Team:UCL/Notebook

From 2013.igem.org

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<p class="minor_title">April & May</p>
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The abilities to think, feel and imagine of those affected will diminish; The patients’ sense of self, personality, even their ability to swallow, will all degrade. AD also frequently has a traumatising effect on family members and close friends. As life expectancies increase, this state of life is set to grow much more common <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16360788?dopt=Abstract" target="_blank">(Ferri et al. 2005)</a>. It is a truly terrifying condition, and throughout our research we have been amazed by how hard many spirited sufferers, their family and their friends, struggle against the disease and continue to make the best of themselves.
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The audience were informed about the project and opinions were gathered.
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<p class="minor_title">Research</p>
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<p class="minor_title">June</p>
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It may then seem surprising that research efforts into cancer treatments dwarf dementia research <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15685097?dopt=Abstract" target="_blank">(Bonin-Guillaume 2005)</a>. Pharmaceutical companies have recently more or less halted their efforts to search for pharmacological solution for AD. This has inspired some scientists to consider novel approaches to combating AD. We see synthetic biology as one of those fields, but new avenues of neuro-genetic research could well bring about genetic modification of the brain for more than just medical reasons.
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5th June - Group discussion concerning the project idea to be carried forward - favouring the 'Anti cancer project'. Roles were then assigned to team members present for intial research roles for the week:
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Cancer research roles:
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1. Ruxi Comisel - Proteins upregulated in cancer of the intestines. Specifically in the outer epithelial cell (enterocytes) – in microvilli. Also, what actually is... gut cancer? A general overview would be useful…
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2. Khaicheng Kiew - Our chassis (bearing in mind that we will also build it in E. coli as a backup). We need to think what would make a good chassis in our case (ie. naturally found in the gut in an obvious one), and how well does the chassis fit.
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3. Alex Bates - What will the killing mechanism be? A broad overview of cancer treatments is required, specifically detailing how a bacterium can administer the treatment.
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<p class="minor_title">More information</p>
 
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More information about the condition, including current research, and advice about coping with and caring for AD patients can be found  through the <a href="http://www.alzheimers.org.uk/" target="_blank">Alzheimer’s Society</a>, <a href="http://www.alz.co.uk/" target="_blank">Alzheimer’s Disease International</a>
 
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and the <a href="http://www.alz.org/" target="_blank">Alzheimer’s Association</a>.
 
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Revision as of 22:21, 3 September 2013

Notebook

January

First meeting was held after the team has been assembled. Introduction to each other and team building exercises take place to familiarise the team members with each other. Discussions take place with previous iGEM team members from UCL so the new team have some context and guidance concerning how to approach any iGEM project.

Each member of the new team was told to present for 5 minutes on a 2012 based team, commenting on their strengths and weaknesses. Further discussions about the general area 'track' that the team would be interested in. Given that many team members have a medical background, medical based ideas were favoured among the majority of the team.

February

First meeting was held after the team has been assembled. Introduction to each other and team building exercises take place to familiarise the team members with each other. Discussions take place with previous iGEM team members from UCL so the new team have some context and guidance concerning how to approach any iGEM project.

Each member of the new team was told to present for 5 minutes on a 2012 based team, commenting on their strengths and weaknesses. Further discussions about the general area 'track' that the team would be interested in. Given that many team members have a medical background, medical based ideas were favoured among the majority of the team.

March

Final meetings before exams, both internally and at the Arts Catalyst. The idea pool has been narrowed down to:

Anti-cancer yoghurt Clean Urban Air Alzheimer's disease Neural Network

Members of the group also held a probiotic yoghurt workshop for the anti-cancer project, where members of the public made yoghurt. The audience were informed about the project and opinions were gathered.

April & May

The audience were informed about the project and opinions were gathered.

June

5th June - Group discussion concerning the project idea to be carried forward - favouring the 'Anti cancer project'. Roles were then assigned to team members present for intial research roles for the week: Cancer research roles:

1. Ruxi Comisel - Proteins upregulated in cancer of the intestines. Specifically in the outer epithelial cell (enterocytes) – in microvilli. Also, what actually is... gut cancer? A general overview would be useful…

2. Khaicheng Kiew - Our chassis (bearing in mind that we will also build it in E. coli as a backup). We need to think what would make a good chassis in our case (ie. naturally found in the gut in an obvious one), and how well does the chassis fit.

3. Alex Bates - What will the killing mechanism be? A broad overview of cancer treatments is required, specifically detailing how a bacterium can administer the treatment.