Introduction:
During this project, we researched a real world problem. We decided to fix ocean pollution, and genetically engineered algae to have plastic digesting traits. To do this we used a gene gun, learned how to introduce invasive species, and studied the plastic eating bacteria. During our research we learned about the bacteria and plastic eating organisms and ways to introduce this into our algae.
Concepts:
Ocean Pollution: harmful effects resulting from the entry into the ocean of chemicals, particles, industrial, agricultural and residential waste, noise, or the spread of invasive organisms.
Pollutants: a substance that contaminates something, especially water or the atmosphere.
Garbage island: a landmass in the pacific ocean, twice the size of texas, composed completely out of plastic and trash.
PE: Polyethylene: a tough, light, flexible synthetic material typically used for plastic bags, food containers, and other packaging.
PET: Polyethylene terephthalate: a synthetic material with a polyester backbone.
FTIR: a technique used to measure the absorbency or emission of a solid in reciprocal centimenters.
Gene Gun: used to transfect cells with foreign DNA by bombarding the target cells with DNA-coated microparticles.
Homogenate: extracted tissue of an organism
bacillus sp. YP1 and enterobacter asburiae YT1: The two strains that side in plastic breakdown and digestion found in the gut or saliva of plastic eating microorganisms.
Invasive Species: non-native species that do not naturally occur in an environment
Reflection:
This project was very educational, but we did have a few strengths and weaknesses. One strength that we had was our group. We were all close friends, so we worked very well together. We could think of ideas, brainstorm, and openly share them. Because of this, another strength was work ethic. We are able to finish our entire project in a timely matter, and then create additional things like a poster. we always went above and beyond to make a presentation the best we could, and easier to understand for the audience. However, we were not perfect. We did have some pits. One pit was that we had trouble focusing in class, but we would make up all the work that we didn't finish outside of school. there were multiple occasions where we met up at group members house to finish the work that we needed to, and more. Another problem that we ran into was the availability of resources about this issue. Since the plastic eating organisms are relatively new technology, we struggled to find sufficient information on it. The articles we found cost money, or were not available for students. However we worked around this and were able to complete a well informed and organize project. This project was very interesting and helped me expand my knowledge on biotechnology.
During this project, we researched a real world problem. We decided to fix ocean pollution, and genetically engineered algae to have plastic digesting traits. To do this we used a gene gun, learned how to introduce invasive species, and studied the plastic eating bacteria. During our research we learned about the bacteria and plastic eating organisms and ways to introduce this into our algae.
Concepts:
Ocean Pollution: harmful effects resulting from the entry into the ocean of chemicals, particles, industrial, agricultural and residential waste, noise, or the spread of invasive organisms.
Pollutants: a substance that contaminates something, especially water or the atmosphere.
Garbage island: a landmass in the pacific ocean, twice the size of texas, composed completely out of plastic and trash.
PE: Polyethylene: a tough, light, flexible synthetic material typically used for plastic bags, food containers, and other packaging.
PET: Polyethylene terephthalate: a synthetic material with a polyester backbone.
FTIR: a technique used to measure the absorbency or emission of a solid in reciprocal centimenters.
Gene Gun: used to transfect cells with foreign DNA by bombarding the target cells with DNA-coated microparticles.
Homogenate: extracted tissue of an organism
bacillus sp. YP1 and enterobacter asburiae YT1: The two strains that side in plastic breakdown and digestion found in the gut or saliva of plastic eating microorganisms.
Invasive Species: non-native species that do not naturally occur in an environment
Reflection:
This project was very educational, but we did have a few strengths and weaknesses. One strength that we had was our group. We were all close friends, so we worked very well together. We could think of ideas, brainstorm, and openly share them. Because of this, another strength was work ethic. We are able to finish our entire project in a timely matter, and then create additional things like a poster. we always went above and beyond to make a presentation the best we could, and easier to understand for the audience. However, we were not perfect. We did have some pits. One pit was that we had trouble focusing in class, but we would make up all the work that we didn't finish outside of school. there were multiple occasions where we met up at group members house to finish the work that we needed to, and more. Another problem that we ran into was the availability of resources about this issue. Since the plastic eating organisms are relatively new technology, we struggled to find sufficient information on it. The articles we found cost money, or were not available for students. However we worked around this and were able to complete a well informed and organize project. This project was very interesting and helped me expand my knowledge on biotechnology.
Our Project: