Team:Baltimore BioCrew/Collaborations
Collaborations
Overview
We worked with several teams in an initiative hosted by the iGEM team of Maastricht University in the Netherlands to create a proceedings journal for iGEM 2020. We wrote a 1500 word research article describing our project and our approach. As part of the review process, we gave feedback on papers submitted by two iGEM teams, and received feedback from two others as part of the journal's peer review process. Through this collaboration, we were able to document our path towards our goal of engineering phytoplankton for enhanced iron consumption while working with other teams to create a peer-reviewed archive of the work conducted as part of iGEM this year.
Engineering Synechococcus CB0101 to Improve Iron Uptake and Processing
We also designed a class with CLS CLSG UK targeting middle-school students to raise awareness about anthropogenic effects on aquatic ecosystems, a problem that both of our team projects are addressing this year. We recorded a powerpoint presentation in which we discussed the environmental issues our teams are separately addressing and how individuals can help. In particular, we touch on cocaine pollution in the Thames River (CLS CLSG UK project) and global reductions of phytoplankton populations (Baltimore BioCrew proiject). This video recording was made available to students in both the United Kingdom and United States in order to make students aware of both local and global issues.
One challenge faced by scientists is the ability to communicate the merits of scientific advancements to the public. In order to address this problem, we worked with iGEM Pitt in Pittsburgh, PA to record a podcast describing our work. In a completely virtual effort, Pitt interviewed our collaborations team, asking questions related to our goal, our approach, and the implications of our efforts. The podcast was released this September on Spotify, making it available to a far-reaching audience. We hope that through efforts like these, science will be more accessible to the public, allowing new technology to be well received and utilized to its fullest extent.