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Team:Wellesley Desyne/BAC
From 2013.igem.org
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<h1>Overview</h1> | <h1>Overview</h1> | ||
<p> | <p> | ||
| - | + | Bac to the Future is an art installation and web application that aims to communicate core concepts of synthetic biology to non-scientists by engaging users in a fun and interactive environment. Specifically, our team focused on how an interactive and user-friendly application could demonstrate the significance of DNA as a powerful encoding language, as well as the potential for bacteria to be used as archival data storage. At the Wellesley College Human-Computer Interactions lab, we are interested in exploring how next-generation technology could facilitate the learning of complex scientific concepts and promote educational outreach. With this goal in mind, we chose to deploy both a web application for wider distribution and greater accessibility, as well as an interactive art installation for exhibition purposes. Our project was inspired by an experiment conducted by the Church Lab at Harvard Medical School, which used bacteria DNA to store encoded book citations. In designing the user experience, we integrated relevant and familiar components such as dictionaries, and simplified the experimental protocol to promote intuitive understanding. In addition, we incorporated user feedback to assist in the conveyance of fundamental concepts while minimizing confusion. In the future, we plan to continue improving the user experience through further user testing, and hope to distribute the web application as an educational tool. | |
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| + | <h3>Concept</h3> | ||
| + | <br> | ||
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| + | <p>The interface is divided into a workspace where the protocol is executed and a virtual tank containing bacteria with various messages encoded into their DNA. There is also a panel on the left containing a Twitter feed of messages that have been tweeted to the future, and a panel on the right containing the lab protocol for the user to follow.<br><br> | ||
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| + | Users interact with the application by executing the following protocol: </p> | ||
| + | <ol> | ||
| + | <li>Pick a message from the queue to encode by clicking on it, or users can search for their own message to encode by clicking on the "Pick up your message" button.</li> | ||
| + | <li>Initiate the translation process by clicking on the "Encode" button and watch as the chosen message is synthesized into DNA, using the Codon Dictionary.</li> | ||
| + | <li>Begin the lab protocol by inserting the encoded DNA into the plasmid.</li> | ||
| + | <li>Pick an E-Coli from the tank and drag it onto the workspace to act as a means of storage.</li> | ||
| + | <li>Insert the plasmid containing the encoded DNA into the chosen bacteria, and return it back to the tank.</li> | ||
| + | <li>Throughout the process, users can click on the various bacteria to see the database of encoded messages contained within each bacteria displayed in the ticker, including the users’ own message.</li> | ||
| + | </ol> | ||
| + | |||
</p> | </p> | ||
<h1>Results</h1> | <h1>Results</h1> | ||
<p> | <p> | ||
| - | + | To test Bac to the Future, our team conducted preliminary user studies involving the observation of 15 high school students in the Upward Bound program, students who had some exposure to science but were mostly unfamiliar with synthetic biology. In our study, the students were given a brief, 10-minute presentation of synthetic biology, followed by a demo of Bac to the Future. Afterwards, the students were given a chance to interact freely with our application. We observed that in general, the students picked up the application quickly and found the overall experience to be engaging, interactive, and fun. In addition, the students felt more comfortable with their knowledge of synthetic biology after the study. | |
</p> | </p> | ||
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<h1>Future Work</h1> | <h1>Future Work</h1> | ||
<ul> | <ul> | ||
| - | <li> | + | <li>Implement an interactive installation, integrating use of gesture-recognition and tangible interface</li> |
| - | <li> | + | <li>Distribute the web application and explore potential educational uses</li> |
| - | <li> | + | <li>Continue to study the effectiveness of the application in facilitating the learning experience</li> |
</ul> | </ul> | ||
Revision as of 14:35, 7 September 2013
Bac to the Future
Overview
Bac to the Future is an art installation and web application that aims to communicate core concepts of synthetic biology to non-scientists by engaging users in a fun and interactive environment. Specifically, our team focused on how an interactive and user-friendly application could demonstrate the significance of DNA as a powerful encoding language, as well as the potential for bacteria to be used as archival data storage. At the Wellesley College Human-Computer Interactions lab, we are interested in exploring how next-generation technology could facilitate the learning of complex scientific concepts and promote educational outreach. With this goal in mind, we chose to deploy both a web application for wider distribution and greater accessibility, as well as an interactive art installation for exhibition purposes. Our project was inspired by an experiment conducted by the Church Lab at Harvard Medical School, which used bacteria DNA to store encoded book citations. In designing the user experience, we integrated relevant and familiar components such as dictionaries, and simplified the experimental protocol to promote intuitive understanding. In addition, we incorporated user feedback to assist in the conveyance of fundamental concepts while minimizing confusion. In the future, we plan to continue improving the user experience through further user testing, and hope to distribute the web application as an educational tool.
Concept
The interface is divided into a workspace where the protocol is executed and a virtual tank containing bacteria with various messages encoded into their DNA. There is also a panel on the left containing a Twitter feed of messages that have been tweeted to the future, and a panel on the right containing the lab protocol for the user to follow.
Users interact with the application by executing the following protocol:
- Pick a message from the queue to encode by clicking on it, or users can search for their own message to encode by clicking on the "Pick up your message" button.
- Initiate the translation process by clicking on the "Encode" button and watch as the chosen message is synthesized into DNA, using the Codon Dictionary.
- Begin the lab protocol by inserting the encoded DNA into the plasmid.
- Pick an E-Coli from the tank and drag it onto the workspace to act as a means of storage.
- Insert the plasmid containing the encoded DNA into the chosen bacteria, and return it back to the tank.
- Throughout the process, users can click on the various bacteria to see the database of encoded messages contained within each bacteria displayed in the ticker, including the users’ own message.
Results
To test Bac to the Future, our team conducted preliminary user studies involving the observation of 15 high school students in the Upward Bound program, students who had some exposure to science but were mostly unfamiliar with synthetic biology. In our study, the students were given a brief, 10-minute presentation of synthetic biology, followed by a demo of Bac to the Future. Afterwards, the students were given a chance to interact freely with our application. We observed that in general, the students picked up the application quickly and found the overall experience to be engaging, interactive, and fun. In addition, the students felt more comfortable with their knowledge of synthetic biology after the study.
Demo
Future Work
- Implement an interactive installation, integrating use of gesture-recognition and tangible interface
- Distribute the web application and explore potential educational uses
- Continue to study the effectiveness of the application in facilitating the learning experience
