On this page, we record our project progress briefly. Notably, this web page is a summary at the end of iGEM. During the iGEM, we actually used an online team calendar to schedule and record our team's regular meetings and big events. In addition, detailed records of our daily wet lab outcomes can be found on the Experiment page.
Week of March 06th to 12th
Project
On March 6, the members of the 2022 NJMU-China finally assembled and began this trip full of opportunities and challengeschallenges. It is the third year that NJMU-China has participated in iGEM, and we aim for better.
Week of March 13th to 19th
Project
Brainstorming. Generally, we plan to design engineering bacterias for autism treatment this year.
Human Practices
We revisited Star of the Sea, the institution for autistic children, and got our inspiration from our conversation with parents of autistic children there.
Week of March 20th to 26th
Project
Brainstorming. Through literature research, we noticed the intestinal disorders, heavy metal poisoning symptoms, and mitochondrial dysfunction in autistic children.
Human Practices
Overall planning. We held online meetings and formed a plan for future HP activities.
Week of March 27th to Week of April 02nd
Project
Brainstorming. We found a study in 2021 that allowed us to integrate what we had previously discovered and we hope to design based on this. Read the inspiration part on the Design page for more information.
Human Practices
We mainly focused on education and partnership this week and attended a seminar on mitochondria as well. Since World Autism Awareness Day took place this week, we also organized a series of activities related to this special day.
Week of Arpil 03rd to 09th
Project
Brainstorming. We planned to design three engineering bacteria for autistic children: One for the treatment of mitochondrial dysfunction, one for the prevention of heavy metal poisoning, and one for the detection of mitochondrial dysfunction.
Human Practices
We handed out a questionnaire on the mental health of parents with autistic children.
Week of April 10th to 16th
Project
Engineering Bacteria a: Consider lactic acid as a response substance; Consider carnitine, coenzyme Q, and Vbs as the target products of a cocktail therapy.
Engineering Bacteria b: Consider the MerR family as a sensor; Consider metallothionein as the target product.
Engineering Bacteria c: Look for urinary biomarkers of mitochondrial dysfunction, and look for how to develop color reactions and keep the flora stable on the test strip.
Human Practices
We mainly prepared for the online educational program on ASD for schoolchildren this week and carried out the program on the weekend and it continued into the next week.
Week of April 17th to 23th
Project
By reviewing the literature and the previous work of gut-related teams in iGEM, we found that the environment of the digestive tract is so complex that a drug delivery system is essential. Hence, we expand our project to four systems:
System 1:aim to improve mitochondrial function
System 2:aim to prevent the possible accumulation of heavy metals
System 3:aim to build a drug delivery system
System 4:aim to build a test strip to diagnose mitochondrial dysfunction in autistic children.
Human Practices
We continued with the educational program this week.
Week of April 24th to 30th
Project
System 1:The concentration of lactic acid is affected by the secretion of lactic acid by lactic acid-secreting bacteria in the intestinal tract, another sensor for mitochondrial dysfunction is needed; Consider a sensor that senses NAD+ reduction; NAD + may be used as the drug.
System 2:Found the sequence of human or animal metallothionein; Considered using human metallothionein due to biosafety; Consider fusing metallothionein with Lpp-OmpA.
System 3:Consider encapsulating engineering bacteria with sodium alginate.
System 4: Look for the lactic acid sensor.
Human Practices
Since we have come up with an initial idea for our project, we held an online meetup with iGEM NAU-China and discussed our design.
Week of May 01st to 07th
Project
System 1:Looks for NAD + or its precursor's synthetic pathway.
System 2:Look for the sequence of the MerR family.
System 3:Consider microencapsulation.
System 4:Look for the lactic acid sensor.
Human Practices
We interviewed Professor Yichao Wang on the feasibility of our project.
Week of May 08th to 14th
Project
Genetic circuit construction and mathematical simulation learning. More information can be found on the Design.
Human Practices
We gave an educational lecture on ASD and mitochondrial dysfunction for university students.
Week of May 15th to 21th
Project
Genetic circuit construction and mathematical simulation learning. More information can be found on the Design.
Human Practices
We organized another meetup with iGEM WHU-China and updated our project designs.
Week of May 22th to 28th
Project
Genetic circuit construction and mathematical simulation learning. More information can be found on the Design.
Human Practices
We uploaded educational videos about ASD and synthetic biology on Bilibili and wrote educational articles as well.
Week of May 29th to 04th
Project
Genetic circuit construction and mathematical simulation. More information can be found in the Design and Model.
Human Practices
We mainly focused on the design of our team merch and prepared for the art exhibition on gut microbiota. Additionally, we attended the NIA meetup online on June 4th.
Week of June 05th to 11th
Project
We held a lab sefety lecture.
Human Practices
We held an art exhibition on gut health and gut microbiota in two buildings at our university.
Week of June 12th to 18th
This period is the exam month of our university, and the iGEM work has been paused until July.
Week of June 19th to 25th
This period is the exam month of our university, and the iGEM work has been paused until July.
Week of June 26th to 02nd
This period is the exam month of our university, and the iGEM work has been paused until July.
Week of July 03rd to 09th
Wet Lab
Plasmid transformation and functional verification. More information can be found in the experiment record.
Human Practices
We interviewed Professor Zhinuan Su and had a better understanding of the feasibility of the project.
Week of July 10th to 16th
Wet Lab
Plasmid transformation and functional verification. More information can be found in the experiment record.
Dry Lab
We did Pathway Enrichment Analysis and Further explained the intimate connection between autism and energy metabolism. More information can be found on the Description page.
Human Practices
We mainly designed and handed out a questionnaire on the acceptance of synthetic biological products among parents of autistic children.
Week of July 17th to 23th
Wet Lab
Plasmid transformation and functional verification. More information can be found in the experiment record.
Human Practices
We made a brochure on synthetic biology and designed a set of puzzles that educate children on microorganisms.
Week of July 24th to 30th
Wet Lab
Plasmid transformation and functional verification. More information can be found in the experiment record.
Human Practices
We revisited Star of the Sea and did voluntary work there.
Week of July 31th to 06th
Wet Lab
Plasmid transformation and functional verification. More information can be found in the experiment record.
Dry Lab
Game development. More information can be found on the Software page.
Human Practices
We continued with our community service at Star of the Sea and held an online interview with a family member of an autistic adult.
Week of August 07th to 13th
Wet Lab
Plasmid transformation and functional verification. More information can be found in the experiment record.
Dry Lab
Hardware design. More information can be found on the Hardware page.
Human Practices
We continued with our community service at Star of the Sea.
Week of August 14th to 20th
Wet Lab
Plasmid transformation and functional verification. More information can be found in the experiment record.
Dry Lab
Hardware design. More information can be found on the Hardware page.
Week of August 21th to 27th
Wet Lab
Plasmid transformation and functional verification. More information can be found in the experiment record.
Dry Lab
Hardware 3D print. More information can be found on the Hardware page.
Human Practices
We interviewed Professor Xiaoyan Ke for the further demonstration of our project.
Week of August 28th to 03th
Wet Lab
Plasmid transformation and functional verification. More information can be found in the experiment record.
Human Practices
We organized a summer program on synthetic biology for both schoolchildren and high school students, attended several meetups with our fellow iGEMers, and educated the public on the application of synthetic biology.
Week of September 04th to 10th
Wet Lab
Plasmid transformation and functional verification. More information can be found in the experiment record.
Human Practices
We interviewed Xbiome and wrote the initial version of our business plan.
Week of September 11th to 17th
Wet Lab
Functional verification and data collection. More information can be found in the experiment record.
Dry Lab
Data analysis and model improvement. More information can be found on the Model page.
Human Practices
We had a discussion on biosafety with team NFLS_Nanjing.
Week of September 18th to 24th
Wet Lab
Functional verification and data collection. More information can be found in the experiment record.
Dry Lab
Data analysis and model improvement. More information can be found on the Model page.
Human Practices
We discussed our entrepreneurship approaches with iGEM WHU-China online.
Week of September 25th to October 1st
Wet Lab
Functional verification and data collection. More information can be found in the experiment record.
Dry Lab
Data analysis and model improvement. More information can be found on the Model page.
Week of October 2nd to 8th
Final improvement and wiki documentation.
Week of October 9th to 15h
Final improvement and wiki documentation.
