Team:TU Delft-Leiden/Project/Brainstorm

Brainstorming sessions

Our project is a result of a long brainstorming process, whereby the ideas became more and more specific. The brainstorming meetings took place from the very beginning of the project -early February until early May. It was very important for our team to work on an challenging topic, both from an educational perspective, but also to be a hot issue nowadays. In this way, there is more enthusiasm and energy in the team to work productive for the iGEM project.

Initially we had more than 250 initial ideas. After doing a desk research and having various constructive discussions, we narrowed down our list and had a mid-term presentation where we invited all our advisers and other academic instructors, to ask for their feedback.

Our top eight ideas where:

1. Electron transporting bacteria

2. Cheaper drug testing in sports

3. Recording images in a cell

4. Microbial Fibres

5. Desalination of water

6. Bacteria that can remove chewing from the streets/ degrading rubber

7. Post-translational modifications

8. Graphene producing bacteria

Trough extensive desk-research in the following month we narrowed down our list to three main ideas: Electron transporting bacteria (The Winner and currently named "Using ELECTRACE to detect landmines"), Cheaper drug testing in sports and Rubber degrading bacteria. These three ideas were presented to a mass of scientists from TU Delft in order to ask for their feedback.

List of our other ideas

In the list of our ideas, there are no limits in creativity and our ideas can inspire future iGEM teams. We would be happy to figure our that one of our ideas was picked by future iGEM teams

• Tooth plaque removal
• Bacteria that produce vitamins in intestine
• Shrinks into grid
• Sugar/fat digesting bacteria
• Bacteria that can compare genomes and/or bacteria that kill viruses if needed
• Window transparent bacteria/lens
• Moisture mold eating bacteria
• Sulphide removal from coal plant emission; multiple organisms; smog removal
• Bacteria that produce hair
• Air pollution treatment/smog reduction/detection
• Paper making bacteria
• Bacteria that can degrade lignocellulosic material completely
• Bacteria that permanently remove hair
• Microbes that produce rubber
• Bacterial mirror (mirror structure mimicry)
• Bacteria that produces mechanical energy
• Bacteria that produce different genomes depending on input
• Water repellent film production
• A bin that breaks down/recycles kitchen waste
• Bacterial pollen detector that you can hang outside like a thermometer
• Artificial heart from bacteria (pacemaker) + device that measures nutrients in blood (suggests what to eat)
• Microbes that changes a crystal structure (plastic, glass)
• Using the logic gates inside the bacteria -preventing heart
• Water filtration using plant chemical
• Wools that dries faster and doesn’t shrink in the washing machine
• Bandaid produced by bacteria that is better than normal bandaid
• Using smog as nutrients for agriculture
• Get rid of sensitive information (digital information) coupled to recycling bin
• Desalination of ecosystem
• Take up salt and use it for food production
• Using fatty acids of other organisms to produce energy
• Design other kinds of sugars
• Alternative sweetener
• Smart bacterial glue as adhesive to stick components to an another
• Food produced by bacteria with nutrients for children with a deficiency
• Use bacteria to change coal before it is burned to make it burn more efficiently/cleaner
• Study the effects of sulphur on bacteria
• Activated carbon
• Use bacteria to degrade frying oil
• Microbes that flavour water
• Plastic soup clothing bactera