Public Interviews

During our time in Marrakech, Morocco, we conducted interviews, surveys, and held conversations with locals, focusing on the prevalence of kidney stones and the potential of a GMO-based solution. Interestingly, all interviewees either had personal experience with kidney stones or knew someone who had. Additionally, approximately 87% of the participants reported consuming fermented dairy products, such as Raib, yogurt, and Ayran, on a regular basis.

When presented with a description of how a GMO solution might work, along with the potential risks, all interviewees expressed support for the idea. We made an effort to document our findings through structured, recorded interviews with two local participants. The survey results, along with the videos and transcripts of these interviews, provide further insights into the community’s thoughts on this issue. We also have worked with a question outline for our survey, which can be found below both in english and in french, these were not always the exact questions, for example we answered any questions those surveyed had about GMOs and our project. We have from the beginning been very conscious about the biases we hold about genetic engineering and our project and as such we have been dedicated to being objective, especially when it comes to the risks and problems with synthetic biology. To combat our bias we found common concerns from peoples precautions about GMO and made sure to include them, to present those surveyed with a more nuanced picture.

Local Solutions

Furthermore, we discovered that the Moroccan people had various approaches to treating kidney stones. Many of these methods were deeply rooted in their culture and had a long history of traditions. One approach involved using an amethyst rock, which would be placed in a bowl of hot water. Later, the water would be consumed to extract the supposed healing properties of the amethyst (see picture A below). Other remedies were more aligned with modern medicine, using a variety of herbs and plants to extract biochemical compounds aimed at alleviating kidney stones in the patient (see picture B below).

Picture A - Amethyst

Picture B - Healing herbs

We also found juice stands and similar vendors advertising their products as being good for kidney health and preventative of kidney stones. Another key observation was the high consumption of fermented dairy products, which are a staple in the Moroccan diet. This confirmed that formatting our final product as a fermented dairy probiotic would be well-suited to the local lifestyle, aligning with familiar and culturally accepted practices.

We believe that by integrating our solution into a common dietary product is not only practical but also a respectful way to address the community's needs. While pills are a standard medicinal format in many regions, our research suggests that presenting the product as part of a probiotic food would ensure broader acceptance and consistent use. This approach avoids the potential barriers that medicinal products—such as pills—might present in a setting where dietary solutions are already part of daily life.

Promotion Video

Our promotional video was designed with the community in mind. Hence the majority of the video would be centered around Moroccan life and footage from our trip to Marrakech. To convey the workings of kidney stones we incorporated animations to visualize the development of kidney stones with oxalate and calcium ions. We also incorporated dry lab findings into the promotional video in order to show how we utilized the engineering cycle to avoid possible pitfalls.

Market Analysis

During our trip to Morocco, we aimed to understand local perspectives on GMO-based solutions by engaging in conversations about synthetic biology, kidney stone experiences, and our proposed product. Through these discussions, it became clear that there is a significant need for kidney stone treatments, with many describing the situation as "critical" or "like a plague”.

One particularly insightful moment occurred when we spoke with a woman living in the countryside between Marrakech and Essaouira. She misunderstood and believed we had brought the yogurt product with us, urgently asking if she could have some for her father, who has suffered from nearly yearly occurrences of kidney stones. This interaction deeply impacted us and highlighted the critical need for accessible solutions, especially in rural areas where medical care can be limited.
As a result of these conversations, we are committed to ensuring that our final product is affordable and accessible. We have set a goal to keep the cost of our kidney stone prevention solution under one USD, so that people like the woman we spoke with, and others facing similar challenges, can have easy access to effective prevention measures. Our experience reinforced the urgency of the problem and showed us how essential it is to develop a solution that is affordable, culturally appropriate, and impactful for those who need it most.

Furthermore, we also went out to local souks (Small shops) and supermarkets to get a measure on what dairy products generally cost. A popular local fermented dairy product, costs around 2-4 Moroccan dirham (about 0.2 - 0.4 USD). We later used this in our cost analysis to accurately get a grip on what our product would cost. We discovered that a lot of locals buy their dairy products from vendors on the sides of highways, who sell dairy products made from milk their own cows produce. We therefore found out that we needed to find a way to reach out to these farmers in the country. On an excursion outside the Marrakech city limits we discovered that because of the arid and drought prone climate of Morocco, there is a network in place to get water out to even the rural communities. We hope that a potential solution could utilize this network to get our solution out to the people that need it the most.

Below is our survey questions, which we asked the locals about.

Presentations for Students

We reached out to several schools and ended up sending a delegation of presenters out to a public primary school and a high school. In addition, we contacted the national natural science center and presented for two teams at their biotechnology talent camp for high schoolers. These presentations were also valuable experiences for our team, as we practiced explaining and simplifying technical project details. Our presentation slides for the biotechnology talent camp (aside from a few very technical slides. More so we reused the same slides for the other presentations) are shown below - do note that the slides are in Danish as we wished to make the presentations more accessible for the students.

The Danish iGEM conference, Biobuilders, Denmark

We were so delighted to receive an invite from the DTU overgrad team, to join the biobuilders camp. All the Danish iGEM teams met up and were able to talk about their ideas and learn from each other while having fun at the danish university of technology. Here we were able to try user cloning in the lab, ask former iGEM’ers questions at a Q&A, brainstorm with the other teams and heard the presentation about different online sources for bioinformatic tools. It was a wonderful experience and we even kept in contact with the other teams after the camp. They truly took us in even though we were younger than them, and gave us role models both in iGEM and future careers.

The Nordic iGEM Conference, Finland

Doing the danish iGEM conference we received an invite to the nordic version of the same. Here all the Nordic and Baltic iGEM teams met up to learn from each other and have a blast at the university of Turku. This time we were still the only high school team present, but everyone welcomed us with open arms. Here we heard important and insightful talks about everything from biological 3D printers to scientific communications and fundraising. The scientific communications presentation was especially helpful since it helped us be more precise in our presentation. Another part of the conference that was extremely important for us, was when we were able to present our project to the other teams. Not only was the feedback amazing, but having had the experience of performing in front of a large crowd in our second language made us much more prepared and calm about the idea of doing the same in Paris. Furthermore we formed great friendships with members of other teams, and again gained a lot of role models and support, both in iGEM and the future.

Talking with Experts

An important aspect of our human practice includes conversations with experts in the field. We reached out to professor in Translational Kidney Physiology Henrik Dimke. In our interview we discussed our project idea and possible concerns regarding the breakdown of oxalate into CO2 and H2O2. The outcome of our conversation helped guide our work and avoid issues. He had many good things to say about our projekt like the quote: “The idea behind the project has potential and new methods of treatment are tremendously important for the patients”.

GMO Lab Permission From The University of Copenhagen

Because we are a high school team one of our biggest challenges we have had to overcome has been GMO lab acquisition and permission. We were fortunate to be able to lend laboratory space from the university of Copenhagen, which has made our GMO experiments possible. Without them we would not have been able to prove that we could successfully transform bacteria with plasmids coding for our enzymes. We are therefore extremely thankful to the university of Copenhagen.

Our SoMe

In our iGEM project, we have used social media to share our progress and engage with a wider audience. Our primary platforms have been Instagram and LinkedIn, where we regularly post updates about our work and team development. Our Instagram profile, bkea_igem, has been especially important for showing what we do in a visual way, including our participation in the Nordic iGEM Conference (NiC) and our trip to Morocco. Through these platforms, we have shared photos, videos, and stories to explain our project and highlight key milestones. We have also uploaded photos and descriptions of all our team members and their backgrounds, allowing our followers (and other iGEM teams) to get to know us and our team on a more personal level. Social media has helped us connect with the scientific community and beyond, making it easier for others to follow our journey and understand our mission. It has been an essential part of our communication strategy, helping us raise awareness and build a supportive network around our project.

Merch and Stickers

Visual appeal and advertisements are an essential part of raising awareness for a subject matter. That's why we decided to make stickers and merch. Stickers are a popular and effective way of gathering attention, since a sticker often serves the purpose of both being a decoration and a reminder of the subject origin when seen. Merchandise is another way people often show support or affiliate with the subject. It is further a way for the people actively being involved in a subject to advertise and stand out in a crowd visually. Furthermore it helped bring us together as a team.