The aim of this event is to showcase the challenges and solutions in independent learning and innovation across multiple fields, including experimentation, design, mathematical modeling, and wiki. We encourage free discussion without limiting the format to inspire each participant's thinking. The roundtable meeting serves as a platform for sharing, collective learning, and creativity inspiration. We welcome active participation from everyone to explore together the path of independent learning and the future of innovative design.
Profile
Participating Teams
ZQT-Nanjing, BNUZH-China, RDFZ-CHINA, SUSTechOCEAN, CHINA-HUBU-WUHAN, LCG-China, CPU-China, JLU-NBBMS, NJMU-CHINA, HAseMage, AFMU-China, HUST-China
Host: Cowboy
Guests: Liu Jinrong, Zhao Yizhi
(1) Liu Jinrong:
Senior iGEM high school coach with many years of iGEM competition experience, having accumulated more than 15 gold medals and over ten individual awards.
(2)Zhao Yizhi:
Outstanding graduate of Zhejiang University's Zhu Kezhen Honors College
Master of Materials Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Ph.D. in Materials Engineering from the University of California, San Diego
Coach of China Thinks Big, China's Big Wisdom Gathering
Judge of the Diamond Challenge in the China region
Topic 1 The idea of human practice
(1)The approach of the HP team involves identifying and assessing societal needs to determine the project's target audience and anticipated social impact. This includes conducting comprehensive research on the target community to ensure that the project aligns with actual needs.
(2)Throughout every stage of project design and implementation, ethical considerations such as privacy, safety, and fairness are taken into account by consulting ethics experts and collaborating with interdisciplinary teams to ensure adherence to ethical standards.
(3)Additionally, the HP team is dedicated to enhancing public awareness and understanding of synthetic biology through educational activities, public lectures, and social media interactions.
(4)Furthermore, it is essential for the HP team to ensure compliance with relevant laws and policies including regulations on biosafety and bioethics in order to assess the long-term impact of the project on both environment and society for its sustainability.
Discussion on Collaboration Space: We believe that different teams can share resources such as laboratory ideas, data, and expertise in order to reduce redundant workloads while improving efficiency. Moreover, teams can collaborate on joint projects aimed at addressing broader or more complex issues together. They can also exchange experiences and best practices through seminars, workshops, online forums for promoting knowledge dissemination as well as innovation. In addition, we think that teams can cooperate in community engagement activities like educational projects or public lectures in order to increase public awareness of synthetic biology.
Topic 2 Experience in the dry lab
In the iGEM competition, the dry lab section typically encompasses data processing, simulation, and design work without involving actual biological experiments. The following insights are shared from the perspective of the HP team participating in the iGEM competition regarding the dry lab section.
(1)Firstly, to enhance data collection experience, it is imperative to clearly define project objectives and requirements prior to commencing data collection. This aids in determining the specific types of data that need to be gathered. Data should be sourced from diverse outlets including scientific literature, databases, and online resources to ensure utmost accuracy and reliability. Furthermore, leveraging databases and proficient data management tools facilitates efficient organization and secure storage of collected information while ensuring accessibility for future use. Regularly scrutinizing data quality encompassing completeness, consistency, and accuracy also holds significant importance.
(2)The selection of appropriate hardware should be based on the specific requirements of the project, encompassing computing power, storage capacity, and compatibility. Cost-effectiveness must also be taken into account when choosing hardware with a high cost-performance ratio that can expand as per the project's needs. Furthermore, adaptability to laboratory environmental factors such as temperature, humidity, and electromagnetic interference is crucial while selecting hardware. For operability considerations, it is essential to choose easy-to-operate and maintainable hardware and software to reduce operational complexity. Adequate training and detailed operating documentation should be provided for team members to quickly master both hardware and software usage. Compatibility with other systems/equipment should also be considered for facilitating data exchange/integration purposes. Lastly, security aspects need attention by selecting adaptable hardware/software that meets different experimental conditions/requirements.
Effective collaboration among team members is essential in the dry lab section. Regular meetings and open communication should be conducted to ensure a shared understanding of project progress and requirements. The dry lab work involves an iterative process that necessitates continuous testing, evaluation, and improvement of design schemes. It is crucial to promote interdisciplinary integration by leveraging knowledge and techniques from fields such as biology, engineering, and computer science in the context of dry lab work. Given the rapid advancements in technology, ongoing learning of new tools and methods becomes pivotal for enhancing the efficiency and quality of dry lab work. These experiences can empower the HP team to conduct their dry lab work more effectively, thereby establishing a strong foundation for achieving ultimate project success.
Topic 3 The idea of web lab
In the iGEM competition, the progression from ideas to wet lab is a systematic process that involves multiple steps, including concept validation, experimental design and implementation, and result analysis. The following is a sharing of the approach to advancing wet experiments from the perspective of the HP team participating in the iGEM competition:
1.Clarify project objectives and requirements. - Define objectives: Clearly define the goals and expected outcomes of the project, which will guide the entire experimental design and implementation process.
- Requirement analysis: Analyze the biological components, pathways, and systems required to achieve the objectives.
2.Literature review and theoretical foundation: - Literature research: Gain an understanding of the current research progress and issues in the field through literature review.
- Theoretical support: Ensure that the experimental design is based on a solid theoretical foundation, encompassing biological principles and synthetic biology methods.
3.Design and modeling: - Concept validation: Validate the feasibility of the project concept through computational simulations and theoretical analysis.
- Experimental design: Develop a detailed experimental plan, including steps, required materials, and expected results.
4.Material preparation and resource allocation: - Biological components: Obtain or design the required biological components, such as genes, proteins, and regulatory elements.
- Experimental materials: Prepare the necessary materials and equipment for the experiment, including media, reagents, and instruments.
5.Implementation of experiments: - Experimental operations: Perform operations according to the experimental design while ensuring consistency and control over experimental conditions.
- Data recording: Thoroughly record the experimental process and results, including observed phenomena and measured data.
6.Data analysis and result validation: - Data analysis: Process experimental data using statistical and analytical tools to extract meaningful information.
- Result validation: Validate the reliability of results through repeated experiments and control experiments.
7.Problem-solving and iterative improvement: - Problem identification: Identify problems and challenges encountered during the experiment.
- Solutions: Explore and implement solutions, continuously optimizing experimental design and operations.
8.Safety and ethical considerations: - Biosafety: Comply with laboratory biosafety regulations to ensure that experiments are harmless to personnel and the environment.
- Ethical review: Ensure that the experimental design and implementation comply with ethical standards, especially in research involving humans or animals.
9. Communication and collaboration: - Team collaboration: Strengthen communication and collaboration within the team to ensure information sharing and task coordination.
- External cooperation: Collaborate with external experts and teams to obtain knowledge and technical support.
10.Documentation and reporting: - Experimental records: Maintain detailed experimental records, including experimental conditions, steps, and results.
- Project report: Write a project report summarizing the experimental process, results, learning experiences.
Comprehensive experience sharing: Maintain flexibility in the experimental design and implementation process to adapt to changing conditions and results, while encouraging innovative thinking and exploring new experimental methods and technologies. Continuously learn new biological knowledge and synthetic biology techniques to improve the success rate and efficiency of experiments.
Topic 4 Experience in reducing experimental error
The precision and reliability of experiments are paramount in the iGEM competition. From the perspective of the HP team participating in this competition, we would like to share our experiences on how to optimize error reduction in the experimental process, as well as method selection and operational procedures.
(1)Firstly, it is crucial to prioritize validated methods that have been widely published and rigorously tested, minimizing the risk of experimental failure. Moreover, when selecting experimental methods, consideration should be given to their sensitivity and specificity to ensure accurate results. Secondly, selected methods can also be optimized according to specific experimental conditions and materials, enhancing both efficiency and accuracy. It is worth noting that before commencing an experiment, a thorough comparison of different methods' advantages and disadvantages should be conducted so that the most suitable approach for project requirements can be chosen.
(2)Experimental operations are of utmost importance in error reduction. It is imperative to standardize operational procedures, establish comprehensive experimental operation processes, and ensure strict adherence by all team members to minimize operational errors. The utilization of high-quality reagents and materials is essential for reducing errors caused by their quality. Furthermore, meticulous control over experimental conditions such as temperature, pH value, and lighting is necessary to guarantee experiment consistency. The employment of accurate and reliable equipment and instruments should also be prioritized to minimize measurement errors. Repetition of experiments multiple times is crucial for verifying the consistency and reliability of results.
(3)Precise documentation of all data during the experimental process along with statistical analysis methods must be employed to ensure result accuracy. Potential sources of error that may impact the experimental outcomes need to be identified in advance, including operational errors, equipment failure, and environmental factors. Implementation of quality control measures such as regular equipment calibration and quality checks using standard samples is recommended. After completing the experiment, thorough error analysis should be conducted to identify and rectify any possible mistakes made during the process. Continuous improvement of experimental methods and operational processes based on findings from conducted experiments as well as error analysis should be pursued.
(4)The provision of comprehensive training to team members is particularly crucial in order to ensure their thorough comprehension of the experiment's purpose, methodologies, and operational procedures. It is imperative to foster effective team communication so as to keep all members well-informed about the progress of the experiment and any potential challenges that may arise. Furthermore, clearly defining the responsibilities and tasks assigned to each team member guarantees a shared understanding of their respective roles and duties.
Summary
In the roundtable meeting of Nanjing Zhuoqingtang Education Technology Co., Ltd., our objective is to further enhance participants' comprehension of biosafety and ethical issues in synthetic biology, while enhancing their problem-solving abilities in iGEM activities. The ultimate significance of this event lies in promoting communication and cooperation among teams, jointly discussing cutting-edge topics in the field of bioethics, and sharing practical experience and strategies in experiments and modeling.
For the HP team, we engaged in idea exchange and collaboration with other teams to provide a platform for HP. This facilitated clarification of the social needs and target audience of the project, while exploring possibilities for cooperation to amplify its societal impact. During these exchanges, we learned to consider ethical issues at every stage of project design and implementation, consult with ethics experts, as well as share resources and professional knowledge with other teams to improve efficiency and influence.
For the experimental group, we facilitated knowledge exchange on data collection techniques, hardware selection strategies, and experimental operations to enhance the precision and efficiency of experiments while minimizing errors. Throughout this collaborative process, we discovered that it is imperative for the experimental group to adopt validated methodologies, standardize operational procedures meticulously, utilize premium-grade reagents and materials, and conduct multiple iterations of experiments to ensure result consistency.
The modeling group engaged in discussions regarding their experiences in the dry experimental phase, exchanging strategies for effective data collection and model selection. They also acquired knowledge on how to translate theoretical models into practical wet experimental designs. Throughout the exchange, emphasis was placed on the importance of clearly defining goals and requirements during data collection, gathering information from diverse sources, as well as utilizing databases and data management tools for efficient organization and storage.