IGEM:MIT/2005/Intro of project

*Our team wanted to build systems that could be applied to solve real-world problems.

*Realized that the systems we wanted to design had vast learning curves and minimal scope.

altering protiens can be intimidating, especially with deadlines.

*Decided that some functional infrastructure could be designed to make more complex system design possible / easier.

in any system - biological or not - what functionaility is crucial to (complex) systems?

an interface with the surroundings; a system with that reacts to (the correct) outside signals is a more adaptable, more capable system.

but surroundings change?

Vision is to have a single mechanism that can be altered to allow a system to react to any particular situation.

It is not easy enough to build complex biological systems. The tools are not in place. With the correct tools in place, building systems in this field becomes less of "what can I build that I have any control over?" and "gosh, I hate assemblies" and "____," to "here's a bunch of functions that I know work; what system do I need to build today?"

We want to make an "off the shelf" functional group. So we tried to solve a single challenge posed in the building of a complex biolgocial system: A mechanism a system could use for simple reaction to a molecule's presence in the surroundings; designed to be adaptable to a (hopefuly infinite) library of possible molecules.

carry on...