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Team:Warsaw
From 2013.igem.org
Vision
Acrylamide - we are eating it! Not only this chemical compound is present in our laboratories but also in the food we ingest! After having realized the fact that a carcinogenic substance is present in our food, and its carcinogenicity has been suggested even by the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR). Acrylamide is also a recognized neurotoxin. This chemical compound can be harmful to us and this is where the tools of synthetic biology enter...
Project
We wanted to know how can we easily detect acrylamide using our knowledge and engineer a bacteria that would be able to do such thing. As this matter seemed relevant we couldn't find satisfying answers to the questions we asked: Is acrylamide toxic? If yes what are the concentrations that are harmful? And what kind of effects on cells does this compound have? This is where our cell-project steps in...
Background
Our group of students focused on one (the one processed by high heat and in presence of reducing sugars and amino-acids) of the food products that are considered as carcinogenic by the American Institute for Cancer Research. There are many more carcinogenic food that we are exposed to and more research needs to be done.
