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From 2013.igem.org

May 30

5/30 - MIT Bio Builder lab Day one of biology boot camp at MIT was a fun and instructive initiation to the world of synthetic biology. BioBuilder founder Natalie Kuldell structured the day with lectures and lab activities that helped to introduce and explain some of the basic concepts, practices, and goals of synthetic biology, showing some of the current developments in the discipline as well as possible future implications. The experience of being in a lab and hearing the perspective of a scientist/educator in the field provided valuable insight into the engineering process (the design, build, test cycle) and also the attendant possibilities and challenges. It was interesting to see that like computer science and engineering, design in synthetic biology relies upon standardization, abstraction, and synthesis to facilitate the process. This parallel helped to illuminate some of the needs and challenges faced by synthetic biologists, such as moving through the abstraction levels of complex systems, and showed areas that could benefit from the development of new design tools.

It was especially insightful to go through the lab experience from the perspective of one with limited prior experience in biology. It provided a better appreciation for the process of learning and discovery, and also the limitations and frustrations of a novice scientist. Since the project Joanna and I are brainstorming is a visual and interactive piece that is focused on outreach, our assumed audience is the inexperienced scientist. So, many of the same feelings and trepidations we had in the lab are probably also the feelings that this user group would experience. As we went through the protocols, we sometimes felt overwhelmed because the process wasn’t completely clear to us, but we collaborated, asked questions, and used our logical assumptions to follow through. We did sometimes feel that we were moving mechanically through motions and wished for a better understanding of what we were doing, which might indicate something to consider when developing our project. There is the future challenge of making the process of synthetic biology relatable, informative, exciting and interactive for the inexperienced scientist all at once, while limiting the frustration that comes from inexperience.

June 6