especially those related to water

Goal 11: SUSTAINABLE CITIES AND COMMUNITIES

Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.

  • environmental quality monitoring: With the rapid development of urbanization, many cities are facing the problem of environmental pollution. This Drosophila-based detection technology could provide cities with a cost-effective and rapid environmental quality assessment method to help city managers identify and address pollution problems in a timely manner.

    • In the process of biological monitoring, the effects produced by different animals are not the same, and there are certain differences in its application. Take the drosophila melanogaster for example, drosophila melanogaster is a eukaryotic multicellular organism, can reproduce in a short time, and the survival period is short, not only easy to feed, but also has very sensitive characteristics,

both in terms of growth and development, or in terms of physiological function, are similar to the general mammals. Therefore, in the process of environmental pollution monitoring, it is more reasonable to use drosophila melanogaster as a biological material. The use of drosophila melanogaster to establish a biological model, and the establishment of an interior decoration system, so that the indoor environment can be integrated monitoring, can effectively monitor indoor air pollution problems. [5]

  • Improve public health safety: Heavy metal pollution may pose a threat to the health of urban residents. Real-time monitoring using drosophila melanogaster as biological indicators can help prevent the spread of contamination and ensure the safety of drinking water and other critical resources for residents
  • Urban Planning and Infrastructure: Understanding where heavy metal pollution risks exist in a city can provide valuable data for urban planning, so that infrastructure can be better laid out and built to avoid potential risks
  • Risk resistance and emergency response: This rapid response of the drosophila melanogaster can serve as an early warning system, helping city managers to identify potential contamination incidents in time and take swift action.

The practice and promotion of the project

The Drosophila visual heavy metal detection system developed by our team is mainly used in remote and backward areas. There is only one earth, and the improvement of the environment in remote areas, people's physical and mental health, and social prosperity are closely related to every one of us. Whether we live in big cities or remote mountain villages, we all need to work together to promote sustainable development for the whole environment and society.

To this end, we have conducted a series of promotional activities on the concept of sustainable development and our project itself, on the one hand, to deepen people's understanding of the harm and prevention of heavy metal pollution, and on the other hand, we hope that more people can participate in environmental remediation activities in remote and backward areas. Below is a list of some of the activities we have carried out, details can be found on Education and Human Practice page:

The aim of our team is to promote the widespread use of starch-based plastics by modifying natural starch. While realizing our plan through engineering and technological means, we have also carried out a series of social activities to make people better aware of the harm caused by excessive use of traditional plastics to the sustainable development of the environment and society, and better promote people's concept of sustainable development. Let people deepen the development advantages of biodegradable plastics, especially starch-based biodegradable plastics, and promote the comprehensive application of sustainable biodegradable products. Below is a list of some of the activities we have carried out, details can be found on our Education and Human Practice sites:

  1. Zhejiang and Hangzhou Science and Technology Activity Week Exhibition, 2023
  2. Joint public announcement online with other 7 teams
  3. School popularization of science
  4. Science promotion in Mars Laboratory
  5. Sheshan public welfare publicity: Pick up waste batteries and raise awareness of the dangers of heavy metal pollution
  6. Production of the popular science handbook "Heavy Metal Pollution and Sustainable Development"
  7. We-media operation and release
  8. Consumer questionnaire survey
  9. Interview with industry experts
  10. Visit and research of garbage disposal site

Reference:

  1. Hu WC. (2022) Application of biological monitoring technology in industrial wastewater monitoring. Leather Manufacture and Environmental Technology, 3 (3):5-7,16.
  2. Yang RK, Jiang Y, Zhang S et al. (2021) Application of biological monitoring system in water quality early warning. Municipal Engineering Technology 39 (1): 94-96
  3. Wang XX. (2023) Analysis of monitoring technology of heavy metal pollution in agricultural soils. Leather Manufacture and Environmental Technology, ,4(13):49-52
  4. Zhu SQ, Jiang S, Cai K et al. (2021) Research and application of biological monitoring technology in the field of industrial wastewater monitoring. Environmental Monitoring in China, 37(1): 1-10
  5. Li GW. (2017) Biological monitoring and its application in environmental monitoring. China High-tech Zone, (10): 24.