From the beginning, we decided that sharing the basics of diabetes with our local community was the number one priority. We want to make sure they know what diabetes is, what comes with it, and how to prevent it. Also, share with them the new advances in the understanding and treatment of diabetes. Finally, let them know how synthetic biology can play a major role in gaining an advantage in this fight. This is our commitment to our community.

Our Educational Model

We have developed a formal model to show kids a path for integrated nutrition. In order to do it, we followed the Secretaría de Educación Pública (SEP) educational model, which is organized in three curricular components, the program is made with the integral development of the children in mind, fostering not only the academic aspect but also socio-personal growth. Therefore, when designing our rally, we chose to stay as close to these principles and to include activities that foster integral development. The planned activities are the following:

Educational Model Validation

The model suggested by Gliksys was used every time we interacted with children. Integrated into it a fundamental part was the use of Glucky , our team's mascot, as a visual element to make the children remember what they have learned , get motivated and raise awareness to carry a healthy and active lifestyle to prevent chronic illnesses such as diabetes.

For the model’s validation the Design of Quantitative Investigation in Education under the Campbell & Stanley was used. It presents the next variables:

R: Establishes the experiment is random
G: Number of groups and/or subjects in the experiment
O: Measurement/ experiment
X: Treatment applied
_: Lack of treatment applied

Both groups were randomized so that the range of age changed in each group , varying from 5 to 10 years old. In the data there was no gender, disability , social or economical level discrimination taken into account. The minimum number of subjects to be analyzed were 30 children

For an easier data analysis the count was made through a group analysis , were the subjects are not evaluated as individuals but as a whole conglomerate. The experiment seeks to determine if important talks that raise the awareness of how good nutrition and healthy lifestyle from childhood can prevent illness both in short and long term.To validate this hypothesis it's necessary that the participates group that hasn't done the treatment before, the control group. We looked to report the results of the choice between the election of foods classified as healthy and unhealthy ,this is our form of measurement.

Two tests were realized with the next model:

G1, XO1 G2 _O2
RG1 XO1 RG2 _O2

Where model 1 represents the pilot trial in the Kokone center and model 1 the first experimental trial in Amado Nervo Primary School. Our original educational model consisted of three main stages. First came a speech on nutrition and healthy eating, followed by several activities designed to force the children to exercise in a fun manner, lastly the children were given the choice between having a healthy snack (fruit) or an unhealthy one (chips) and between two beverages, soda or water. For the trial run, the children were divided into two teams of fifteen children each, of these fifteen, five from each time were taken to be used as a control group, which meant not listening to the speech on nutrition and healthy eating.

The data obtained from the pilot test gave us valuable information concerning the effectiveness of our activities, namely it showed that they weren’t effective at all, the alternatives given to the children were way too extreme and didn’t allow for a good observation of the effect of the speech, furthermore we realized that a lack of visual elements was preventing the children from paying enough attention to the speech. The information allowed us to update and improve our educational model, from then and onwards we used lemonade instead of soda and popcorn instead of chips. An incentive was also given in the form of a plushie to guarantee the children’s attention during the speech.

For the improved version of our model we divided the children in four groups consisting of nine children each, of which four were separated to become the control group. A jeopardy-like game was played at the beginning and end of the activities, both with the same questions to verify what the children had learned during the speech and activities about health and nutrition, whenever someone answered correctly they were given a point, and whoever had the most points at the end was given a Gliksys plushie.

The modifications made after the trial run allowed the obtention of better, more meaningful data. The tempering of the options allowed for a less biased choice for the children and there was a clear drop in children choosing the healthy options in both the control and experimental groups, removing the main source of noise in our experiment and allowing us to more accurately describe the impact of the speech on the children’s choices.

All the times we participated with children we based the educational model with physical education on the one proposed by the Secretary of Public Education in Mexico. Where they have the following definitions:

Physical education. Comprehends two inter relational aspects of human development: (1) the body, refers to the strengthening of the capacity of perception through the realization of different motor activities and didactic strategies; for the learning of specific corporal techniques like, dancing, motor skills and educational focused sports. (2) The emotional development, which implies the strengthening of the capacity to perceive,assimilate ,comprehend and recognize emotions of the self and others, modifying the conduct according to the the new comprehension, that the need to eat may be provoked by a feeling and /or situation.

Primary Education. It's the second levels of basic education. It’s objective is to set the bases in fundamental areas needed for the later acquisition of knowledge, were the basic knowledge of the body, natural and social sciences, motor and emotional possibilities, arts and interpersonal relationships.

Inspiring the next generation

We realized that divulgation of scientific content through online videos is an exceptional idea if you want to make science an enjoyment for everyone.

That is why, we contacted a notorious YouTube channel called Curiosamente, and collaborated with them to make a video that could change common perception of synthetic biology. The video is named Is biotechnology dangerous? Through several examples, this video shows how biotechnology is benefiting our lives with new improvements discovered recently.

We are very excited because up to now this video has been seen by more than 140,000 people, generating a high good impact on its audience. With this collaboration, the project became well-known though social media, which served to impulse and broadcast Gliksys.

When we went to La Colmena, we also took the opportunity to talk to a group of kids about diabetes, genetic engineering and how both can work together to create a solution that helps society, to inspire them in science. We showed them the video we made in collaboration of Curiosamente, and the article we made along with the magazine Más Ciencia por México.

Link to Video

C7 daily news

We believe that diffusion is an essential part of any project, especially when talking about one that surrounds a public health problem. As part of our diffusion campaign, we contacted to a local television stations called C7 Jalisco, which, being an open television channel, allowed our project to be heard by our community.

Music video

Our music video was elaborated for two purposes: informing about the problem that exists in our country (diabetes) and the solution that we are working on in a funny way but with truthful information that impacts in a development population with a lot of informative lacks. Our community lives in the ignorance of a disease that can be lethal without proper care. Each person lives a different reality of the same disease. The main objective that was achieved was creating a positive impact in a fast and accessible way to people with internet connection, representing in Mexico the 68.5% of the national population in 2019 according to La Encuesta sobre Disponibilidad y Uso de Tecnologías de la Información y la Comunicación en los Hogares (test about disponibility and use of information and communication technologies in homes) realized by the INEGI (National Institute of Statistics, Geography and Informatics)

Wiki Animation

We thought that some people can not imagine how our project works, we had to think of an easier and innovative way to understand it, therefore we created an animated video! In this animation, we show how our protein and different molecules along with our vector work and interact to sense the levels of glucose in our body.

Glucose enters the cell through the outer membrane and binds to GBP (glucose binding protein) in the periplasmic space (PP). This new complex can be recognized by the fusion receptor Trz1, which is formed by two sections: TRG, located in the PP, a chemotaxis receptor responsible for the sensing of GBP (and other sugar-protein complex) and EnvZ, an osmoporin signal transduction, located in the inner membrane.

After the recognition of GBP by the TRG portion of Trz1, a conformational change occurs in EnvZ, causing the phosphorylation of OmpR, which acts as a transcriptional activator (after a series of phosphorylation reactions) on the osmoporin promoter POmpC, activating the expression of the reporter protein.