IGEM:Stanford/2010/Notebook/4 May 2010

Premise
Hi everyone:

Based on last week's meeting, team members are going to be pairing up with grad mentors to flesh out the details of the project. As I mentioned last week, I think it's a good idea if everyone feels like they're contributing to all the ideas that are generated. At the same, I know that a lot of people feel like they need to work through the projects that they've been presenting these last two weeks. As a compromise, everyone will be allowed to choose two project ideas (one is your original idea and the second is another team member's idea). Over the next week, you will be helping brainstorm around both ideas with a graduate student mentor(s).

At these meetings, please try and flesh out as many problem areas as possible. Remember that your goal is to expose as many constraints as possible so the team chooses a project wisely (i.e. knowing the problems and constraints they are likely to face). Hence, it is important that your are critical, in a good way, of both project ideas - your own and the other team member's.

A logistical issue: There are five team members so pairing won't be even. If any team member wishes to work with two project ideas outside of their own, let me know. Otherwise, grad students, please ensure that there are two of you working (mentoring) on that project. I will also try and be a team-member substitute if necessary.

The sign-up sheet link:

https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AnnziKtulIwTdFk2OEtyR0tQMEM3VWZSdVpLZGx2V0E&hl=en

Please sign up soon and coordinate a meeting(s) with your grad student(s) and other team member. Try and keep the meetings to 30min or 1hr (max).

Thanks, Anusuya

Presentations
Francisco_Presentation

Please link here with the following title format (yourname_Presentation1)

Meeting Notes
The following notes were taken at our smaller group grad/undergrad meeting. Ryan, Isis, Karina, Greg, and Francisco discussed the Preterm Labor Project.

The project can collectively be seen as an information processing project (integrating multiple signal inputs for one output, instantaneous input sensing vs. inputs over time)

Two-Component systems are our friends; they are easy to work with and understand. Even larger, more complicated systems (such as chemotaxis) are composed of a bunch of two-component systems. A next step would be to determine which two-component systems involve steroid receptors and attempt to decouple systems to be able to work with developing a multi-signal input system.

Must push for receptors that are readily available! If there are none, would have to work on creating new receptors. Could be another component of the project within itself, and could also be a a means to measure "success" of a project.

Smell generators developed by MIT need precursors. Need to either fix/change this so that we wouldn't have to worry about the precursor.

In summary, Framework of Project: 1) integrate multiple inputs 2) inputs over time (Francisco had a really good idea for this component of the project...) 3) build sensors for inputs we want 4) design  bacteria to survive in body 5) design a way to remove bacteria (if needed)

Next Steps 1) look at the engineering that's gone into Two-component systems 2) see if there are receptors that are available for us to use

Information processing of the project can be used for other applications.

Comments
Alkane Degradation
 * 1) Duke iGEM 2008 - wrote a nice research paper but didn't actually get any experimental work done (good place for us to start!)
 * 2) Stanford iGEM 2009 - designed hemolycin based secretion system, see Device 2. Cloning plans.

Ratiometric Sensing
 * 1) basu pmid=15858574

Preterm Labor
 * 1) liu pmid=18539799