Team:SMMU-China/Public Engagement
Organizing lecture and laboratory practice for high school students
On April 4th, we organized a lecture introducing synthetic biology specially for high- school level students. For those who had attended our lecture, we provided a-whole-day lab practice. During the lecture, we introduced the history of synthetic biology and the infl uence and core idea of iGEM, explained how DNA is functioning within our bodies, how we created a component part utilizing synthetic biology and the underlying mechanism of editing cells. The following lab practice was coupled with this lecture, experiments composed of cultivating cells, exposing yeasts to UV rays and observing their color with microscope were a great help for attenders to understand basic biological techniques. After the experiments, we analyzed the outcomes and mistakes made during the operation, which was aiming at establishing the concept of laboratory safety and a habit of reflection for these beginners.