Team:UCSF/ALHS Project

From 2013.igem.org

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<font face="arial" size = "5"><b><center>Human Practices: Lincoln High School Outreach</font></b> </center> <br>
<font face="arial" size = "5"><b><center>Human Practices: Lincoln High School Outreach</font></b> </center> <br>
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<b><FONT COLOR="#008000">Teaching Synthetic Biology to High School Students:</FONT COLOR="#008000"></b> As a peer education project, the entire advanced level Biotechnology class at Lincoln High school decided to educate their fellow environmentally aware Green Academy students about GMO foods. Our goal was to provide further insight into Synthetic Biology and GMOs to the Green Academy students. We accomplished this by speaking to the Green Academy about genetically modified organisms/food and conducting a lab experiment that showed how Biotechnology can be used to detect GMOs.  
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<b><FONT COLOR="#008000">Teaching Synthetic Biology to High School Students:</FONT COLOR="#008000"></b> A common misunderstanding held by proponents of organic food, is that once genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are incorporated into our food supply, they will become undetectable, and cannot be differentiated from other foods. To educate their peers, students in the Biotechnology Academy at Abraham Lincoln High School in San Francisco offered to teach their fellow students in the school’s ecological Green Academy how to test for, and recognize, genetically modified food ingredients. Additionally, we taught our peers about some of the beneficial real-world applications of GMOs.
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Our educational program included a pre-learning survey, direct instruction by our biotechnology teacher, George Cachianes, and a series of three lab exercises in which the iGEM/biotech students taught the Green Academy students how to recognize genetically modified foods using common biotech lab techniques. Afterwards, a post learning survey assessed the knowledge of the Green Academy students to see if their attitude and knowledge about GMOs had shifted.
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The Exploratorium (<a href="http://www.exploratorium.edu">www.exploratorium.edu</a>) is a museum dedicated to various science-related exhibits aimed to teach science and its practical applications and inspire learning by self-discovery to its guests. The night event is an 18-and-older event that approximately 4-5 thousand people attend the first Thursday of each month. Each event revolves around a unique theme, and we presented our work on synthetic biology in the theme of <i>Transformations</i>.   The transformations exhibited ranged from origami folding to metamorphosis to ice cutting, and our focus was on micro-transformations in cells. In accordance with the theme, our team presented information involving genetic transformation in order to show the benefits of synthetic biology and the many applications it can have in the future.
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<b><FONT COLOR="#008000">Lab Activities:</FONT COLOR="#008000"></b>
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<b>In search of two genes</b>
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In order to find out if GMOs were present in common, every-day foods, such as tortilla chips and papaya, we tested these common foods for the presence of two genes: CaMV35S, which codes for a promoter, and NOS, which codes for a terminator. We specifically looked for the presence of promoter and terminator genes instead of the actual functional genes themselves because the functional gene may vary from organism to organism, depending on what qualities of the organism are being altered. In order to determine which of our samples were GMOs and which were not, we used some very common lab techniques including Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), which amplifies a certain piece of DNA.
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<b>Choosing the foods</b><br>
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We chose to use a variety of food, including fresh soy beans, tortilla chips, Fritos corn chips, papaya and a organic corn snack that claims it is made from an ancient variety of corn. We tested some foods that were labeled “non-GMO” and some that weren’t labeled at all.
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<b>Testing</b>
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We crushed up samples of each food  up with a mortar and pestle, while adding small amounts of water to make a slurry. We then placed each sample into a microcentrifuge tube containing InstaGene, a chelating agent that helps to remove metal ions. We have to use this because it ensures that the PCR will be free of metal ions. After adding our samples to InstaGene, we shook the tubes and placed them into a 95°C water bath for 5 minutes. Afterwards, we centrifuged them for 5 minutes at the maximum speed, and then refrigerated them.
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The next day, we removed the samples from the refrigerator and placed them on ice. We added all of the essential ingredients for PCR into a PCR tube, in addition to DNA from the samples we had centrifuged the previous day. After mixing the contents of the tube, we placed them into the thermal cycler. Finally, we used gel electrophoresis to see if fragments of DNA that would indicate that the sample is a GMO were present in the samples or not.
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Revision as of 00:16, 18 September 2013

Human Practices: Lincoln High School Outreach

Teaching Synthetic Biology to High School Students: A common misunderstanding held by proponents of organic food, is that once genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are incorporated into our food supply, they will become undetectable, and cannot be differentiated from other foods. To educate their peers, students in the Biotechnology Academy at Abraham Lincoln High School in San Francisco offered to teach their fellow students in the school’s ecological Green Academy how to test for, and recognize, genetically modified food ingredients. Additionally, we taught our peers about some of the beneficial real-world applications of GMOs.
Our educational program included a pre-learning survey, direct instruction by our biotechnology teacher, George Cachianes, and a series of three lab exercises in which the iGEM/biotech students taught the Green Academy students how to recognize genetically modified foods using common biotech lab techniques. Afterwards, a post learning survey assessed the knowledge of the Green Academy students to see if their attitude and knowledge about GMOs had shifted.


Lab Activities:
In search of two genes In order to find out if GMOs were present in common, every-day foods, such as tortilla chips and papaya, we tested these common foods for the presence of two genes: CaMV35S, which codes for a promoter, and NOS, which codes for a terminator. We specifically looked for the presence of promoter and terminator genes instead of the actual functional genes themselves because the functional gene may vary from organism to organism, depending on what qualities of the organism are being altered. In order to determine which of our samples were GMOs and which were not, we used some very common lab techniques including Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), which amplifies a certain piece of DNA.
Choosing the foods
We chose to use a variety of food, including fresh soy beans, tortilla chips, Fritos corn chips, papaya and a organic corn snack that claims it is made from an ancient variety of corn. We tested some foods that were labeled “non-GMO” and some that weren’t labeled at all.
Testing We crushed up samples of each food up with a mortar and pestle, while adding small amounts of water to make a slurry. We then placed each sample into a microcentrifuge tube containing InstaGene, a chelating agent that helps to remove metal ions. We have to use this because it ensures that the PCR will be free of metal ions. After adding our samples to InstaGene, we shook the tubes and placed them into a 95°C water bath for 5 minutes. Afterwards, we centrifuged them for 5 minutes at the maximum speed, and then refrigerated them. The next day, we removed the samples from the refrigerator and placed them on ice. We added all of the essential ingredients for PCR into a PCR tube, in addition to DNA from the samples we had centrifuged the previous day. After mixing the contents of the tube, we placed them into the thermal cycler. Finally, we used gel electrophoresis to see if fragments of DNA that would indicate that the sample is a GMO were present in the samples or not.

Micro-Transformations, Macro Changes: The goal of our exhibit was to provide relatable information about the general techniques scientists use every day in the laboratory. We presented brief “elevator talks,” broken down into two topics to more clearly present the information for the public. The first talk explained the Central Dogma of Biology, where DNA is transcribed into mRNA, and mRNA translated into protein. The second elevator talk was about the execution of transformation in molecular biology and the basic experimental concepts, while also giving real life examples of how it is used as an application. In addition to our presentations, we gave away synthetic biology informational bookmarks and scientific temporary tattoos, and brought culture plates with E. coli transformed with GFP and RFP for visual demonstration of transformations in cells.

The UCSF iGEM team interacts with patrons at the Exploratorium: After Dark event