Description

Brief Project Description

  • Heavy metal pollution is a big problem in Hong Kong, affecting both our environment and health. Dangerous metals like cadmium, lead, and arsenic are leaking from landfills and sewage into our underground water and the sea. There was even a scandal where lead-contaminated water in a public housing estate affected hundreds of people. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), which is very popular here, also faces risks because many herbs used can contain harmful levels of heavy metals from contamination or naturally occurring sources. Despite these dangers, most people aren't aware of the problem, and current methods to detect these metals are too complicated and expensive for everyday use. Our iGEM 2024 project aims to create simple, affordable biosensors to help people detect heavy metals in everyday objects easily. These biosensors will target common metals like cadmium, lead, and arsenic and will be designed to be user-friendly, not requiring any special tools or knowledge. By making it easy for everyone to test for these pollutants and raising awareness about the issue, we hope to help people protect their health and make our environment safer.
  • If your project also focuses on heavy metals or related topics, or if you see any opportunities for collaboration, please stay tuned! We'll be updating our wiki shortly and will provide contact information.

Inspirations

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Introduction Hi. We are Team HONGKONG-JSS, and we are working on a convenient device that detects heavy metals. Heavy metal contamination occurs in Hong Kong's tap water, Chinese medicines, seafood, and more. Heavy metals can cause damage to the brain, lungs, and kidneys. Our team aims to create a simple and low-cost device for detecting the presence of our target heavy metals.