iGEM CSMU Taiwan
Creation of a children’s storybook
We collaborated with the iGEM CSMU Taiwan team to create a children’s storybook focusing on viruses. The storybook includes an introduction to viruses, path of infection, and ways to prevent virus infection. We created and wrote the story, while the iGEM CSMU Taiwan illustrated the story for us.(More information on our storybook)
Virtual meetup with iGEM CSMU Taiwan
NCTU_Formosa iGEM Team
Production of needed equipments
We needed to use a laser cutting machine to cut cellulose fiber and glass fiber for our detection kit, so we asked for help from the NCTU_Formosa iGEM team, who had a machine. We provided the fibers and the specifications we needed, and they helped us cut the pieces. On the other hand, they needed a peristaltic pump to control the volume of M9 minimal medium, which is a bacteria culture solution, so that they can culture colonies automatically. We produced the pumps using our 3D printers and delivered them in August.
Virtual meetup with the NCTU _Formosa iGEM
Fibers after cutting by the NCTU _Formosa iGEM
Meet up with the NCTU _Formosa iGEM team to receive the fibers
Peristaltic pump we manufactured for NCTU _Formosa iGEM
Team iGEM IISER Berhampur
Raising Dengue awareness
Team iGEM IISER Berhampur is also working on a project about dengue this year. Although there are many differences in the details, we found it a great chance to work together. First, we carried out a global survey to find the public’s views on detection and prevention of dengue. We shared our questionnaire online, and spread the questionnaire to more places thorough the helps from other iGEM teams.
Moreover, Team iGEM IISER Berhampur helped us to translate a children storybook created by us into Hindi, in order to disseminate science to a larger audience. (More information on our storybook)
Team iGEM IISER Berhampur also conducted a mask-designing activity known as ‘i-MASK’ to communicate with other iGEM teams and spread awareness of COVID-19. We were happy to join this activity. We recorded a video of the process of designing a mask and took photos of team members wearing the mask.
Virtual meetup with Team iGEM IISER Berhampur
Mentoring NYMU Taipei
Working with Rosetta
NYMU Taipei is working on production of ACE2, which is the receptor of SARS Covid-19. They planned to simulate the protein-protein interaction using Rosetta, but they were unfamiliar with the modeling tool. Thus, we introduced them the methods in Rosetta, including ab initio, RosettaCM, and protein-protein docking. We also helped them to simulate the local docking of their proteins, and taught them how to recognize suitable docking results.
Our wet-lab members also run PCR and gel independently to checked if their template and the forward and the reverse primers of ACE2 were fine.
Virtual meetup with NYMU Taipei
Mingdao iGEM 2020
Examining the metabolites
Mingdao iGEM 2020 is working on creating candies to prevent toothache. They wanted to examine the metabolites produced by Streptococcus mutans, the oral bacteria in different culture medium. However, they were lack of NMR this equipment so they asked for our help. They provided Streptococcus mutans in different samples including medium with no sugar, medium with glucose, fructose, maltose, sucrose, erythritol and xylitol. We helped them to examine the concentration of metabolites in each sample produced by Streptococcus mutans in 0,2,4 and 6 hours respectively.
Examining the concentration of metabolites for Mingdao iGEM 2020
On the other hand, we wanted to verify if the E proteins can conjugate to the test line (modified glass fiber) according to our proposed mechanism. They provided green fluorescent proteins (GFPs) as the mock E proteins, and we observed the green fluorescent using their fluorescence microscopy after the wash, suggesting the conjugation experiment succeeded.
