Education
Overview
As scientific researchers, it is our responsibility to build a bridge
between science and society. How to make synthetic biology and iGEM out of
the laboratory and into the public is what we have been thinking about.
During our communications with iGEMers of other teams, we found that there
were still questions about synthetic biology and iGEM that the general
public doesn't understand, so solving these problems had become the
educational goal of our project.In addition, when doing a questionnaire
survey on intestinal problems, we discovered that most people only pay
attention to intestinal health when they already have problems with their
gut. The lack of attention to intestinal health can sometimes lead to
serious problems, so it is also our responsibility to help people develop
the concept of protecting intestinal health.
At the same time, considering the cognitive differences of different-aged
people, we carried out hierarchical popular science education activities.
Facing different age levels
1.For undergraduates
Freshman science lectures
We decided to expand the influence of iGEM competition and synthetic biology in our school, so we gave a lecture for freshmen. The aim is to explain in detail what synthetic biology is and what we have gained in the course of our research this year. During the questioning, they asked a lot of questions, wondering how they needed to join us, and it seems that we have succeeded in getting more people involved in synthetic biology.
Our lecture attracted over 160 freshmen, most of whom knew synthetic biology and iGEM for the first time. We were very surprised that there were more than 80 people willing to learn more about synthetic biology. We set up a group chat for them to answer their questions more conveniently.
In addition, we held a symposium for some interested students and answered their questions about synthetic biology and iGEM in detail
Into the world of synthetic biology
We participated in the five-school joint science lectures on " Into the
world of synthetic biology " hosted by SZPT-CHINA. Each team gave a
wonderful science lecture on synthetic biology from the aspects of
cosmetics
and cultural relic restoration. Our team popularized the applications of
synthetic biology in the diagnosis of tuberculosis and cancer.
Lecture of GUT ALLIANCE
After the 4th Northwestern China iGEM Meetup, we called together gut-related
teams this year to form the GUT ALLIANCE. Through the discussion of each
team, we carried out a lecture on intestinal knowledge. You can click there
to know more about this.
Hyperspace post office
To arouse students' interest and let them have a deeper understanding of
synthetic biology and iGEM, NWU-CHINA-A, together with NPU-CHINA and
XJTU-China, organized an activity called hyperspace post office.
Participants could write down any questions they had about synthetic biology
or our projects on the postcards, which we sent and exchanged to answer
their confusions.
After a week of circulation, we collected all postcards and exchanged them among the three teams. During the activity, everyone could read the postcards of different participants in the event and discuss with each other. We organized the activity in various places on our campus and sent postcards to students. At the end of this activity, we answered the unresolved questions based on their feedback and presented gifts to participants.
Charity sale
Education is widely regarded as the basic resource of individuals and
society. We believe that children living in remote areas also have the
right
to know and learn. As a team with a strong sense of social
responsibility,
NWU-CHINA-A hopes to contribute to solving this educational dilemma. We
jointly organized a charity sale event with NPU-CHINA and XJTU-CHINA. We
made profits from college students, and donated all the profits to
schools
in remote areas for them to purchase biological teaching materials. At
the
same time, we also gave out our intestinal knowledge science
popularization
handbooks (You can click there to know more about this) to them to
broadcast
synthetic biology and iGEM competition.
2.For middle school students
Together with DKU _ China, we had a special lesson for Beijing No.22 Middle School.We talked about the basics of synthetic biology, our project, what iGEM is and how it affects the world. The course was a great success with warm applause and positive responses from students. Through this course, they gained a basic understanding of synthetic biology and iGEM. Also, they shared what they had learned in the class with their friends and parents after school.
Compilation of a Science Book on Synthetic Biology
At the beginning of the project, three students of our team participated
in
the preparation of a popular science book on synthetic biology launched
by
Dr. Li Shiyuan, institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Shanghai
Academy
of Life Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Dr. Li Shiyuan is one of
the
inventors of CRISPR-Cas12, whose main research fields include DNA
splicing
technology, DNA encryption, CRISPR gene editing and CRISPR detection. We
were responsible for the applications of synthetic biology in medical,
energy, cosmetics, space, diagnosis, environment and the outlook
section. We
used a humorous and witty writing style to provide a more comprehensible
platform for primary and secondary school students to understand
synthetic
biology.Proof of participation in writing is as follows.
iGEM Hangzhou Low-Carbon Museum
Besides, we participated in a online science popularization activity
organized by LZU-CHINA, SZ-SHD and WS_HZBIOX for children in the
Hangzhou
Low-Carbon Science And Technology Museum. The main purpose of the
activity
was to popularize synthetic biology and help people understand the
latest
first-hand information on colon cancer. The activity was mainly divided
into
three parts: DNA model making, pipette gun head spelling and plasmid
balloon
making. There was also a special project: moving towards synthetic
biology
and declaring war on colon cancer. In this special project, we gave a
brief
description of synthetic biology and our project this year to children,
which received a good response.
Facing the public
Exhibitions by R. Lab
In order to make the public more vivid and intuitive understanding of
intestinal knowledge, popularize the concept of protecting intestinal
health, we were invited by the president of the R.Lab, Lan Canhui, to hold a
' intestinal science and art ' popular science illustration tour in our
school. The exhibition had attracted many teachers, students and children to
visit. They could scan the two-dimensional code attached to the painting to
understand the details. In addition, we also explained for them, and the
event received a good response. You can click there to know more about
this.
In order to better help people understand intestinal health knowledge in many aspects, we had produced a brochure on intestinal knowledge. The handbook, written by all teams of the Gut Alliance, aims to focus on intestinal health from a public perspective.You can click there to know more about this.
WeChat, the equivalent of Facebook , is an important software for daily communication among Chinese people. It includes many programs, and the WeChat public platform thereof is widely used by media and businesses as a tool to increase publicity, sending daily articles to fans who follow the account. Online media platforms can make social research more comprehensive and benefit the public more broadly.
We have launched columns such as ' intestinal health knowledge science '
and ' HP interaction ' on the WeChat public platform so that the public
can learn more about synthetic biology and our project. This year, we
have got many followers.
WeChat mini-game instructions
1.Game creation concept
Our mini-game is designed to give the public a vivid and intuitive
view of what we 're doing this year, calling on the public to pay
more attention to gut health and better protect the gut while
demonstrating the fun and more possibilities of synthetic biology.
2.Gameplay steps
In the game, the intestine will randomly produce bleeding points,
and click on it as many times as specified while the probiotics
fills the bleeding points. Finally, the luminescence shows that the
treatment is successful.
WeChat mini-game instructions
3.Attributions
Game Design / Art Design : NWU-CHINA-A Du Jianing
Game platform : Wechat mini-game visualization platform
WeChat emoji
We have developed a set of emoticons that personify the gut
and uploaded
them to the WeChat expression library. This inspiration came
from the logo
of our team. (You can click there to know more about this)