IGEM:Harvard/2008/Brainstorming

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We have a lot of good ideas to start working off of! Please add any ideas you have in this space, and make sure to check out the papers here

Theme

We're interested in creating an interface between living systems and electronic systems using bacteria that naturally produce electricity. This idea can go in many different directions depending on what kind of sensors we use, how we process the inputs, and how we present the output.

Bioelectricity and Nanowires

• Species
  • Shewanella
    • grows easily, is well characterized, and is similar to E. coli
  • Geobacter
  • Synechococcus
    • Photosynthetic
  • Pseudomonas
• How do we harvest/detect the electricity?
  • building an anode in a plate format

Synthetic Circuits

• Cyborg
  • Bacteria that follow a maze made by other bacteria
  • Bacteria that play games
    • Tic-tac-toe (Neat paper about DNA tic tac toe)
  • "Light-bright"
    • Pattern formation
    • Bacterial "TV"
  • Programming using biology
• Water Quality tester
  • Chemicals
  • Drugs
    • Steroids
  • Acids
  • Quantitation?
  • How would this system compare to what exists already?
• Other inputs
  • Responding to electricity
  • Magnetism
  • Pressure
  • Sound
• Other outputs
  • Sound
  • Color

Other Ideas To Think about

• Bacteria that make a solid substance so you can "build" with bacteria---BioBricks!
• Bacterial "game of life"
• Bacteria that can live on Venus
• Plastic-eating bacteria
• "Autotrophic" E. coli that can survive on one-carbon sources like methane
• Bacteria that produce therapeutic antibodies
• Bacteria that express viral receptors to lure viruses away from human cells
• Bacterial drug delivery systems
• Bacteria that digest lactose for lactose intolerant people
• Logic gates
  • Either/or
• "Homesick bacteria" Spatial memory