Overview
Our project focuses on the creation of a diagnostic kit that can be used in the field and predict infections based on that data. In the process of implementing this project, we felt the need to discuss the applicability of this device, the development of hardware devices and software, and the challenges of the project. Therefore, we actively interacted with other iGEM teams, both domestic and international, to point out each other's concerns and provide technology and information.
With iGEM Waseda_Tokyo Team
After several online meetings with the iGEM Waseda_Tokyo Team and sharing each other's projects, we decided to hold a joint symposium with the iGEM Waseda_Tokyo Team because we felt the need for science education(see the Education page for details).The advantage exists that the two teams can jointly organize a symposium to give participants a variety of perspectives.
In organizing the joint symposium, we not only mutually understood each other's projects but also collaborated in creating materials and sending feedback to each other, thereby deepening our understanding of synthetic biology and each other's projects beyond simply holding a joint symposium. In addition, by reviewing and discussing the feedback sent by the participants after the symposium, we contributed to enhancing the feasibility of each other's projects.
Photo 1: Meeting with iGEM Waseda_Tokyo
Figure 1. iGEM Waseda_Tokyo team logo
With iGEM UTokyo Team
During an online meeting to exchange project overviews, we discovered that both our team and the iGEM UTokyo team use the Cre recombinase system. Therefore, we exchanged DNA sequences used by both teams and exchanged opinions on the validity of the sequences. Through this exchange, we deepened our understanding of how the Cre recombinase system works and the feasibility of the project. Photo 2: Meeting with iGEM UTokyo Figure 2. iGEM UTokyo team logo
With iGEM ASIJ_Tokyo team
Since the iGEM ASIJ_Tokyo team's goal was to create a detection kit for breast cancer, we could find common ground with our team using a dengue virus detection kit. We discussed the social acceptability of the kit (e.g., whether patients would resist using the kit, whether the cost would be too high, etc.) when the kit is actually used. By sharing the barriers and coming up with solutions, both teams were able to resolve their concerns about the actual use of the kit, which served as a major stepping stone toward implementation.
Photo 3: Meeting with iGEM ASIJ_Tokyo team
Figure 3. iGEM ASIJ_Tokyo team logo
With Gene Rate Team
Even before we decided on the direction of the project, we kept in touch with the Gene Rate Team through the iGEM Japan Team community, reading each other's wikis from the previous year and actively exchanging ideas and opinions. We decided that our goal was to predict the spread of dengue fever, and the Gene Rate Team's goal was to produce methane gas from unwanted materials. The two projects are similar in terms of their target areas: dengue fever is mainly endemic in tropical and subtropical regions such as Southeast Asia, and the production of methane gas from unwanted materials will greatly contribute to solving the problem of natural resources. On this basis, the team shared information about the materials they had researched and the meetings they had held. The Gene Rate Team provided advice on the quantitative measurement of fluorescence based on their experience from last year's project, and our team shared data on the difference between fluorescence and luminescence emitted by cells based on our experiments, bringing technology and data for the realization of the project (see the Partnership page for details).
Photo 4: Meeting with Gene Rate
Figure 4. Gene Rate team logo
With iGEM IISER-Pune2_India Team
Since the iGEM IISER-Pune2_India Team deals with dengue fever detection, like our team, and since they are from India, where dengue fever is endemic, we stayed in touch and shared our projects. Based on the papers that each team had researched, we were able to understand each other's detection methods and communicate our concerns to each other, so that we could find new issues for each other and proceed to solve them. In addition, the iGEM IISER-Pune2_India Team was able to take advantage of the fact that they were from an area where dengue fever is endemic and ask questions about the modalities of implementation. Photo 5: iGEM IISER-Pune2_India Figure 5. iGEM IISER-Pune2_India team logo
