Team:UAAAN/Public Engagement

In response to the dissemination of the iGEM competition within the institution, a National Congress was held by the iGEM BIOCIENCES 2019 team, the congress was called “Green Biotech” at the Universidad Autonoma Agraria Antonio Narro (UAAAN) on June 14, 2019, where we have the participation of researchers and related companies in the field addressing issues of Agronomic Sciences, Plant Biotechnology, Synthetic Biology and iGEM competition.

Engineer Minerva Castellanos Scintia. She developed the theme "Bio entrepreneurship in education".

Dr. Rafael Urrea López Development of the theme “Transcriptional activation through CRISPR to accelerate the genetic improvement of parenchyma plants”

M.C Ricardo Camilo Chávez, Latin American ambassador of the iGEM competition. He developed the theme “Introduction to iGEM competition”

Dr. Susana Gonzales Morales Department of horticulture UAAAN "Regulation of tolerance to stress in plants through genetic expression"

Once the conferences were concluded, different workshops were held within the institution, such as:

1.-"Bioreactor Workshop". Taught by Dr. Armando Robledo Olivo

We have the participation of students from the Universidad Autonoma Agraria Antonio Narro and the Universidad Autonoma of Nuevo León of different specialties and semesters, as well as external people.

2.-"Craft beer". Taught by Dr. Ana Verónica Charles Rodríguez

3.-"Tissue culture". Taught by Dr. Hermila Trinidad García Osuna

4.-"From gene to protein, in silico analysis".iGEM UAAAN team member:Henri Manuel Jiménez Jiménez

The National Congress “Green Biotech” 2019 was a success, the participation of students from the same university and other nearby universities of different specialties was obtained, as well as professionals knowledgeable about the subject also getting involved in the field of iGEM competition.

LIVE SCIENCE WORKSHOP

Since 2003 in living science a space has been generated where science is lived. Where ideas, stories and points of view are shared. Young people with talent and thirst for knowledge are sought. We create a stimulating and competitive environment, where they can not only discover science, but discover themselves and make friends for life. By stimulating curiosity and passion for self-study, we provide tools that allow them to develop their ideas and concerns to solve the challenges they will face in the future. In intensive one-week workshops, they will learn about the value that science brings to society along with scientists of international stature. They will also have the opportunity to talk with graduate students who have decided to pursue science.

On September 30, 2019, high school students from different states of the republic traveled to the city of Saltillo Coahuila, thanks to a scholarship granted by the research center of the Advanced Studies Research Center of the National Polytechnic Institute (CINVESTAV) Guanajuato , this scholarship was awarded to different students interested in science, so the most curious minds in this area were chosen.

The iGEM-UAAAN team was given the task of contacting the organizers of such an event in order to give them a talk about synthetic biology, the iGEM competition and the project that we will present in said competition, in addition to offering them a small tour of the streets Saltillo and its main historical monuments.

We visited different important points of Saltillo, we gave the tour giving a small explanation about the infrastructure and the history of the places we visited. We also involve young people in the activities that are carried out in the Alameda of the city.

Taking advantage of the given route we take a break to talk about synthetic biology, its approaches, applications and its clear importance. We talk extensively about the iGEM competition, in which we focus on explaining about its great participation in many countries and its great importance to solve problems at the health, energy, food level among others.

We emphasized OUR PROJECT, we talked about the problem of energy shortages in the state of Coahuila and how our project will influence in a positive way to try to solve this situation since electricity is one of the basic services that must have the homes, we talk a little about the methodology, touching on issues of how BioHydro-Gene can be produced with the help of some organic material and then transformed into electrical energy.

The students were very excited to hear our topic and many of them came to ask about biotechnology, in addition to the iGEM competition. At the end of the tour, the young people told us about some problems that have existed and are increasingly increasing, such as the increase in garbage, food shortages, lack of drinking water, among others. So we made them reflect on such situations and also inspire them to focus on this great area of synthetic biology and with her help try to solve the problems of the modern world.

PLANTING THE SEED OF SCIENCE

During the January-June semester, our University went through a labor strike conflict, which somehow affected the monitoring of our project, so we opted to return to our places of origin or nearby regions, and thus seek some way forward With the project, the first thing we did was to give informative and dissemination talks, we also announced some details of the iGEM competition, we attended different educational establishments in the state of Chiapas, Oaxaca, Morelos, Guanajuato and San Luis Potosí.

Cobach Campus 50 “Independence” Chiapas Talk given by: Francisco Javier Morales Zamorano.

CBTa 155 "Captain Felipe Benicio Montero" Tlalamayocan, Tetela del Volcán, Morelos. Talk given by: Efraín Rivera Jiménez and Adrián Emmanuel Arenas Arenas.

CBTis 148, San Felipe, Guanajuato. Talk given by: Giovanni Jasiel Torres Solís

San Luis Potosí, Cowork Talk given by: Jesus Ricardo Charles Flores.

Federal High School # 181 “Ricardo Flores Magón” Oaxaca Workshop taught by: Mely Trinidad Olivera Sad

Each of the talks focused on the competence of iGEM, the project to be presented and how to involve young people in the scientific area. As a first point we touch on issues related to the iGEM competition, a bit of history, we explain key points of the jamboree and how this great competition can greatly help those who have participated. Broadly speaking, we talk about what synthetic biology is and how it works and how industries have changed greatly (textiles, food, pharmaceuticals, etc.).

About the project, the 3 most important points we touched on were the following:

•Problematic

As problematic we talk about the main energy deficiencies that exist, electric power is one of them, since many ejidos and marginalized communities do not have this service, they also talked about the demands they have regarding electric energy in the state of Coahuila and we compare the situation with the different entities we visited.

•A possible solution

The importance of the manipulation and modification of microorganisms to help combat a particular need through synthetic biology was discussed.

•And how it will be done

The experiences we have about disseminating this type of large-scale projects are scarce, but thanks to the talks we can learn to express ourselves in public to publicize important information. We aroused the interest of many students in science, this was assumed by the questions they asked about both the competition and the project and the possible solutions. It is a pride to be able to share in different parts of the republic the experience of belonging to a great team that will represent Mexico in an international competition of synthetic Biology.

UAAAN EXPO 2019

Our team was at the EXPO UAAAN 2019 which was held from August 28 to 30 at the facilities of the Universidad Autonoma Agraria Antonio Narro (UAAAN) Saltillo Campus. With the aim of publicizing our project and promoting iGEM competition to the community in general and encouraging students, teachers, graduates, agro-industrial entrepreneurs and governments to support and believe in young people who propose new initiatives.

We encourage an open and cooperative community to learn about the advances of synthetic biology and inspire more to participate and work on the challenges that arise in the most vulnerable communities.

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