In the practical activities of human beings, we have noticed that there is a certain knowledge gap in the
field of synthetic biology between non-biology majors and the public. We released a questionnaire to the
public during the begonia season, hoping to find out the knowledge of college students about synthetic biology
and PET degrading enzyme technology. According to the survey data, about 47.3% of college students know almost
nothing about PET degrading enzyme technology, while about 18.7% of them have heard of it ... However, only
about 6.6% of college students have a deep understanding of it.
In addition, about half of college students lack knowledge about garbage classification, which undoubtedly
constitutes a disadvantage for plastic recycling.
Therefore, we are committed to make up for the public's knowledge gap in this field by holding a series of educational activities on synthetic biology.
On the "Tianda • Crabapple Blossom Season" Campus Open Day, April 5, 2024, our iGEM team set up a booth at the Crabapple Blossom Festival to popularize the knowledge of synthetic biology to the public. A total of about 60,000 people attended this crabapple blossom appointment.
In addition, we also held a special event called "Drawing a Planet Without Plastic Pollution or Imagining the Process of Enzyme Breaking Down Plastics". To our surprise, this activity was very popular with the children. These pictures are full of the children's longing and hope, and their expression of their yearning for a better future through their paintings, with the seeds of cherishing nature and caring for the environment in their hearts.
What was touching was that some tourists wrote their blessings to our team on paper. Seeing these touching words, we couldn't help crying. Our captain said that although she was very tired during the Activities of Crabapple Blossom Festival, she was full of joy. Seeing that someone was willing to interact with us and listen to this short science popularization, she felt that her efforts had been rewarded. Although she didn't know whether what she had done that day would have a far-reaching impact, she was still hopeful that the scientific research results of our team could make some contributions to the world. It was precisely because of these beautiful visions in our hearts that we were willing to move on. In the sound of blessing, we expected this technology to mature and contribute to the cause of ecological protection.
April 22, 2024 is the 55th Earth Day! This year's theme, "Global Combating Plastics", highlights the current global environmental problem – plastic pollution. Our iGEM team and the School of Earth System Science of Tianjin University jointly organized an Earth Day event to introduce PET degrading enzymes and our current research results to the public.
Our team also went to the primary school affiliated to Tianjin University to carry out volunteer science popularization activities. In a language that is easy for children to understand, we introduced them to synthetic biology and some tips on garbage classification through small games.
During the class, the children in the primary school affiliated to Tianjin University showed a strong thirst for knowledge and listened attentively to our explanation. In the interactive question-and-answer session that followed, our team members threw a question to the children about the plastic treatment method. It is gratifying that one of the children mentioned the biodegradation method quickly and accurately. We believe that in the near future, synthetic biology will definitely come into public view.
It has been ten years since Chinese society for cell biology National Linkage Laboratory Open Day was launched in 2014, attracting many people to visit it every year. This year, we are honored to participate in this lab open day online. In this activity, our team and other iGEM teams showed their own projects successively, and played lab videos for mutual visits.
This activity not only provided a platform for us to show and communicate, but also gave us an opportunity to have in-depth discussions and exchanges with many other iGEM teams, so as to understand and help each other.
From July 12th to 14th, the 11th International Genetic Engineering Machine Competition (iGEM) China Conference (CCiC) was held in Xi 'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University. The conference attracted nearly 1,000 participants, including teams from 89 institutions of higher learning and 35 senior high schools. They got together, shared and displayed their respective iGEM projects, and had in-depth exchanges with experts from academia and industry, which jointly stimulated the spark of innovative thinking.
At this CCiC conference, we actively participated in and presented our projects, listened to the reports and presentations of other teams, and had in-depth exchanges with them, which drew valuable experience for the follow-up projects.
Team TJUSLS-China and iGEM teams from other universities (Hubei University, etc.) took the initiative to form a WeChat group, and held an online exchange meeting on August 17, 2024. In this meeting, each team first reported their own projects, and then put forward the problems encountered in the process of project implementation. Participants shared their experiences and put forward constructive suggestions to each other. In the WeChat group, we often suggest and remind each other to avoid potential obstacles.
