The first episode of our podcast “Genomenal” set the base for our science series on biotechnology. We created this podcast in terms of science communication with the goal to help anyone outside the biotechnology community understand all the perks and versatilities of this field. The first episode serves as an introduction to the origin of this project and its background. Our first two speakers offer a first glimpse of the topic of biotechnology – trying to explain basic terms such as “genes”, “genome” and “enzyme” understandably. Following topics like the colors of biotechnology or an eventual episode on iGEM are mentioned to encourage the audience to keep listening to the series. In hopes of achieving that goal, the first episode leaves an open end, with topics left for further discussion.

In the second episode of our educational podcast "Genomenal" we deal with the legal framework and laws that play an important role in the field of genetic engineering.

At the beginning, we repeat some analogies and terms from the first episode, e.g. "genome" or "gene". This helps to keep the audience interested at the beginning of the series despite the many difficult technical terms. By the example of insulin, we explain the transmission of genetic information between different organisms. In the past, this hormone was extracted from the pancreas of pigs to treat diabetes. Nowadays, insulin is produced with genetically modified organisms (GMOs) by providing the necessary "blueprints" needed to produce the substance^[1].

Furthermore, we present the safety levels for biolaboratories in detail and we also chat about our own experiences. The levels range from S1 to S4 and depend on the risk to humans and the environment posed by the organisms being worked with in the respective laboratory. Yoghurt bacteria are an example of level S1, Ebola viruses are found in S4 laboratories^[2].

Next, we address the German Genetic Engineering Act and the legal framework conditions, e.g. for the release of genetically modified organisms, which in most cases are plants. In principle, only one GMO plant is approved in the EU, namely MON810 corn, and only a few countries actually cultivate it. In Germany, there have been no more releases since 2012 and cultivation is generally prohibited today. Interestingly enough, 50 plants are approved for import into Germany^[3].

Finally, we talk about food labelling, what the "without genetic engineering" seal actually means and why "with genetic engineering" stickers are not common in German or other supermarkets around the world.

In the third episode of our podcast we are talking about white and green biotechnology. After a general explanation about the various notations with colors for the different areas of biotechnology, we are addressing white biotechnology in detail.

This field deals with the industrial production of chemicals and components with optimized enzymes, cells and microorganisms^[4]. The aim of white biotechnology is to generate new and sustainable production processes^[5]. As an example, we explain how enzymes for washing agents are being produced using microorganisms by supplying them with genetic information via plasmid transfer^[6]. Afterwards, we move on to green biotechnology which is roughly about plants and how to optimize them^[7]. Already in the 20th century people started to breed plants with the favored characteristics, like big size or sweet fruits. Nowadays there are way more possibilities to optimize plants and modify their genomes^[8]. As an example, we introduce the amflora potato in which the production of amylose is genetically knocked out and only amylopectin starch is produced^[9]. This engineered potato species was developed by BASF and grown in Germany between 2010 and 2012^[9]. Furthermore, we are talking about the MON810-corn produced by Monsanto 1998^[10]. The genome of this corn is modified so that the plant is producing a Bt-toxin which is toxic to certain insects^[10].

In the end, we are answering some more questions about green biotechnology, for example, if genetically modified plants could interbreed with other plants or if they could have an impact on bees.

Artificial hearts and less animal experiments - what does red biotechnology mean for the future? This is the title of the fourth episode of our podcast “Genomenal”. This episode is a continuation of the third episode, which was about green and white biotechnology^[11].

Red biotechnology deals with medical issues and specifically focusses on the detection and treatment of abounding diseases^[12]. We aimed to give the audience a better understanding of this topic by mentioning diabetes as an exemplary disease. To demonstrate the benefits of red biotechnology, we talk about how insulin can be produced by microorganisms rather than using a porcine or bovine pancreas^[13]. This way, we want to convey the perks biotechnology brings not o nly to humans but also to animals. Following this topic, we talk about how it has already been achieved to engineer a beating rat heart^[14] and that this field is called tissue engineering. Thereby, we can show how much potential lies in this area and that it would eventually spare the need of organ transplants.

We also talk about Dolly^[15], the first successfully cloned animal, to mention that progress has already been made in this field. In this regard, we also try to acknowledge the ethical dilemma that inevitably accompanies this topic – using it to promote our upcoming episode on ethics. Once more, we leave the end rather open for discussion to encourage our audience to keep listening to our podcast.

As we often talk about iGEM, especially at the TU Darmstadt, we decided to make two podcast episodes on this topic. These episodes are meant for people wanting to learn more about this competition and potential new iGEMers at our university.

In the 5th episode our speakers offer insight into an iGEM year – from finding team members to the exciting lab work and personal experiences. In the 6th episode they talk about everything concerning meetups, judging, and the Giant Jamboree.