iGEM - SynBio for Self Starters

If you find yourself wanting to learn more, and do more with synthetic biology and bioengineering, there is no need to wait until you have a Ph.D. You can start engineering cells immediately through a competition called iGEM.

The International Genetically Engineered Machine competition is the world's premier synthetic biology competition, initially for university students, but now available for high school students as well. Student-led teams design their own projects, work over the course of a summer to build their bug, then they head off to regional, and then the world, competition to see how they measure up.

Modularity

The very essence of engineering is something we lovingly refer to as "modularity". What engineers mean by that is this: that complicated devices or software can be simplified by breaking them up into smaller pieces, or "modules". If you've ever taken apart an electronic gadget, you probably noticed the many different colors, shapes and sizes of the resistors, capacitors, transistors, lights, sensors, etc. Each one of those pieces plays a very simple, clearly understood role. An electrical engineer can build simple circuits with those very simple parts. A calculator is a collection of simple circuits. A computer is a bigger collection of small, simple circuits. Nobody wants to deal with a tangle of wires. Nobody wants to re-create simple pieces over and over. It's the same with computer software. People re-use small packages of code (they're sometimes called "libraries") so that they can focus on the big picture.

Bioengineers have been working on modularizing biology for 10 years now (this year marks the 10th aniversary of iGEM!). Nature has already designed a nearly unlimited supply of small parts that we can combine into larger biological "circuits". The goal of iGEM is to create a database of biological parts that engineers can pull from to create interesting biological machines. That database is called the Registry of Standard Biological Parts. Check it out if you have a sec ... they have sensors and switches, plasmids (remember those?) and primers. A bioengineer's playground.

Filling the Registry

Image borrowed from iGEM team Rutgers, 2011

iGEM teams are made up of students. Those students are challenged to build an interesting biological machine using parts from the registry or from nature. If they use parts from nature, they are asked to add those parts to the Registry with measurements and information that characterize ("technically describe")  how that part works. While teams are certainly judged on their creativity and hard work, they cannot win the top awards unless they have added parts to the registry. Why is that? Because after ten whole years, we haven't even scratched the surface of all the possible parts that could be added to the registry!

 Real, Honest-to-Goodness, Sure-enough, Science

iGEM team UC Davis

As an iGEM alumni, I can say from experience that the most valuable thing about iGEM is that it is student-driven. Students should start the team (find teachers to mentor you, raise money, etc.). Students should have the ideas and do the research. Students should get in the lab and DO THE SCIENCE. That's the best part (or the worst, depending on how things are working out :). After all, "you can't rollerskate in a buffalo herd", "you can't go fishin' in a watermellon patch", and you can't learn science by sitting in a classroom. But you sure can in an iGEM lab.

So, back to where I started: Do you think you have what it takes to engineer biology and save the world? Follow the link, and you may just get your chance...

What You Can Expect

To read or watch videos about past team's projects, look around on the teams pages. Everything from build-your-own Avatar, to bacteria that make their own concrete.

You can also expect to have some fun. Never forget that most import part of science:

This video was made by iGEM team Calgary.