Team:REC-CHENNAI/Community-Outreach-HP
COMMUNITY OUTREACH
The aim of our work is to benefit the scientific community and knowing where they stand on this aspect was essential for us to understand how best we could improve our project. We wanted to understand what the scientists working on projects needed and the issues they were faced with regarding transfection reagents, their cost and effects.
We reached out to potential end-users of transfection reagents to understand their views on this aspect. We spoke to PhD scholars from Madras Diabetes Research Foundation (MDRF), Chennai, a part of the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR). Their work mainly focuses on Diabetes Mellitus. The genetics department work on gene silencing with transfection reagents.
To start with we conducted a survey to know the extent of our understanding and therefore being to able interpret the extent of our understanding and the aspects of the issue that our work could answer. This discussion clarified what our goals should be.
Then, we discussed our proposed system, cell-penetrating peptides as a cargo carrier that might be a better alternative to the existing transfection reagents. We spoke about the versatility of CPP and its potential to do more and at the same time do less harm, its inherent ability to maintain membrane polarity and its ability to carry the cargo under low toxicity effects even at higher concentrations. This session was really helpful in understanding the community that we hoped to help
As we started working on our project, we wanted to understand how we could pique the interest of young minds. We wanted to take Science beyond the textbook and get students involved in the work that could answer some of the problems in the world today. For this, we needed the help of someone in the student community to help us understand what we needed to do.
We thought who better than a group of amateur science enthusiasts and entrepreneurs who started a company called the Cambrionics Life Sciences. Their motto, “ Biology for all. ” Their aim is to take Science outside the classroom and get students engaged in out of the box activities.
We wanted to come up with new and innovative ways to get students involved in Science and decided we needed different tactics to get through to specific age groups. We had two target groups, high school students and secondary school students. After we knew what we wanted to get across, we were able to come up with several ideas to achieve our aim.
For students in high school, we came up with a module that allowed them to push the boundaries of the classroom and understand how exciting Biology can be. The CLS team, with their experience, was able to guide us through designing this workshop in a way that the students find it understandable and fun. They were able to train us how to teach students and to always be prepared for the simplest questions. Having already worked with several schools, they were able to put us in touch with these schools for us to conduct our workshop.
We wondered if we could use the same method to reach younger children and something that will go with these students after. From their ideas, we were able to understand that students need something to take with besides just the experience. We found that a thrilling way to get students involved was to make a game that teaches them Science and something that is fun at the same time. With their guidance and help, the team was able to produce a game board called, “ MICRO WAR. “ This was an exciting venture for the team to come up with something new and educational.
Having initially approached CLS for sponsorship, this collaborative venture turned to a complete new experience for us and we got to know the best way to get students, young and old interested in Science. We were also able to help them understand how the iGEM community works and we too strive to get everyone involved.
Despite Genetic Engineering and Synthetic Biology gaining traction and the answers it could possibly have for issues we face in our everyday life, it was still faced with scepticism. Our goal was to reach out to different people and answer the questions they may have in this aspect. We found a community radio station doing just that and we were able to shed some light on these areas. We wanted to break these inhibitions and throw the spotlight on SynBio and Genetic Engineering.
The radio station belongs to Kalpakkam Nuclear Power Plant and caters to their community and the villages surrounding them. They interact with the local community regularly and highlight their achievements. These individuals come from all walks of life and profession, from farmers to students. We were able to communicate with them in our regional language.
We started with what makes Synthetic Biology and Genetic Engineering possible, DNA, genes and chromosomes. We kicked off our discussion with genetically inherited diseases as this is fundamental in helping society understand these diseases are a part of daily life. We emphasized that better understanding of these diseases could aid in better treatment.
We then shifted our discussion towards genetically engineered crops. Farmers being one of the station’s main audience, we wanted to help farmers make informed decisions. Highlighting the significance of Genetic Engineering by talking about some important GMO was done. We traced back to the origin of GE by explaining how insulin was extracted to treat Diabetes Mellitus and how it paved the way for the production of human insulin from E.coli. We then shifted our discussion towards genetically engineered crops. Farmers being one of the station’s main audience, we wanted to help farmers make informed decisions. Highlighting the significance of Genetic Engineering by talking about some important GMO was done. We traced back to the origin of GE by explaining how insulin was extracted to treat Diabetes Mellitus and how it paved the way for the production of human insulin from E.coli.
We also wanted to clear any doubts that were there regarding stem cells, their donation and provided emphasis for their importance in modern medicine. We found that talking about parthenogenesis could make it easier to understand how genetics works. We explained the role of genetics in surrogacy and its genetic makeup.
The prominence of blood and organ donation was a major discussion point, mechanisms underlying it and the genetics involved. We gave a brief description of the acceptor’s defence mechanism (antibodies, desensitization, etc.), graft rejection and compatibility between donor and acceptor. We differentiated between what organs can be donated while alive and what can be taken from a deceased donor.
Our segment was recorded and it was broadcasted on August 15th, the Indian Independence Day. You will find the audio file.
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