Overview

Based on the previously released questionnaires, we found that the public's understanding of genetic engineering, pathogens and pathogenic bacteria, and in vitro point-of-care detection technology is not comprehensive enough. However, in recent years in China, these aspects have developed rapidly due to the epidemic. Therefore, in order to let the public have a more systematic and clear understanding,  as well as promoting sythetic biology, we have carried out a variety of online and offline  education  activities.

 

Online Education Activity

NATWORK is committed to the research of new nucleic acid raw materials - sulfur modification-dependent restriction enzymes. This technology can be widely used in food safety, molecular medical diagnosis, environmental microbial detection, etc. in the future. Because the main detection object of future products is microorganisms, I want to briefly popularize the knowledge of microorganisms. 

Articles and videos

NATWORK has registered a WeChat official account to share daily push articles, and also record the activities and thoughts of the dry and wet teams on the day. NATWORK's articles focus on the three levels of synthetic biology and genetic engineering, microorganisms, equipment and applications using POCT technology. The part of synthetic biology and genetic engineering mainly introduces what synthetic biology is, what scenarios it can be applied to, future development and current known development breakthroughs. The in vitro instant detection technology part refers to products that are more appropriate in life and can be used. And it specifically introduces the prospect of in vitro instant detection technology and the basic concept of molecular medicine. The part of microbes explains what role microbes play in daily life and how to prevent harmful pathogens scientifically. People can learn this knowledge by reading the official account articles. Now the number of broadcasts has reached 4000, and the number of followers has reached  over a hundred .

 

Figure 1a-c

 

From time to time, NATWOTK will release videos on social platforms such as WeChat public account, WeChat video account, and bilibili to promote iGEM activities to the public and share NATWORK daily work and popular science articles. It is worth noting that the team's social media accounts have accumulated some followers, which can lay a certain foundation for later public education. 

NATWORK released popular science videos on two social platforms, Bilibili and WeChat. The theme of the video is to introduce the microbes in the human body, and to distinguish between the microbes that can bring benefits and harm. On the one hand, there are fungi, actinomycetes, and bacteria that bring harm, and they can cause deep skin tissue infection, skin itching, ulceration, and painful symptoms. On the other hand, there are intestinal flora that bring benefits. They can help break down nutrients in food, help the digestive system secrete digestive enzymes, control intestinal peristalsis, and maintain the intestinal wall barrier. The total number of views has reached 2000, and the number of followers has reached 100.

 

Figure 2a&b

Online lectures

NATWORK members flexibly use Tencent Conference to conduct online lectures. This online lecture is mainly aimed at the public with a high school education background or above. The joint lecture is divided into two parts. In the first part, Dr. Yuying Liu from the School of Life Sciences of Fudan University gave a lecture on "Microorganisms that Change the World". In the second part, team members shared "Human Body and Microbes", which specifically described the connection between the mouth, gut, baby and microbes. The oral part explains in detail how to effectively prevent the formation of dental caries. The gut section covers the classification of gut microbes and the influence of microbes. The baby section answers the question that children are born sterile and supplements what microbes babies need. In this process, we not only disseminated the knowledge that different microorganisms in the human body perform their duties, but also mastered the skills of independently carrying out public-oriented education.

 

Figure 3a&b

 

 

Offline Education Activity

Community education

NATWORK's science popularization is expanded online, while children's popularization is carried out offline. The first offline popularization activity will be held in Xuhui Kangjian Street Community. The object of this science popularization is school-age children, so the parents designed some interesting things. Because the education level of school-age children is relatively low, it is first necessary to come up with a case that is relevant to their lives to introduce to them why the circulation, The usefulness of loops and the rationale for loop detection. The purpose is to cultivate children's spirit of inquiry for truth. Two relatively novel activities were designed. One is to use the crisis to make a virus model by yourself after a simple understanding of the virus. This can spread their thinking and exercise their imagination. The other is by toddlers helping children simulate the life of a virus. Children "If I become a virus, I will think about what I will go through". In this way, the children combined their own experiences and explanations with written knowledge, which enriched the classroom and gave them a deeper impression and understanding of viruses. The original intention of NATWORK activities is to enable children to learn basic biological knowledge while also generating interest in the subject of science.

 

Figure 4a-h

Popular science lecture in Ulink

In order to let students know more about microorganisms, we held a lecture on "Microorganisms in Cats and Dogs" at Shanghai Lingke School for students who are interested in microorganisms. In order to make students feel more involved, we set a new record in Lingke and were specially allowed to bring small animals into the school. Before the speech, we invited several special guests to the scene, namely two kittens, a big cat and a little golden bear. Every student who enters the venue can experience the special service we provide - cat petting. Our unique attempts have also given us a good response. During the speech, we mainly mentioned eight types of microorganisms in cats and five types of microorganisms in dogs. They are cat claw, toxoplasmosis, salmonellosis, strep throat, hookworm, cat moss, cryptosporidiosis, rabies, roundworms, fleas, canine demodicosis, eyeworm, and kala-azar. In addition, we also expanded on several methods to prevent infectious diseases. There are four main methods, namely regular disinfection of the environment, ensuring the hygiene of water and food sources, washing hands frequently, and keeping clean at all times. Moreover, in order to better attract the students' attention, we also conducted a question-answering and prize-winning session during the speech.

Fortunately, this event was a success, and we received a lot of good responses, and the students also actively participated. Especially some students who have small animals at home said they have learned a lot of useful knowledge and will try to put it into practice, which is exactly in line with our purpose.

 

Figure 5a-e

 

Scientific Popularization Activities on Genetic Engineering for Society

In order to increase public understanding of genetic engineering, NATWORK members conducted a social card raising activity near Shanghai People's Square to educate passersby on the related technologies of genetic engineering.

In order to increase people's interactivity, we designed an advertising board that printed a blank plasmid and an introduction to the target gene, allowing people to understand what the target gene is and why people transform it into other organisms. At the same time, we also printed some stickers based on four base prototypes and invited people who passed by to listen to our introduction to stick the stickers into blank plasmid circles, ultimately filling the entire plasmid to form a complete plasmid. During the process of applying stickers, we briefly explained to them the principles of genetically modified organisms and the two enzymes that play important roles in genetic engineering: restriction enzymes and ligases. In order to attract more people to participate in our activities, we have prepared dolls clothing to attract people's attention. At the same time, we have also prepared small gifts as feedback for those who participate in the sticker activity. The activity went more successful than expected, and many people actively participated in our activity, discussing genetic engineering with team members.

 

Figure 6 1-4

Scientific Popularization Activities on Genetic Engineering for Society

In order to increase public understanding of genetic engineering, NATWORK members conducted a social card raising activity near Shanghai People's Square to educate passersby on the related technologies of genetic engineering.

In order to increase people's interactivity, we designed an advertising board that printed a blank plasmid and an introduction to the target gene, allowing people to understand what the target gene is and why people transform it into other organisms. At the same time, we also printed some stickers based on four base prototypes and invited people who passed by to listen to our introduction to stick the stickers into blank plasmid circles, ultimately filling the entire plasmid to form a complete plasmid. During the process of applying stickers, we briefly explained to them the principles of genetically modified organisms and the two enzymes that play important roles in genetic engineering: restriction enzymes and ligases. In order to attract more people to participate in our activities, we have prepared dolls clothing to attract people's attention. At the same time, we have also prepared small gifts as feedback for those who participate in the sticker activity.

The activity went more successful than expected, and many people actively participated in our activity, discussing genetic engineering with team members.

 

Club activities

In addition to one-time promotional activities, we have also established the iGEM club for the long-term promotion of knowledge related to genetic engineering and the iGEM competition. We regularly hold weekly club activities.

After the start of the school year, we first created attractive posters and banners and went to each class to promote our club before the club recruitment conference. At the club fair on September 6th, we patiently explained the competition format and answered questions for every student who came to our booth. Many students showed interest in the iGEM competition and joined our recruitment group. In the end, 42 students decided to join our club, making it a large club in Ulink.

 

Figure 7a-c

 

Furthermore, we designed a fun activity called "Campus Treasure Hunt" to be held during the recruitment conference. We placed five microbial dolls randomly around the campus, including Turbellaria, Cryptophyta, Chlorophyta, Volvox, and Daphnia. Students could find these dolls and exchange them for prizes at our club booth. Meanwhile, we would explain the knowledge of these microorganisms to spread biological-related knowledge and achieve the purpose of education.

 

Figure 8a&b

 

Since the formal establishment of the club, we have already held two club activities with different themes: "Detailed introduction to iGEM competition format" on September 11th and "Introduction to molecular laboratory equipment" on September 18th. During the first activity, from a wet team and dry team perspective, we explained in detail the process and professional aspects involved in participating in the iGEM competition. We also shared our experiences participating in the competition and the achievements of previous teams. During the second activity on September 18th, we took our members to the biology laboratory at our school. Cici, the captain of the wet lab, introduced the molecular laboratory equipment used during the competition and provided pipettes for our club members to try. The students showed a high level of participation, actively inquiring us when they encountered unclear problems. It can be seen that everyone is enthusiastic about the iGEM competition.

 

Figure 9a-d