This team manipulates genes to create LIFE from SCRATCH!? | BP2B: Student Edition! Ep.02

Speaker 0:00 When we have a colony on Mars, we want to make the medicines we need at Mars. Uh, so basically we try to produce paracetamol, uh, using some algae, uh, in the Martian environment.

Speaker 0:10 We are one of the few institutes in India that actually has an iGEM team.

Speaker 0:14 We were, uh, lucky enough to bag a, a title sponsor, uh, AstraZeneca.

Speaker 0:19 Wow.

Speaker 0:19 Uh, most of our lab work and our competition, uh, fees, uh, comes from our corporate sponsorship.

Speaker 0:25 Hi, guys. Welcome to Best Place to Build, Student Edition. I'm Vidhi, a fifth-year student in IIT Madras. Have you ever been curious about the term synthetic biology or genetic engineering? We're here today with Team iGEM of IIT Madras. Their team leads are

Speaker 0:40 here with us minutes before the orientation to explain us more about this. [upbeat music]

Speaker 1:08 I'm here with the team lead from iGEM, Aldes, and we're here minutes before the in- orientation to know more. So first of all, what is iGEM?

Speaker 1:17 So iGEM is a competition that happens every year in Paris, so it stands for International Genetically Engineered Machine. So it's basically a synthetic biology competition where, uh, undergraduate and postgraduate teams from across the world come and solve real-world problems every year.

Speaker 1:32 Okay, wow, that's a lot to take in at one time. So, uh, first, what is synthetic biology?

Speaker 1:37 All right. Uh, so yeah, synthetic biology is not that different from genetic engineering. So what we do is we apply genetic engineering principles, um, from an engineer's mindset. So we consider a bacteria as a system, and we want to make it produce something that we want, basically. So to, to, uh, do that, we introduce, uh, new genes and genetic circuits to make it do what we want it to do.

Speaker 1:59 Okay, could you give me some example of this being used in the real world?

Speaker 2:03 So be- one, I think very, um, widespread example would be insulin. So insulin is something that is normally produced in our own cells, and, uh, diabetes happens when you're not able to do it yourself. So what happens is, uh, scientists introduce the insulin, the gene that produces insulin, into E. coli, and then, uh, the cells then produce the insulin that we are able to then use, basically.

Speaker 2:24 Just by introducing that, now your body is able to make use of that E. coli bac-

Speaker 2:28 No, no, no.

Speaker 2:29 No?

Speaker 2:29 No, the bacteria is grown in a lab, uh, the insulin is extracted, and then it's post-processed, and then we get it as medicine.

Speaker 2:36 Oh, okay, so you're using a bacteria as like a manufacturing hub now-

Speaker 2:39 Yeah, yeah, yeah

Speaker 2:39 ... I understand. That's really cool. And have you guys done any such projects like this in the past?

Speaker 2:44 Uh, yeah, actually, uh, last year our project was based on space biomanufacturing. So what we did is, uh, like basically, uh, transporting material in space is expensive. So when we have a colony on Mars, we want to make the medicines we need at Mars. Uh, so basically we try to produce paracetamol, uh, using some algae, uh, in the Martian environment.

Speaker 3:03 Wow, that is really cool. So how do you guys even come up with... Was this part of the iGEM problem prompt, or was this something that you guys were trying to innovate yourself?

Speaker 3:13 Uh, no. So iGEM gives us complete freedom in terms of our problem statement, uh, design. Uh, so we take a new problem statement every year, so we do literature research, we reach out to, uh, different stakeholders in different, uh, uh, domains of life, and we, uh, basically find some problem that is worthwhile, and then we figure out a way to solve it using synthetic biology.

Speaker 3:34 Sounds really fascinating, and, uh, knowing your track record across the past years, I think you've won, like, three or four gold medals-

Speaker 3:42 Uh

Speaker 3:42 ... collectively?

Speaker 3:43 Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 3:43 I expect this year to, like, go the same or even better.

Speaker 3:47 Thank you. Thank you.

Speaker 3:48 So I guess we're running out of time for your orientation, only about five minutes left. So can I know a bit more about the orientation itself? What's it for?

Speaker 3:54 All right.

Speaker 3:54 What's happening today?

Speaker 3:55 So my co-lead Karthik is right here, and he's the best guy to ask about this.

Speaker 3:59 Sure, okay. Hi, Karthik.

Speaker 4:01 Hello, Vidhi.

Speaker 4:02 Hi, thank you for taking the time. I know we're running short.

Speaker 4:04 Yeah.

Speaker 4:05 So what is this orientation about, the main part?

Speaker 4:07 Um, so the main purpose of this orientation is just to introduce freshers and even second gr- uh, second-year, third-year undergrad students to the field of synthetic biology and un- help them understand what we do in iGEM, and as well as the projects that are going on, so that the interested folks can, you know, sort of, um, DM us and, like, get in touch with us and possibly join the team in the future.

Speaker 4:27 And what sort of people typically come for the orientation or that you're looking for? Do they need a strong background in biology to even understand the orientation or what you guys will be doing?

Speaker 4:36 No, so, uh, we're not looking for people who are, um, well, well-versed with biology and things like that. We're just looking for enthusiasm, and so these orientation sessions tend to happen when the freshies, you know, just join, um, join iGEM and, like, get in touch with us. So this is sort of like, um, just an introduction to what iGEM does, and I think Aldes previously mentioned of the synthetic biology and the kind of innovative, the work that we do, and so this is just a way to, like, uh, publicize our work to the newcomers.

Speaker 5:05 Yeah, I didn't have much of an idea of it either if I wouldn't have been in IIT Madras and heard of iGEM and seen the team.

Speaker 5:11 Right, right.

Speaker 5:11 Yeah.

Speaker 5:12 So, um, iGEM as a whole is not just for biotech students. It also has a very interdisciplinary component to it, and with the dry lab projects and with the software stuff, with the HPs and things like that, we expect students from all departments to somehow contribute to our greater cause. And it also comes to the fact that iGEM teams tend to have a vertical and, and, say, web, web development, because the wiki that we design is, um, is a key component into our deliverables, and so we're just looking for people who have previous web development experience. And similar to that, we're also looking for, like, media team members. So yeah, all the freshers who have come here, they all might not be from the biotech department or have, like, biology knowledge, but if they, uh... if they know a bit of WebOps or if they know a bit of media, they can always-... sort of contribute to our, uh, innovative ideas and solutions.

Speaker 6:02 Wow! So it sounds like you guys have a lot of depth into whatever topic you're going, as well as, like, a lot of breadth-

Speaker 6:07 Right, right

Speaker 6:07 ... into the kind of roles that are there.

Speaker 6:09 Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 6:09 And it's like a really nice and very niche opportunity. Like, I can't imagine-

Speaker 6:13 Sure

Speaker 6:13 ... any other place wherein you get to, like, learn about this-

Speaker 6:15 For sure, for sure

Speaker 6:15 ... or even have the facilities to build this.

Speaker 6:17 For sure.

Speaker 6:18 That's really, really cool.

Speaker 6:18 Thank our departments and, uh, the other departments, like the MSD, for offering their labs to, you know, uh, do such innovative work. Um, I think the department is also slowly realizing that the world is headed towards biotech, and, you know, they need to sort of help us, um, grow and, like, help the competition go and things like... Because we come up with innovative solutions. Maybe one day we can publish a paper that solves, that, that can be put into the novel, uh, that can come... That can be published in Nature, for example.

Speaker 6:47 Typically, I've seen orientations just be, like, a presentation from the team and people listening, and it gets a little bit less engaging sometimes or a bit hard to comprehend. But in your mail, I saw you'd asked students to bring their laptops.

Speaker 6:58 Oh, yeah.

Speaker 6:58 Possible, so what's happening there?

Speaker 7:00 Ah, yeah, that's interesting, because, uh, we expect people to learn immediately and quickly, and even use, um, AI tools to solve problems. So we would, like, put out some open-ended questions, and we hope that, you know, with, like, 10 seconds or 15 seconds in a rapid fire, can students sort of pick up on it and give answers? And we hope that through some questions, we can judge how the enthusiasm of the freshers, and then look for people who are interested in just the learning aspect.

Speaker 7:27 Wow, that sounds-

Speaker 7:27 The world is headed towards-

Speaker 7:28 Well-

Speaker 7:28 ... AI and, like, LLMs, and things like that, so, so it's best that we know how to use these tools to help solve the problems that we are tackling.

Speaker 7:38 Right. I mean, it's gonna be a lot more engaging than other orientations.

Speaker 7:41 For sure, for sure. [chuckles]

Speaker 7:42 And you guys also get to gauge. Yeah. I'll let you get back to your orientation. Good-

Speaker 7:46 Cool.

Speaker 7:46 Best of luck for you.

Speaker 7:47 Thank you. Thank you so much.

Speaker 7:48 We're here today at the Biotech Department in the lab space where iGEM works. We saw how they were recruiting people. Let's go see how they work. [upbeat music] And how was the orientation?

Speaker 8:04 Oh, the freshers orientations was amazing. We had over 58 people who actually showed up, and all of them were very enthusiastic about the work.

Speaker 8:12 That's great to hear. So you'll be rolling out app soon, or-

Speaker 8:15 Uh-

Speaker 8:15 ... does it happen later?

Speaker 8:16 Yeah, so that happens a little later. Um, that happens in a month or two. For now, it's just to get them sort of introduced to the field of synthetic biology and keep them thinking as to what we are [chuckles] doing. And, and once, you know, the next year's project is decided, and a lot of the groundwork is set, we can then roll out the applications.

Speaker 8:35 Great. And is this, like, the main lab where you guys work, or do you work out of other spaces as well?

Speaker 8:40 Yes, so this is one of the important labs. So we do most of the cell culture work here, but there are two other labs as well, um, who... Which are run by mainly the professors who are in charge of our, uh, current project, uh, Professor Meiaffen and Professor Arumugam.

Speaker 8:57 Great, so I have a lot of questions to you. I'm left very confused after the orientation. [chuckles]

Speaker 9:02 Yeah, I know. [chuckles] It's a bit overwhelming, yeah. Um-

Speaker 9:04 Let's get right to it.

Speaker 9:05 For sure, for sure. I'd be loved... I'll love to answer some of those questions. Yeah.

Speaker 9:09 So we're

Speaker 9:10 here where it actually happens-

Speaker 9:11 Yeah

Speaker 9:11 ... and where you guys are in action. So what project are you guys working on this year?

Speaker 9:16 Right, so 2025, um, our project revolves around what's known as gene regulations. Have you heard of our gene regulations by any chance?

Speaker 9:24 No. I had bio till 10th.

Speaker 9:26 Okay. [chuckles]

Speaker 9:27 [chuckles] Then I haven't seen it.

Speaker 9:28 Right. So essentially, you have DNA that converts to RNA, and gets converts to protein. Um, what researchers is looking for is trying to overexpress these particular protein targets, so that way we can produce desired compounds or desired enzymes and things like that. So one way of doing that is by gene regulation, so you overexpress those gene targets. And this year, this is a very interesting field, if you think about it. We have come up with a novel system using what's known as epigenetics. Have you heard about epigenetics before?

Speaker 9:56 I've heard of genetics.

Speaker 9:58 Genetics.

Speaker 9:59 EP is out of it, but yeah.

Speaker 10:00 Yeah, but very similar. So in genetics, you're sort of manipulating with the DNA strand, right? In epigenetics, what you're doing is, is adding methylation sites. So what... A methyl group is a standard CH3. You, you would have studied it in ninth and tenth, right? So you add these methyl groups, or nature adds it, at different sites on the genome, and that way it sort of controls gene expression.

Speaker 10:22 So instead of... Like, you're not manipulating the DNA itself, but rather the [tsk] outer part or-

Speaker 10:28 Exactly. So that's, that's a good question that you ask, because, um, normally, gene regulation is controlled by, say, modifying the gene sequence itself. So you introduce what's known as different promoters. That way, the entire mechanisms happens much quicker, and so you have more protein being produced. What we're doing this year is we're designing a novel system that involves what's known as a CRISPR-dCas system. So a dCas, uh, I mean, it got the Nobel Prize, actually. So it targets specific sequences in the genome, and what we are attaching to it is a DMT, which is a way for the cell to recognize, "Okay, these are the sites I want to mark for methylation." And so now you're able to methylate certain sequences, certain parts of the sequence, and so that way we are now, um, allowing the natural process, that's the transcription factors, to produce more protein. So this is, I would say, our novel system that we are, um, doing this year.

Speaker 11:24 Sounds really cool, but I'm not able to connect, how does adding methyl groups on a DNA backbone affect how protein-

Speaker 11:31 Right. So one way it does it, uh, is by, like, modifying the secondary structure of the DNA. Uh, what you can think of is methyl groups acts as potential markers for transcription factors to go and bind. So the transcription factors, when they bind to the DNA sequence, they sort of produce more copies of the RNA, and then you have more copies of copies of the protein. Now, it has multiple applications. So say now you are able to mass produce an enzyme that produces an essential compound, that's involved in a reaction that produces a metabolite of your interest. What that allows is you have engineered cells, which in itself is amazing. You have engineered cells that can now produce a compound that normally is found in very less abundance in now mass.... and so that, you could use that in various biomanufacturing plants and other, uh-

Speaker 12:22 So you can have other drugs or like components or chemicals-

Speaker 12:25 Yes-

Speaker 12:25 Therapeutic

Speaker 12:26 ... because this is a system, now you can sort of engineer bacteria and add more genes, produce compounds, and then start overexpressing those genes, and now producing more enzymes, producing more metabolites. So that's essentially what we are, uh, sort of doing here.

Speaker 12:41 Wow! And how far along are you in this process?

Speaker 12:45 Uh, so we are done making the system in the prokaryotes. Um, so we've engineered E. coli to, you know, produce this. Now we're just trying to see if we can show these results, and show if we've successfully, you know, modified the organism to produce what we intended to do. Yeah.

Speaker 13:02 And so far it seems like it's doing that.

Speaker 13:05 It seems like, it seems like a-

Speaker 13:05 That is incredible.

Speaker 13:07 Yeah.

Speaker 13:07 Wow.

Speaker 13:07 Yeah. Um, so we hope to present this during the actual competition, the iGEM competition. We hope to get, like, a nomination, you know, even win the best track prize for biomanufacturing and, like, therapeutics and things.

Speaker 13:17 So Kartik, I've been hearing all this fancy stuff that you guys do, like, uh, editing genes or putting DNA into bacteria. But how do you actually do this?

Speaker 13:27 I mean, that's the big question, isn't it? We're doing all of this crazy stuff, and then... So why don't I just call one of my experimental members over here, Skanda. So he's been working on the project for over a year. He'll give you guys a better overview of how exactly we do this particular transformations.

Speaker 13:42 Cool. Hi, Skanda.

Speaker 13:43 Hello. Yeah, I'm Skanda. I'm part of the, uh, wet lab team here at iGEM. And, um, I can show you, uh... I can give you an overview of a very important procedure that we, we do in every one of our projects, and, uh, which is very pivotal to the whole molecular biology aspect of work.

Speaker 14:02 So what process are you going to show me?

Speaker 14:04 So this process is called, uh, bacterial transformation, which is essentially introducing new, uh, circular DNA into a bacteria. So let's say you want to ex- you want to make the bacteria, um, uh, produce a protein, so you, you use this procedure to, uh, introduce the gene for that protein in the bacteria.

Speaker 14:24 Oh, so you just inject a gene to make the bacteria do what?

Speaker 14:27 Uh, not really. It is not as simple as it sounds. Uh, I can probably show you around and then-

Speaker 14:33 Yeah, yeah, sure.

Speaker 14:34 Yeah. Uh, so this is the... Before we start, this is the laminar airflow. This is basically an instrument which has air filters and UV lamps, which make it very sterile for microbial works. Anytime we deal with bacteria, we do it inside the laminar airflow. First step in our procedure would be making these bacterial cells competent to take up the DNA. So bacterial cells usually, they don't readily take up DNA from outside. We treat bacteria with, uh, salt solutions at very low temperatures to make them competent to take up the circular DNA, and, uh, all this is done inside the laminar airflow. And once the bacterial cells are competent, we mix the DNA material, that is the circular DNA, and the DNA, uh, comes in tubes like this. This is called a micro centrifuge tubes, and we basically mi- mix the bacterial culture and the DNA in this, and we incubate it

Speaker 15:26 in ice, and then, uh, uh, forty-two degrees for some time, and then back in ice. By this time, the bacterial cells would have, uh, taken up the, uh, circular DNA.

Speaker 15:38 Okay, so basically this is a sterile hood wherein you're doing whatever manipulation with the bacteria-

Speaker 15:42 Yeah

Speaker 15:43 ... and the DNA.

Speaker 15:43 Right.

Speaker 15:44 You make the bacteria healthy enough, or like-

Speaker 15:46 Yeah

Speaker 15:46 ... ready enough.

Speaker 15:47 Ready, yeah.

Speaker 15:47 Take up the DNA. You have the DNA ready, you mix it up.

Speaker 15:50 Yeah.

Speaker 15:50 After that, what?

Speaker 15:51 And now the bacteria, actually at this stage, are under a lot of stress, because this is not how they normally are, right? So we basically, after some time, we give, we give them food. So food for bacteria is basically, uh, the, the broth. So this is-

Speaker 16:06 Oh

Speaker 16:07 ... this is called a, uh, this is called a LB broth. This is basically, uh, a media in which bacteria thrive. So this has, this is food and very conducive for their growth. So we add some of this, uh, LB broth into this tube. So bacteria, bacteria, kind of, like, they recoup and they revive. And we incubate this, we incubate this bacteria in, uh, in something called an incubator. This incubator is an instrument which makes... Which gives the perfect environment for the bacteria to grow. So it, it looks like this. It has, uh, temperature and pressure probes, which-

Speaker 16:45 Okay

Speaker 16:45 ... uh, continuously monitor, uh, all the conditions required for bacteria.

Speaker 16:50 So there's some airflow conditions also which-

Speaker 16:52 Yeah, there are airflow conditions, which also, which are also maintained. Yeah, and, uh, after the bacteria have revived, that is-

Speaker 16:59 How long do you usually keep them in there?

Speaker 17:01 It is usually around an hour.

Speaker 17:02 Oh, okay.

Speaker 17:03 Yeah, and, uh, once the bacteria are revived, you can actually see them grow. You can see the density, the optical density change. And once they are grown, we plate them, we, we spread the, we spread this liquid culture on plates. So I'll just show you where the agar plates are kept. Yeah. So these are called agar plates. So these, this is basically a solid media for bacteria to grow on. Just like how the LB broth was a liquid media, this is a solid, uh, substrate on which, uh, bacteria grow. And, uh, so we spread this liquid culture on these plates, and we again incubate them in the incubator overnight, and, uh, uh, after around twenty, twenty-four hours, they grow into something like this. So these are actually-

Speaker 17:57 Oh

Speaker 17:57 ... bacterial streaks, so-

Speaker 17:58 So what are those red, those red streaky kind of things I'm seeing?

Speaker 18:02 Yeah, this is how... So that is the pattern, uh, in which, uh, we spread the bacteria after-

Speaker 18:08 Oh

Speaker 18:08 ... after they are revived. So they grow in something like this, and you can see single dots. They are, they are called colonies. So all the bacteria in each colony are actually identical, because each colony comes from a single bacterial cell.... so, yeah, each colony, we treat each colony as a single bacterial, a presentation of a single bacterial cell. Yeah. Yeah, so now we have bacteria growing on agar plates, which are, which actually have the plasmid, uh, taken up. So they, they have that circular piece of DNA inside them.

Speaker 18:46 That was really cool, okay.

Speaker 18:47 Yeah. This is something we do on a very regular basis. This is very, uh, pivotal, very essential... It's a very essential part of any project that, uh, is done in, like, genetic engineering or molecular biology.

Speaker 19:01 So do you guys have to work around odd times to be able to-

Speaker 19:04 Yeah, we do

Speaker 19:04 - make this work then?

Speaker 19:05 ... because they have, we have specific, uh, you know, time, like, uh, time points where we need to, you know, check if the bacteria are growing or, like, take them out of some, uh... you know, maybe transfer it from, um, yeah, 80 degrees to 42 degrees or whatever. So, uh, yeah, we have to work at odd times, and, uh, yeah, but it, it is, it is pretty cool.

Speaker 19:30 Yeah.

Speaker 19:30 Yeah.

Speaker 19:31 Thanks a lot. That cleared up a lot of things in my head, how it actually happens.

Speaker 19:34 Yeah.

Speaker 19:34 I can somewhat see it, not entirely. [chuckles]

Speaker 19:36 No, no, it is fine. This is, uh, this is the basic overview of what is happening.

Speaker 19:41 I have a couple of questions left about how the team functions on a day-to-day

Speaker 19:45 basis. What is their structure to execute and be at such a good stage already? So we have Aldous for that. Uh, so Aldous, yeah, as I mentioned, how do you guys have the team structured? Like, I remember you mentioning that you're more of a computational guy, not in the wet lab much, so-

Speaker 20:01 Yeah. Um, yeah, so the form of a team, uh, really follows the function. So we, um, as you saw, we have the wet lab people who do the experimental work. Uh, we also have the computational team that works on, uh, modeling and the software, uh, development part of a project. Uh, so modeling is where we sort of computationally simulate the systems that we want to produce, like in experimentally, and see whether they'll work out or stuff like that. And in addition to that, we also have a WebOps team, so they help us, uh, put out our work in a way that it's, uh, accessible to the public and who wants to see the work.

Speaker 20:33 Oh, okay. Yeah, I've seen your website and how it's, like, always updated, and you can go through the different sections. That's really cool. And what about, like, other comp teams have sponsorship and-

Speaker 20:43 Yeah

Speaker 20:43 ... stuff like that. So is it funded through the professor itself, or how does it work with you?

Speaker 20:47 Okay. Um, I think similar to most competition teams, uh, most of our funding comes from corporate sponsorship. So, um, all, all the members pitch in, and we do outreach to multiple corporates. And, uh, this year actually, we were, uh, lucky enough to bag a, a title sponsor, uh, AstraZeneca.

Speaker 21:03 Wow!

Speaker 21:03 Uh, most of our lab work and our competition, uh, fees, uh, comes from our corporate sponsorship.

Speaker 21:08 Wow! And, um, how big would your team be, per se, in each of these divisions?

Speaker 21:14 Um, total, we have around 30 members in the team. So we have, like, 10 to 15 in each of wet lab and dry lab, and a small five-member WebOps team. Um, and, uh, sponsorship and human practices also, uh, all the members pitch in.

Speaker 21:28 So you get to learn a lot in that way. Like, you have the tech aspect and a bit of the management exposure, if you would like to have it. That's great. And since this is very research-heavy and you guys are working out of labs, I'm guessing you'll have some profs or PhD students helping you out, or?

Speaker 21:42 Yeah. Uh, so we have a couple of professors who guide us. Uh, so this year, for our lab work, we are working with two cell- cell lines. So one is a eukaryote, uh, which is a mammalian cell line, and one prokaryote, as Kanta showed you. So for each of them, we are consulting with different profs, who help us with the protocols and what to do. And of course, their PhD students al- also support us in the lab with the learning... uh, helping us learn the skills that we need to.

Speaker 22:07 iGEM doesn't seem like the typical competition team in the way it's structured and how it works. What do you think about that? Where does it sit-

Speaker 22:15 Mm

Speaker 22:15 ... in the whole spectrum of, like, tech teams in, in the com- competition teams or prof projects?

Speaker 22:21 iGEM as a competition in itself, um, is very open form, and it really, uh, encourages research and, uh, the mentality where you find a problem on your own, and you devise a solution to it on your own, and we, uh, implement it to fruition. So in that, uh, manner, it's a bit separated from, [lips smack] uh, other competition teams and clubs, and it's more close to a research project that one would take up in a lab.

Speaker 22:45 So you have the research aspect while also having the whole competition drive-

Speaker 22:49 Yeah

Speaker 22:49 ... and you get to go there as well.

Speaker 22:51 Yeah.

Speaker 22:51 It's like the best of both worlds, isn't it?

Speaker 22:52 Yeah, exactly.

Speaker 22:53 Yeah.

Speaker 22:53 So, um, uh, this sort of exposure with the research work, as well as the sort of, um, management sponsorship and, uh, the outreach work, is something that gives our members a very, um, well-rounded, uh, exposure and makes them really valuable in whatever they want to do next.

Speaker 23:09 So it sounds like a great experience. Are there any members in your team who are, like, thinking of continuing down in this field,

Speaker 23:16 given their experience in iGEM?

Speaker 23:18 Oh, uh, a large majority of our team, of course, wants to go into, um, uh, biotech research and stuff like that. Uh, there are people who go into consult and, uh, stuff like that, and, uh, software development. So these are the major things. So I myself am a mechanical engineer, so where I look at myself going forward is, uh, there are, um, uh, research fields where, um, really mechanical engineering and, uh, molecular biology come in together. So it's called an organ-on-a-chip. So yeah, so, uh, for, uh, medical testing, basically. So you are able to replicate those, uh, conditions in a chip, basically.

Speaker 23:52 Yeah, sounds fascinating. Organ-on-a-chip has captivated many people's attention right now.

Speaker 23:57 Definitely.

Speaker 23:58 Yeah.

Speaker 23:58 Yeah.

Speaker 23:59 And is there any, like, next big technology that you're just waiting for, or you think is gonna shake the world?

Speaker 24:05 Okay, um, I think, uh, the recent one was CRISPR, right? So that gives us this very selective way to change things however you want it to. And now, of course, um, uh, I'd say the, uh, next steps in where the biggest frontier is in, is in the computational side. So, uh, bringing in AI and, uh... Because as you saw, each and every experiment is really difficult to do, right? So if you're able to, uh, take the burden off from that and onto computers, we can really speed up the research process, and the discoveries can be, uh, made so many more.

Speaker 24:35 ... yeah, like having like digital twins of everything, like a bacteria, even the circular DNA, how that mechanism would work out. So you can just simulate it-

Speaker 24:43 Yeah, yeah

Speaker 24:44 ... and then work it out. That would be really cool. Yeah. And how do you feel about, like, ethics

Speaker 24:50 in synthetic biology? I feel like there's such a fine line between innovating and even, like, just, like, you're manipulating life, literally.

Speaker 24:58 Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 24:58 So there's a lot of responsibility in your hands.

Speaker 25:00 Correct. So yeah, that's what- So when I said anything can happen, really anything can happen, right? So, um, so that's why, uh, large part of what we do is also responsibility and managing our impact and the ethics of whatever we do. So, uh, the most basic bioethics question is biosafety and contamination. So right now, whatever we do are contained in labs. So, uh, like, I think Santa might have told you about the antibiotic resistance. So if anything were to get outside the lab, it wouldn't be able to survive. Uh, so that basically ensures that we don't have an impact on the environment that we don't want, want it to. Uh, so that, I think, is the main ethics question. Um, and then, so actually in all the jamborees that we present in, uh, there's always a presence from, uh, intelligence agencies like the CIA and the, uh, FBI. [chuckles]

Speaker 25:44 [chuckles] Okay.

Speaker 25:45 Yeah. So, uh, they, uh, do awareness about bioterrorism threats and how we have to be responsible, uh, in the way that we conduct our work.

Speaker 25:53 So what would you say is the main philosophy between, like, crossing the line with tech versus going towards a constructive path? 'Cause I feel like, you know, technology's always just been a tool, like it's a knife. It depends on the hands in who goes-

Speaker 26:09 Yeah, yeah, true. So that's actually a very good, uh, analogy. So, uh, whenever you're working on something, you always have to consider how someone might use it nefariously. So if there's a possibility of what I'm working on, being very, very... Because it's just a sequence of DNA, right? You publish it, someone else can take it, modify it a bit, and say, "Instead of helping save someone," it can just as easily be used to, uh, to a detriment to someone else. So that's something that we have to take responsibility of and make sure that, so if our work is going in such a direction, you stop there, and then you just don't publish that work.

Speaker 26:45 That was really nice chatting with all of you. Got to know a lot about iGEM, and synthetic biology is such a fascinating field.

Speaker 26:52 Oh, definitely. It was really a pleasure to talk to you and, uh, you know, explain all this stuff and get some new perspectives in as well.

Speaker 26:59 Yeah.