We are proud to present to you one of our biggest Human Practices projects this year - The 6th SynBio Sense. Why 6th, you ask? Well, each person learns about his or her environment through five senses: vision, hearing, smell, taste and touch. We wanted to dive deeper and introduce the sixth sense of seeing what is invisible to a naked eye - synthetic biology through the lens of Augmented Reality.

OVERVIEW

According to studies1, science education in different parts of the world has many problems, like the lack of motivation in students and mostly passive learning, which only consists of listening and writing. Research has shown2 that STEM students who demonstrated strong capabilities in this area have identified extracurricular activities such as childhood experiences as the main factor for their interest in this field. 'The 6th SynBio Sense' project seeks for that exact experience - to connect with future researchers through new and technologically advanced ways.

It is no secret that innovative technologies profoundly impact how we perceive and learn new information3. These days, where the education sector must keep up with the newest trends in this area, it is essential to provide tools for teachers to excite their students.

However, our focus did not stop with the education of young pupils - the still ongoing pandemic COVID-19 has heavily impacted the way that adults think about life sciences. Due to the interest of how viruses infect people, their testing procedures, and the development of vaccines, we thought that it was important to create a strong base of biology knowledge for all kinds of age groups.

Our way to reach this goal was to use up-and-coming technology Augmented Reality (AR). Similarly to Virtual Reality (VR), this technology seeks to blur the lines between the digital and physical world3. However, instead of creating a separate reality as VR does, Augmented Reality complements our environment - or you could say augments it - by adding digital elements on top of it. Research done in 20194 has concluded that the usage of AR in mobile applications for learning purposes has increased students' attention span by 30.72% and overall experience by 14.43%. While there are many ways to implement Augmented Reality, for our web application, we chose to use marker-based AR, where with a quick scan of a QR code and a custom-designed marker, you can experience the 6th sense of Synthetic Biology.

The main idea was to create and implement 13 different 3D models that would depict the main themes of life sciences, such as DNA, protein translation, GFP and etc. Each of these models would then be placed in separate AR scenes that can be opened through 3 quick steps, explained later in the ‘Usage’ section. The objective was to place these 13 stops with QR codes and AR markers in several cities of Lithuania as well as to collaborate with other iGEM teams and their projects.

USAGE

All 13 stops were distributed throughout the most popular city places and each one of them was designed in such a manner that it would be easy to use for everyone who has a smartphone in their pocket. Only three steps are required to be fully immersed into Augmented Reality scene:

1. Scan the QR code with your phone camera (or specific QR scanner app);
2. Click ‘Allow’ in your browser when asked about camera usage permission;
3. Scan the AR marker.

When users finish these three steps, they can now examine the model. The next obvious step for us was to write descriptions for each of these models so that the users could also read about what they are seeing. This was also important because studies have shown that some adults prefer textual information rather than visual5. With the aim to attract tourists and locals that do not speak Lithuanian, each description is available both in English and Lithuanian languages.

To increase the accessibility of our website, we took two approaches: it was designed by conforming to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and the information about the 3D models was recorded in previously mentioned languages. While most of these were recorded by our team member Liepa and instructor Povilas, we also invited some of the most distinguished scientists from Lithuania - dr. Urtė Neniškytė, prof. Aurelija Žvirblienė and dr. Linas Mažutis.

Lithuanian scientists, that contributed to 'The 6th SynBio Sense' project - Urtė Neniškytė, Linas Mažutis and Aurelija Žvirblienė (from right to left)

Although the technology that was used to develop this project is supported by most modern browsers, there are a few exceptions - Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox on iOS devices. These browsers do not allow camera access, required for marker detection. To solve this problem, our solution was to create an additional option for users to analyze these 3D models without Augmented Reality implementation.

Another feature that seemed important in the light of the recent pandemic was the ability to examine all the stops without leaving the room. In the main menu, you can find a link that lets you download all markers that can be used in AR scenes (preferably printed out, but not necessary).

REALISATION & COLLABORATIONS

To spread our project as wide as possible, we decided to collaborate with various cities in our home country Lithuania, including densely and sparsely populated areas. It was important for us to collaborate not only with the capital city Vilnius where we are from but also with smaller cities, whose habitants do not have as many choices for cultural and educational resources in their hometowns.

Each of these cities had the possibility to decide where they would like to position these 13 stops. Mainly they were placed in the central area of each city so that they would attract as many people as possible. The most common mode of implementation of this project was to print out hundreds of large stickers and stick them on throughout the city, however, one city also put up stainless steel plates on benches. Spots like public transport, schools, cafés and etc. were chosen to place the stickers since it maximizes the spread of the project.

‘The 6th SynBio sense’ is included in our other Human Practices project - children's colouring book about life sciences ‘The Hidden Code of Life’. The goal for combining these two learning activities was to create a mutual learning environment for primary school children and allow them to interact with life sciences directly. Even though some of the information might be too advanced for this audience, we believe that seeing and analyzing these 3D models can be a great start for them to learn about science.

We were also happy to collaborate with other iGEM teams to involve more people in this project. We participated in the International Postcard Project curated by the iGEM Team Düsseldorf iGEM team. Our team created a postcard that describes our lab project, invites other teams to follow our journey until Giant Jamboree, and also includes a sneak peek to ‘6th SynBio sense’ project.

explore the 6th sense of SynBio

CREATE YOUR OWN AR SCENE

While meeting up with the administrations of cities where we wanted to implement our project, we received several requests to add a few more AR scenes that would capture the link between biology and the city itself (might be famous scientists, local plants, etc.). From there, we thought: “Why don’t we create a tool that would allow anyone to create their own AR scene with no coding or 3D modelling skills?”. And that is what we did.

The main inspiration for this additional project was to allow teachers of any subject to create their own Augmented Reality scenes with descriptions so that their students could still experience engaging lessons even in the midst of a pandemic. Creating the scene then generates a simple 6-digit code, which later can be sent to anyone and used on the same website with a default AR marker provided by us.

The creation of the scene includes several simple steps (you can find full instructions in our website):

1. Downloading the model from 3D resource websites or creating your own with 3D modelling software;
2. Converting or exporting (if you design it yourself) the model to .glb format;
3. Uploading it on our website;
4. Writing the title and description for your AR scene;
5. Setting up the 3D model so that it would be scaled, positioned and rotated correctly according to the marker.

When finished, the user receives a code that he can later send to his friends, pupils - or anyone else. The user also receives additional code that he can later use to update the information about the scene or setup details about the 3D model.

This platform is quick and easy to use because it does not require login information or IT and 3D modelling skills. We hope that future iGEM teams could use it to improve their Human Practices and especially Education projects since it is a fast and exciting new way to pass their knowledge to other people.

create your own augmented reality scene

TECHNICAL SIDE

Vilnius-Lithuania iGEM team strongly believes that the best way to spread the word about synthetic biology and life sciences in general is to share the knowledge about the technical side of projects like this one. ‘The 6th SynBio sense’ is made up of three main parts:

• 3D models were created with free software Blender by our team members Emilija and Kamilė as well as some were downloaded for free from Sketchfab and slightly modified to match our design;

• AR scenes were created with Three.js and ThreeX ARToolKit, JavaScript libraries that enable 3D model usage in websites;

• Markers for AR scenes recognition were created by our team member Liepa, following the rules and recommendations for their design6.

GitHub

Due to the pandemic, the transition period between the normal lifestyle to quarantine brought numerous challenges to every industry, especially education. Pupils and teachers had to quickly adapt to online learning, with little prior preparations. With the purpose to help teachers spark interest in science and increase pupils` motivation to study during these difficult times, we decided to develop an educational game - Bioblox.

Gamifying the studying process

The immersiveness of video games helps to increase factual learning and introspection in children7. In a survey of 1,254 middle school children in the US more than half agreed that they liked to learn new things from video games; almost one child in five was strongly motivated to play in order to learn8. This research shows that our game development for educational purposes approach could make the learning process more effective and appealing even after the pandemic.

Game description

BioBlox, in particular, introduces players to the world of synthetic biology in a fun and captivating way. It was designed with an idea to engage a diverse audience without a scientific background, especially the younger generation. Every level is based on a classic minigame with a slight educational twist. For example, a race level can be finished only if the right car - represents a protein in an electrophoresis gel - is chosen; or a puzzle level, where a genetic circuit sequence has to be decoded to get through to the next level.

Many references to the history of genetics can be found scattered throughout the whole game. Players can literally swim around a bacterial cell to find hidden nucleotides and exit through an Ion channel or shoot giant plasmids with restriction enzymes! After finding their way out of a maze ruled by a crazy scientist and completing all other levels, the audience can test their knowledge in a quiz-like level. The questions are mainly focused on synthetic biology, like the length of DNA or recombinant protein production. The level is decorated with references to different stages of iGEM and finished off with the Giant Jamboree.

The game was made on the Roblox platform thus, it is accessible to anyone interested and can be easily implemented into educational activities independent of location. Roblox attracts an average of 150 million players every month, mainly between the ages of 9 to 159. User-created games predominate the platform developed using LUA programming language. Hence, Roblox is highly educational not only because of learning-oriented games, but also it motivates younger generations to learn programming, game development and even gain early business knowledge.

Spreading the news

We encouraged people to play BioBlox by organising a week-long gaming tournament, where top 5 players could acquire prizes for their score. Also, a game night took place at a STEAM camp for school children from sixth to ninth grade. It even reached kids from across the globe in Tainan by collaborating with the TAIPEI iGEM high school team. Finally, via a live stream during iGEM Global Meetup, we discussed how to develop a game on Roblox for educational purposes, the struggles we faced during the development process and explained hidden references to science in detail.

Since its release, BioBlox has grossed over 400 players and helped people of all ages to see science from a different perspective.

Play BioBlox

Lesson about viruses in National Television

In response to the global COVID-19 situation, Lithuanian national television “LRT” organised live educational lessons for middle and high school students. We had an opportunity to educate thousands of students about viruses and the importance of preventative measures in the face of the pandemic.

The presentation began with an explanation of the structural components of viruses. Later on, the mechanism of infection was described and how soap can help mitigate the risk. It was shown why it is so hard to create effective antiviral drugs and make them accessible quickly. The session was filled with vivid imagery and comprehensive comparisons tailored to a younger audience, for example, that a cell is like a car that gets driven out of control by a virus driver. Later a few questions from callers were answered. It was essential to explain to the young why they cannot go outside without masks and why they are suddenly not allowed to go to school.

In addition to the main lesson, a few more short pre-filmed episodes were shown on the TV in the segment called “Did you know that..”. Atomic gardens, a dye extracted from bacteria and music's impact on memory were presented. Animated infographics made the content more engaging and fun.

Participating in children’s STEAM summer camp

STEAM is an educational way for students to show how science and art together can create a meaningful mutual learning space. STEAM education is assessed worldwide and the benefits are noticeable1. Our team contribution to the STEAM education program would help to diversify the content of studies and show a real example of how the STEAM idea is adaptable in real-life problems.

Summer STEAM camp for teachers and talented kids “Science and creativity” took place in Tauragė, Lithuania. This camp gives a possibility to improve skills and STEAM integration into school education. Moreover, it is intended to disclose that science is related to creativity, interdisciplinarity, and innovation.

Vilnius-Lithuania iGEM 2020 team had a great chance to show that synthetic biology is all about what this camp seeks. Firstly, during this activity, we taught a lecture about synthetic biology and biotechnology. During the presentation, we wanted to show not only the main principles of life sciences but also, to talk more about multidisciplinarity in science. WIth the purpose to achieve this aim we were talking a lot about iGEM competition and how these projects could solve global problems. We explained that scientists should know how to combine math, biochemistry, technology skills in practical use. The kids learned the basics of life sciences and were introduced to synthetic biology. They were so interested in how it can improve our lives.

After a short lesson, we gave them a creative task: the pupils and teachers needed to create the plasmids with genes of their choice. The goal of this task was to show how cloning strategies work and how different kinds of genes are used for different purposes. Children were interested in how insulin or green fluorescent protein genes work. After an interactive discussion about exact genes function, we showed the principle of the genetic circuit construction in a very simple way without any laboratory equipment. After a short break, kids asked us if we can tell more about previous Vilnius-Lithuania iGEM teams projects. After a long discussion on how one or another Vilnius-Lithuania iGEM team project could be implemented in a real-world, we gave kids to play the lab-style battleship. This game helped to get in touch with the lab work and explain it. It’s better to see it once than to hear it 1000 times.

During this camp, we not only had an opportunity to show kids the basics of life sciences but also we gained a lot of experience of talking responsibly about gene engineering, and GMOs. In this way, we were able to learn how to tell our ideas for a wider society that looks at biotechnology with skepticism.

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