IGEM:MIT/2006/Introduction

This page contains links to introductory information for the MIT iGEM team.

Lab safety

All people working in a biological research lab must undergo safety training.

To complete your online safety training, visit the Endy lab safety training guide. (Even if you have worked in a lab before, you should visit this page and verify that your training is up to date.) This should be done before your first day in lab.

Heather will be giving the lab-specific training - Day 1, Week 1

Wiki

How-to on wiki's

• Getting started with wiki editing - Day 1, Week 1
• Populate the official iGEM wiki

Abstraction hierarchy

• PoPS and composability

Registry

• Obtain accounts - Day 1, Week 1
• Making a part (both basic and subpart) - Day 1, Week 1
• BLAST
• Sequence alignments

BioBricks assembly

• BioBricks - Day 1, Week 1
• Standard assembly - Day 2, Week 1
• 3A assembly
• In frame assembly
• Direct synthesis

Part and device characterization

• Plate reader characterization (i.e. Receiver)
• Flow cytometry (i.e. Screening plasmid)
• Microscopy
• RT-PCR and Westerns

Searching and reading the literature

• Searching the literature - Day 3, Week 1

Links

General introduction to ideas in Synthetic Biology

1. Adventures in synthetic biology comic --> Learn about PoPS
2. Foundations for engineering biology --> rant by Drew Endy
3. MIT iGEM 2004 presentation (.ppt,pdf)
4. UT Austin and UCSF 2004 project (coliroids)
5. Find descriptions of 2005 projects

Week 1

Goals -

• Do one assembly stage
• Make a biobrick
• Necessary software - VectorNTI, Registry, Wiki
• Literature searching

Day 1

Dry Lab

• Safety training
• Lab tour
• Registry accounts

Wet Lab

• Pick a gene and design primers
  • Introduces parts
• Start overnights
  • Introduces sterile technique, culturing,

Day 2

Dry Lab

• BioBricks Construction

Wet Lab

• Prep & Digest