BIOL1220/S10:Brainstorming

Brainstorm Area

Interesting Links

• Transforming Plans, also Ti (Tumor inducing plasmids)
• Square bacteria
• siRNA + nanotechnology = cancer cure?

Interesting Papers

• Interesting Papers go here.

Top Ideas

• Place and expand upon the most promising ideas here.

All Brainstorm Ideas

PhytoEstrogen Scarfing E coli

• Engineer gut E. coli to produce proteins which bind preferentially to estrogen, causing it to not be digested.
• Solution to the increase in excess estrogen from vegetarian/vegan diets, soy, and water bottles

Peanut Allergen Detection Protein

• Synthetically design a protein that can recognize and report detection of a peanut (or other common food allergy) allergen.
• This has apparently already been done, and is marketed to large scale food producers (cite missing; Julius?)

Genetically modified lettuce

• Transposons
• Done in Japan, multiple places
• Add whey protein, p1025 to fight cavities, etc
• (Carrots, tomatoes, potatoes, petunias, cabbage?)

Bacterial Shampoo / Soap

• Flourescent / Colorful

Induce an entire colony to retract together

• How?

Square Bacteria

• These bacteria grow in squares!
• http://microbewiki.kenyon.edu/index.php/Haloquadra
• Lampropedia hyalina

Cholesterol / Saturated Fats Scarfing or Digestion

• Modify E-Coli so that it produces either

1. Enzymes that digest Cholesterol or Saturated Fats to something healthier, or
2. Proteins that bind to Cholesterol or Saturated Fats so that they can't be absorbed

Induced cancer-based guided evolution

• I was not there for the discussion of this, so someone else should fill this in.
• However, I did find something called Ti, or a tumor inducing plasmid. The article can be found here.
• Plasmid that can induce cancer, causing mutations
• Select for those that most strongly express desired mechanism
• Alternative to PCR-induced guided mutation