Meetings

We organized mettings every wednesday to check the progress of our project. Here are the records of our meetings:

June 17th

In this meeting we define work groups as follows:

Also, we made a brainstorming for the fundraising and we got ideas like doing a Bingo, a party, a bake sale, etc.

June 25th

We talked about what we want for our construct. Also we made this scheme: It is beautiful, isn't it?

July 8th

Laboratory: Our goal for the next week is to transform the parts from the register.

Mathematical Models: We set the model's equations and the next week we are going to put it in Matlab.

Human Practices: We were thinking about ideas for this year. For example, we proposed to transform bacteria with common materials. Another idea, was to discuss ethical situations born from synthetic biology based on technology.

July 17th

We brought detective's stuff and took a photo of each member of the team. That was really fun!

July 22th

Laboratory: We are stuck in pTet- TetR-RBS part. When we made the gel and we got very big bands and we don’t know what could it means. Also we made digestions with different enzymes for the iGEM parts but they didn’t work , so we couldn’t know were the enzymes were cutting . There’s nothing new about Interlab.

Social Networks- Collaborations:

• Paris Team is planning to encourage the formation of new iGEM teams. So, they were thinking that we should do a part of the video and also help them with their Newsletters.
• With the TEC-Monterrey Team we were talking about doing collaborations in Mathematical Models and Interlab, by doing some fluorescence measurements cell by cell with our microscope.
• We are planning to organize a Low Budget Laboratory competition with the other iGEM teams. Wiki: this week each of our members wrote his/her profile for the Wiki.

July 29th

In the laboratory we transformed and digested pTet-RBS-TetR-RFP part and the results were very good. But when we cut with our enzymes the molecular weight what we obtained doesn’t match with the weight we were expecting. We hope to solve that problem for the next week.

There’s nothing new in Mathematical Models, Human Practices and Wiki.

We also prepared everything for the iGEM Bake Sale and chose our team's logo. This were the options:

Can you recognize it? … Yes! it is, in fact, the third one from left to right.

August 5th

We did the iGEM Bake Sale for fundraising! (See Outreach).

August 13th

Laboratory: Leaders of this group made an exercise for the new ones. The objective of this exercise was to internalize every process that the new guys were doing in the lab. On the other hand, we made some measurements in the fluorescence microscope but we didn’t obtain the expected data, so we are going to repeat it. Respecting the parts, we got Pqrr with PCR and we will link everything when the primers arrive.

Mathematical Models. We divided our work in three main objectives:

1. to model the parameters that we didn’t find in literature.
2. to do the stochastic model.
3. to find a scale for the binding promoter units that are in iGEM page.

On the other hand, we discussed the team's finances.

August 20th

Laboratory: We obtained RBS with TetR part and yesterday we made a ligation to add the terminator, now we are expecting the growth of red colonies.

In Human Practices, the interview with Maria Consuela Vanegas, a professor from our university, was confirmed. Also we have received lots of answers for a survey we made about Synthetic Biology in our country. On the other hand, we received an e-mail form Dallas' Team in aim to fuse our projects.

August 27th

Laboratory: Primers finally arrived ! Next step: Pqrr amplification with the enzymes and other parts. We hope to finish the construct soon.

On the other hand, the Mathematical Moldels's group have already done the parameters and now the goal is to do the Sensitivity Analysis.

Moreover, we are going to participate in a science fair in Maloka in early October. Finally, all the team decided to collaborate with Paris Bettencourt team doing the experiment they proposed to us.

September 10th

Laboratory: We transformed some parts and it seems that the procedure has worked, but when we confirmed with digestions and we obtained really strange bands so we are going to try chimio-competent cells.

Mathematical Models: We did Sensitivity analysis focusing in the parameter than can be changed in the lab. We obtained very interesting results.

On the other hand, we were talking about ideas for the video we are going to put in the Wiki.

September 24th

Laboratory: The Pqrr-mRFP part, which is made with a linearized plasmid, we obtain white colonies. We have primers that works with mRFP and we tried Colony PCR but any colony grew, so there is no insert. It is strange because the pellet is blue and when we do the Mini Prep also is blue, as it should be, but digestions didn’t work. Wiki. We are going to put all we have in these two weeks.

October 1st

Laboratory: Report of the parts we have. We still have problems with Pqrr part, the only part we need to complete our construct. Interlab: We sent the parts we have and also discuss the fluorometer’s results.

Human Practices: We were planning all the activities for the Maloka event. Also, we have received only a few results from other iGEMers that are participating in the Low Budget Competition. Therefore, we decided to extend the deadline for the results.

Mathematical Models: We want to do a code in Matlab that works for all the iGem teams’ parameters. The goal is only change a few things in the code for the parameter you want to resolve :) !