Human Practices

Overview

Since the research direction of our project is related to the environment and soil governance, it involves many stakeholders, such as farmers and ranchers, government departments that issue policies, research departments involved in soil governance, and research scholars. Our HP activities are organized around these relevant stakeholder roles, with the aim of integrating their feedback with our research content and guiding subsequent research directions.

Our project focuses on using some kinds of protein to bind to the heavy metal ions to decrease the amount of heavy metal ions. It is because the heavy metal ions in soil will be absorbed by plants and eaten by human beings, it may cause inflammation or even harm our DNA of the immune system, to cause many other diseases such as cancer, and the protein we focus on could bind to heavy metal ions to low down the risk of human to be harm by heavy metal ions. According to our questionnaire, only 5.28% of people surround think that their friend is harmed by disease, but actually, heavy metal pollution have a direct relationship with most health problem and disease in our life.

The subject of our research is CSGA-MBP, which is the fusion expression of Mental binding protein, and Csga, which is a type of sub-it protein. there are a lot of heavy metal ions, and we are focused on the problem caused by cadmium. As we study, we find out that when cadmium gets into our bloodstreams, most of it will bind with our hemoglobin in red blood cells, then enters kidneys and cell tissues, bone tissues, eyes, and other organs and cause renal failure, inflammation, affect the form of hemoglobin and even cause cancer. CSGA-MBP can bind to cadmium and lower the risk of people being harmed by cadmium.

Expert interview

Interview with a soil remediation expert

Doctor Chen Nengchang got a master's degree from the Nanjing Institute of Soil Science, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and a Ph.D. degree from Kagoshima University in Japan. He has working experience in some research centers worldwide in the fields of Chemistry, Biology, science, and technology. He was the environmental protection consultant of the standing committee of Guangdong Provincial People's Congress, the legislative consultant of Guangzhou Municipal People's Congress, a member of Public Consultation and Supervision Committee of Guangzhou Municipal Waste Treatment, a member of Ecological Health and Human Ecology Professional Committee of Chinese Ecological Society, the consultant of Guangdong Environmental Protection Foundation, the standing director of Guangdong Soil Society, the deputy director of Soil Pollution and Remediation Professional Committee of Guangdong Provincial Soil Society, a member of the Academic Committee of Guangdong Institute of Ecological and Environmental Technology and also a member of the first Scientific Advisory Committee of Alxa SEE. His research interests include root-soil interface behavior of heavy metals, nitrogen loss in plant leaves, soil heavy metal pollution control and remediation, and analysis of the relationship chain between soil pollution, food security, and the human body. The research work has been reported in the journal ‘SCIENCE’. He has presided over 2 projects of the National Natural Science Foundation, 2 key research projects of Guangdong Province, and 1 international cooperation project of the Science and Technology Department of Guangdong Province. He also participated in writing 3 books and has published more than 60 scientific research papers and obtained 13 invention patents.

During our explorative and innovative process, we grappled with numerous challenges, predominantly due to our experiences' constraints in researching E. coli and real-life situations such as the indicators set by the government and the real cost of the method depending on the efficiency of the parts we have chosen as a group organized by high school students. To overcome these hurdles, we invited a biological expert for an Expert Interview to discuss with us based on our questions and provide professional insights, suggestions, and improvements for our current design regarding scientific research and other aspects.

  1. What are your key findings in studying the behavior of the heavy metal-soil interface, and how are these findings relevant to our understanding of heavy metal contamination in agricultural soils?
  2. What is the relationship between nitrogen loss from plant leaves and heavy metal pollution?
  3. How do you think of the heavy metal pollution as a threat to crop yields as well as food security? What specific examples or research results could you share with us?
  4. What challenges or limitations do you think in the current methods of dealing with heavy metal pollution on agricultural land?
  5. Our project aims to address the soil contamination by developing an E. coli that can detect and recover heavy metals, what is the role of microorganisms in controlling and remediating heavy metal contamination in soil in your research experience or do you have any concern or knowledge about this solution?
  6. Could you give some suggestions or considerations for using microorganisms to control and remediate soil heavy metal pollution?
  7. What is the relationship between soil heavy metal contamination and human health, and what research that you have done could provide us some insight?
  8. In the course of your field research, have you found any specific areas of agricultural land or environmental conditions that are more susceptible to heavy metal contamination?
  9. Apart from the direct effects of heavy metals, what other ecological or health problems do you see arising from soil contamination?
  10. What advice or encouragement would you like to give our young researchers and teams?
  1. Relationship between heavy metal pollution and biological behavior in soil:

    2. We discussed the effects of heavy metal pollution on the heavy metal behavior of plants in soil, plant uptake capacity, and crop yield. It was found that the contents and types of heavy metals in soil had a great influence on heavy metal absorption by plants. For example, some heavy metals, such as lead and cadmium, migrate easily from plants to soil, while others, such as zinc and iron, do not. Heavy metal contamination also affects crop yields and food security. Therefore, it is necessary to study and understand the behavior of heavy metals in different soil conditions and plant growth stages in order to formulate corresponding control measures.

  2. Control and Remediation of Heavy Metal Pollution in Soil:

    3. We talked about methods and challenges for dealing with heavy metal contamination of agricultural land. First, it is pointed out that the current treatment methods are too simple, and it is necessary to deeply understand the soil properties and pay attention to the behavior of heavy metals in soil and plant effects. Secondly, the important role of microorganisms in soil heavy metal pollution control was mentioned, but the limitations of their existence and difficult application scenarios were also pointed out. Finally, a new idea and method is emphasized, that is, using E. coli and other microorganisms to detect and recover heavy metals to reduce the risk of heavy metal pollution in soil.

  3. Correlation between heavy metal pollution in soil and human health:

    4. This paragraph discusses the relationship between heavy metal pollution in soils and human health. First of all, there are many ways of soil pollution, such as grain, groundwater, and dust. Secondly, the absorption capacity and toxicity of heavy metals in different forms vary greatly. Third, the adequacy of nutrients affects the body's health response to heavy metals. In addition, soil pollution also affects ecological chains, leading to the accumulation of heavy metals in organisms and affecting reproduction. Therefore, attention should be paid to the impact of soil pollution on the ecological environment.

  4. Suggestions and Encouragement for Environmental Protection Research of Middle School Students:

    5. This paragraph focuses on advice and encouragement for high school students and researchers. First, remind them to avoid adding knowledge or experience they don't already have to the project, as this will make them feel awkward and uncomfortable. Secondly, emphasize the importance of a solid foundation. Only in this way can we do truly valuable research. Finally, he expressed his willingness to keep in touch with students and we thanked Professor Chen for sharing.

Summary:

In the interview with Prof. Chen Nengchang, we learned that the influence of heavy metals on plants relates to many factors and varies according to plant species and heavy metal species. Currently, the ineffective treatment of heavy metal pollution in agricultural land is because of the lack of a clear understanding of the nature of the soil and the behavior of heavy metals in the soil. For microbial management of soil heavy metal problem, such as E. coli, Prof. Chen said that microorganisms can reduce soil heavy metal content in a short period of time, but as soil conditions changes, microorganisms to manage the heavy metal pollution in soil for a long time is more complicated, or depends on the soil conditions. In addition, the impact of soil heavy metal pollution on human health, need to be considered from the pathway, the amount of metal, food chain, human body nutrition, etc. Actually, people living around the mines are more likely to be exposed to heavy metal pollution. Finally, Prof. Chen also encouraged us to solid our knowledge foundation, breakthrough from a point, and bring impact to the scientific community.

Interview with a syn-bio technology expert

Li Jiaheng is an expert in soil remediation research. We interviewed him and asked the following questions:

    -Genetic modification and expression:

  • Which genes and regulatory elements do you think will be the most effective when modifying Escherichia coli to adsorb heavy metals?
  • How can the target gene be correctly expressed and achieves the required function in Escherichia coli?

    -Biological adsorption process:

  • Is there a specific bacterial growth condition and culture medium that is the most suitable for biological adsorption?
  • How do we balance adsorption efficiency with the growth and survival of bacteria?

    -Measurement and analysis:

  • What methods do you recommend to quantitatively evaluate the effect of Escherichia coli adsorption of heavy metals? Are there any standard analysis processes or tools?
  • How to determine whether the adsorption effect has met the expectation and whether there is a feasible way to quantitative measurement?

    -Optimization and improvement:

  • What are the common optimization strategies that can improve the efficiency and specificity of Escherichia coli adsorption of heavy metals?
  • How to evaluate and improve the stability and durability of this adsorption system in a laboratory environment?

    -Biosafety and environmental impact:

  • What are the biosafety issues that need special attention when carrying out genetic modification and the application of Escherichia coli?
  • After Escherichia coli is used for heavy metal adsorption, do you need to consider the possible environmental effects?

    -Technical challenges and solutions:

  • According to your experience, what common technical challenges may be encountered in similar projects? How to deal with and solve these challenges?
  • Is the efficiency of the current biological adsorption method high among all methods? How high is it in an ideal state?
  • What is the current cost of the finished product of this preparation and how high is it?

Interview with Environmental Bureau

Through interviews with experts, we learned that environmental governance and soil safety issues are the responsibility of relevant government departments in our country, so we found the local Environment Bureau department to conduct an interview. Although the content of this interview had many constraints due to department requirements, we still got a lot of information from it.

Question: Are they open to bioremediation methods?

Answer: They are open to all methods.

Question: Effectiveness and cost of current mainstream treatment methods?

Answer: The mainstream method is washing, done every one to two months until the target values are met.

Question: Which organizations are responsible for funding remediation?

Answer: The polluter is responsible for funding remediation. If it's national land, the government funds the remediation.

Question: How many organizations or companies are currently conducting soil remediation?

Answer: Many.

Question: The extent of heavy metal pollution on Chinese soil currently? Answer: Unknown, because it's difficult to gather statistics.

Question: If our method proves successful, is it possible for the government to support and promote this technology? If yes, through which channels and methods?

Answer: Yes, as long as it's competitive in the market and meets the standards.

Question: If our project is successful in the lab, what steps and procedures should we follow for on-site testing?

Answer: Shanghai Municipal Science and Technology Commission.

Question: Laws related to heavy metal pollution?

Answer: The People's Republic of China's Solid Waste Pollution Prevention and Control Law.

Interview with Farmers:

Question: Do factories currently discharge wastewater containing heavy metals? Does it affect crops?

Answer: Very rare now, and it does not affect crops.

Question: How often is soil tested?

Answer: Once or twice a year.

Question: Have any friends or family members suffered from illnesses due to heavy metal pollution?

Answer: No.

Question: If someone plants on land affected by heavy metals, will the government impose penalties?

Answer: Yes.

Question: Do you think heavy metals affect the growth of crops? Answer: Yes, but it's not important. What's important is the impact on people who eat crops.

Question: Has there been a situation where excessive heavy metals rendered farmland uncultivable?

Answer: It happened in the past.

Conclusion

Through interviews with experts, we learned the following:

The problem of dealing with heavy metal ions is the high-frequency project of iGEM, so there are many parts that can be applied to our project. The main thing we need to consider is under which situation to maximize the use of this part. We can't just look at the part itself. It is suitable for the purpose and use of our project. In terms of how to ensure that we finally get the desired ideal results, he put forward a few points that we still need to consider, such as whether there are restrictions on the use of enzymes we use, if we use enzymes that can only work through oxidation reactions, we need to consider whether there is oxygen in the environment and whether the active center of the enzyme is folded, and the direction of the enzyme is confirmed. Can the fixed chromium ion pass through normally? If you want the protein to bind to the bacterial flagella, you should consider whether the protein binding will be rejected by the bacterial flagella system. The folding of protein can be predicted through some theoretical data to achieve the best results. If you need to optimize, you can consider when the concentration of heavy metals is low. Although we have verified that the sensor can detect and reflect, in this case, can we also ensure that the enzyme can react and improve efficiency. In terms of practical application, it is necessary to consider whether to use the detection method of spreading bacteria into the soil in the culture medium or the detection method of spreading bacteria into the soil. If the latter is considered, it is also necessary to investigate the concentration of conventional fungi and heavy metal ions in the soil, so as to determine the amount of bacteria, etc.

Social Research

Online Questionnaire

The heavy metals in the water used for irrigation are absorbed by the crops planted in the soil, quickly entering the crops and eventually accumulating in the human body. With the severe heavy metal pollution caused by industrialization, soil heavy metal pollution is becoming increasingly related to our lives, health, and food safety.

However, we are uncertain whether the general public is aware of the severity of this issue and their level of understanding. To investigate the public's awareness of this issue and their attitude towards our project, we conducted an online survey. This survey was filled out by 360 people.

    Important results of public research

  1. The question investigated is: Are you familiar with the heavy metal pollution situation in the soil in our country?

    2. The statistical results indicate that 25.56% of the respondents are not familiar with it, while only 1.67% are very familiar. The overall statistical results show a right-skewed trend. This suggests that only a minority of people are aware of the current situation of heavy metal pollution in the soil.

  2. The content investigated in this question is: In your perception, please rate the level of heavy metal pollution in farmland.

    3. The statistical results indicate that on a scale of 0 to 10, 3.06% of the respondents chose zero, indicating not severe, 20.83% chose level 5, indicating moderate severity, and 5.56% chose 10, indicating extremely severe. From the statistical results, we can infer that the majority of people rated the pollution level between three and eight. This suggests that most people do not consider the current pollution level to be very severe.

  3. The content investigated in this question is: Do you know about measures taken to control heavy metal pollution?

    4. The statistical results indicate that only 36.11% of the respondents are aware of some measures to control soil heavy metal pollution, while 63.89% of the people are not aware of the measures to control soil heavy metal pollution. This suggests that the majority of people are unaware of the measures to control heavy metal pollution.

  4. The content investigated in this question is: What are the common heavy metal ions found in farmland?

    5. The statistical results indicate that nearly half of the people are not very familiar with the common heavy metal ions present in farmland.

  5. The content investigated in this question is: Which plants do you know are most severely affected by heavy metal pollution?

    6. The statistical results indicate that 60.56% of the people chose "not very clear," while only a small portion selected the correct answer. This suggests that the majority of people are not familiar with the plants most severely affected by heavy metal pollution.

  6. The content investigated in this question is: Have you or your family and friends suffered from illnesses due to heavy metal pollution?

    7. The statistical results indicate that 5.28% of the respondents reported cases where they or their family and friends suffered from illnesses due to heavy metal pollution, while 94.72% did not experience such situations.

  7. The content investigated in this question is: Do you think soil heavy metal pollution has affected your daily life?

    8. The statistical results indicate that the majority of people believe the impact is relatively low, or even nonexistent.

  8. The content investigated in this question is: Do you accept the reasonable use of synthetic biology technology?

    9. The statistical results indicate that 27.22% of the respondents strongly support the reasonable use of synthetic biology technology, 17.5% reluctantly accept it, and 3.33% completely reject it. From this, we can infer that the majority of people accept the reasonable use of synthetic biology technology.

  9. The content investigated in this question is: What negative impact do you think the use of synthetic biology technology in farmland will have on human health?

    10. The statistical results indicate that 23.33% of the respondents believe the negative impact level is 5, meaning it falls between no harm at all and very harmful. 5% of the people think there is no harm at all, and 10.28% believe the harm is very significant. From this, we can infer that a considerable number of people perceive the harm to be significant, some believe there is a certain level of risk, and a smaller portion thinks the harm is minimal.

  10. The content investigated in this question is: What negative impact do you think the use of synthetic biology technology will have on nature?

    11. The statistical results indicate that 29.71% of the respondents believe the negative impact level is 5, meaning it falls between no harm at all and very harmful. 5.83% of the people think there is no harm at all, and 8.06% believe the harm is very significant.

    Inspiration

    According to the statistical results of these 10 survey questions, we have drawn the following 7 conclusions:

  1. The survey results on heavy metal pollution in Chinese soil indicate that the majority of people have a low understanding of the current situation. Only a few are well-informed about the issue.
  2. Most people believe that the current level of pollution is not very severe.
  3. When it comes to measures to address soil heavy metal pollution, only a minority have some knowledge, while the majority lack awareness.
  4. There is a lack of awareness among most people regarding the plants most severely affected by heavy metal pollution.
  5. A minority of respondents believe they have experienced health issues due to heavy metal pollution in their daily lives.
  6. The majority of people accept the reasonable use of synthetic biology technology, although a small portion remains skeptical.
  7. A significant number of people believe that the use of synthetic biology technology can cause substantial harm to human health and the environment, while some think its impact is minor.

Communication Meeting

In order to publicize the importance of soil remediation and the feasibility of synthetic biology methods for remediation, we conducted in-depth communication with other teams about our project plan.

In the meeting, we introduced the sources of pollution, mining, welding, smelting, fertilizers, production and processing, as well as several serious metal pollution, including lead, cadmium, etc., and their effects on human health. Besides, the heavy metal pollution also affects plants, such as corn and wheat. After compared to existing solutions, including physical, chemical, electric, and bio-carbon methods, and explored the advantages and disadvantages of these methods, we are searching for a more optimized and environmentally friendly method. At the end, we introduced the main original of our project, as shown in the following picture.