IGEM:Stanford/2010/Notebook/Brainstorming
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Comments
For this week, please take your starred idea(s) and do as much research as possible over the next three days to determine
- whether it is feasible,
- if there are any parts in the parts library that could potentially be incorporated and
- a basic blackbox diagram of "sensors", "reporters", "generators", etc. at the device level. Where you cannot easily build a nice diagram, state it clearly so we are aware of the difficulties you are facing.
- Identify the basic project idea (i.e. trash eating bacteria, stress detecting cell, minicell production) and brainstorm a list of other applications for the basic project idea (i.e. a stress detecting cell can be used to monitor orthodontics and bone development).
- Make a set of slides for this. You'll be pitching your ideas to a panel of graduate students this week and in coming weeks so please do a good job on this initial pitch.
Media:Brainstorming-Direction-Poll.pdf
Projects
Vesicular Transport (*)
1. Previous Paris Team wanted to engineer superhighways across for communication: could pick up on this project?
2. Work on a project that deals with minicell production, targeting and packaging (possibly talk to Jerome Bonnet?)
3. Possibility of scaling up work done with single molecule transport (talk to Monica Ortiz in Endy's lab?)
- Christopher C Vanlang 04:07, 26 April 2010 (EDT):Some of our thoughts from last year
Long Distance Communication
1. Discussed the possibility of making vibrating cells
- Christopher C Vanlang 04:07, 26 April 2010 (EDT):Check out this paper
Brain-related projects: Increasing Neuron Efficiency, Myelin regeneration
1. Questions were raised concerning the feasibility of the application
- Perhaps these neurons would become more susceptible to noise?
- Could have adverse effects on other neuron functions
2. One possible application would be increasing the firing rate of muscles
Wound Treatment (*)
1. Try and establish a beneficial infection to avoid unwanted infections in the wound
2. Engineer classes of microbes that prevent the colonization of other microbes
3. Avoid detection by the immune system
Pre-term labor indicator (*)
1. Unique idea and applicable to wide range of fields involving mechanical stress detection (bone regeneration, cell growth, etc.)
2. Downsides: Hard to determine the level of oxytocin - relation to pre-term labor.
3. Liked signal integration scheme in slides
4. First, we may need to determine baseline levels of oxytocin or progesterone - too complex?
Trash-eating bacteria (*)
1. Nice idea with related research being done on campus already: Craig Criddle's lab in Y2E2
2. Expand the ideas so that the bacteria generate something that plants can use later.
- Christopher C Vanlang 04:07, 26 April 2010 (EDT):Look at our discussion from last year
Desalination (*)
1. Huge problem, any traction is good
2. Light-powered water purification system is the best scenario
3. Downsides: difficult to pump water across a membrane
4. Possibly use reverse methods to pump everything else (but water) out?
5. Literature reports of bacteria that have water purification properties?
Oil spill clean-up (*)
1. Sequestering oil and easy collection of material is key to a project of this type
2. Possibly form a dialysis-bag like object that collect oil?
Clotting
1. Negative feedback system that shuts down the bacterial clotter
2. Bacteria stay on surface so we don't have to worry about immunogenicity issues
3. Value of creating bacteria if there are already in vitro and cheap ways to make clotting factors
