Safety office hours & more!

Join Kelly Drinkwater at Virtual Open Office Hours to ask questions and discuss safety in iGEM!

Remember to get Skype, and then add kelly_igem as a Skype contact.

• Thursday, May 22, 12:00 noon EDT
• Thursday, May 22, 21:00 EDT

Check out the Safety Hub for resources on lab safety and information on this year's safety requirements.

Meet ups!

Is your team organizing a Team Meet up? Want to meet fellow iGEMers?

Meet up events are happening around the world. Teams share ideas, help each other and spend time with their fellow iGEMers!

iGEM HQ wants to help! Please contact us by May 31st and tell us about your meet up . There is the opportunity to have a representative from Headquarters come to your event.

Visit the Meet ups page for more information.

iGEM 2014 DNA Distributions have shipped!

The 2014 DNA Distributions have shipped to our registered teams! Teams will be receiving their kits shortly, so be sure to read through the 2014 Distribution Handbook, where you'll find information on what to expect and how to use the kit. We hope you enjoy the colorful 2014 pins too!

Apply to work with SYNENERGENE partners!

Are you looking for an exciting Policy & Practices challenge? Do you want to explore your project with think tanks, experts, policymakers, science museums, and public engagement specialists? Learn about SYNENERGENE, read the open calls/invitations, and apply now! First proposals are due May 30, 2014.

Team approvals and sections

Registered for iGEM 2014 and wondering when your team will be approved? Team applications will be approved soon, and we thank you for your patience as we process the applications of 200+ teams!

The default section for pending teams is the Overgraduate section, until a team has been approved by iGEM HQ. After approval, teams will be assigned to either the Overgraduate or Undergraduate section based on the ages of students listed on the roster. See the Sections page for more information.

Note: If students do not provide age information, the team will be assigned to the Overgraduate section.

Previous iGEM teams map by SynBio Consulting

We're already in our 10th year of iGEM in 2014! There have been over a thousand teams so far in the duration of the competition. So where are they and what did they work on? Check out SynBio Consulting's map on our previous competitions page to see a geographic distribution of teams and projects.

This map has info up to 2013. We're waiting for all the teams to register for the 2014 competition and will put one up a new map when it's ready!

Be sure to check your email, we just sent out our March Newsletter.
Find out more about our new tracks and interesting FAQs!

New Track: Measurement

The foundation of all engineering disciplines is built on the ability to repeatedly measure precise properties of your system. Creation of new units of measurement can lead to great advancements in human progress. One such example is creation of the Ohm measure of electrical resistance leading to construction of the first successful transatlantic communications cable.

What can you measure precisely and with high repeatability in synthetic biology? What new units can you create that the field will use to make the next leap in human progress? What unit will you be known for that will still be in use in a 100 years?

If you’re interested in these problems, check out the Measurement New Track. We have an inter-lab study that all teams can participate in! The parts are in the 2014 Distribution! If you’re passionate about building new tools and want to get involved, check out our Measurement New Track page!

New Track: Policy & Practices

Are you interested in how synbio and iGEM will be regulated? What are the rules in your country regarding the release of engineered organisms into the wild? Do you know if you can test your awesome iGEM project in the field legally?

We’re faced with many challenging issues in getting synthetic biology acknowledged, understood and not feared by regulators. We need iGEM teams who are going to tackle the hard questions and approach and inform their legislators, law makers and policy makers about synbio.

If you’re passionate about these issues and want to get involved, check out our Policy and Practices New Track page! Human Practices has always been a core component of iGEM teams, but now you can choose P&P as your main project!

New Track: Microfluidics

Already registered for iGEM? Not sure what to work on yet? Looking for something cool to do over the summer? Interested in Microfluidics?

Check out our New 2014 Microfluidics track! We’re having a workshop at iGEM HQ where you get to build your own 8 channel controller and some chips. You’ll get to go home with the kit and any extra chips you can make. We’ll teach you everything you need to build, test and run the kit.

There will be a fee to attend the workshop, but you’ll go home with your own 8 channel controller!Check out the New Track page here:Microfluidics

Fees

There are two types of iGEM fees: the team registration fee and Jamboree attendance fee. Read more about fees in iGEM at 2014.igem.org/Fees.

New Tracks

iGEM has a diverse range of project tracks, from health and medicine to food and energy with many projects in-between. This year, we’re introducing seven New Tracks to bring even more diversity into the competition. Part of the reason for these new tracks is to highlight the different participation requirements and evaluation. We want teams to pick their New Track earlier, so we can help you over the course of the summer.

Check out the New Tracks page for more information.