Team:Groningen/education/science behind introduction en
THE SCIENCE
BEHIND THE COMIC
Hello there and welcome
to the introduction of
The Science Behind the Comic!
There is a whole
different parallel world
running at a microscopic
scale and there is a lot to learn
from these creatures that are
invisible to the human eye.
We would like to show you
the scientific principles behind
each comic’s episode.
Have you already
checked out the comic
"Adventures in the farm"?
Are you wondering what
those microorganisms
and their superpowers are?
What makes Mark glow
and Armin sticky?
We will address
all of these questions
by exploring examples
from synthetic biology.
Synthetic
Biology
What is
SYNTHETIC
BIOLOGY?
Synthetic biology is inspired
by the solutions that living
organisms have invented
throughout the millions
of years of evolution.
In a nutshell,
a living organism is a
combination of different
features put together
to perform many
different functions.
Synthetic biology aims
to isolate these features,
understand them and
eventually replicate them
in other organisms.
In other words,
synthetic biologists break down
the puzzle of life into pieces
and try to assemble them
in a different way.
Here,
we invite you
to learn more about
specific examples
of cool organisms
and their history
within the
synthetic biology
world!
Who are we?
We are a group of 9 interdisciplinary students
from the University of Groningen and Hanze University of Applied Sciences
competing in the annual iGEM (international Genetically Engineered Machines) competition.
This year,
our team is trying
to use synthetic biology
to find a solution to tackle
ammonia emissions.
Besides the fact that these
emissions are a serious
environmental hazard,
they have also been
detrimental to the social
cohesion in the
Netherlands.
Check our video to find out more about our project.