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Hello, iGEM Community!
John and Japheth here, iGEM Ambassadors to North America and Africa, respectively. We also manage the After iGEM website and are in charge of community development. Our goal is to foster community-driven ideas, and design with your input. Projects we’re currently working on include:
- Initiating a public forum to centralize iGEM and Synthetic Biology discussions
- Developing an educational hub to share materials for instruction at all levels of education
- Managing igem.org and after.igem.org user databases to enable users to cross over between platforms seamlessly and interact with either community
Let us know about your online experience at after.igem.org and any ideas you have to make it better. We hope that you get in touch - we look forward to meeting everyone we can in the community, both online and off!
This Month's Features
- Opportunities just for you!
- Ambassador Updates
- iGEM World News
- Group discussions on hot topics
Now, let's dive into the latest happenings this month in the iGEM and After iGEM world!
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Ambassador Program -
Call for Applications
The Ambassador Program is an opportunity to shape the field of synthetic biology in your region. To learn more about the program structure and requirements, or to learn the current Ambassadors’ stories and accomplishments, you can visit the Ambassador Program Page.
To apply to be an Ambassador, submit the Ambassador Form. The ambassador application deadline has been extended. Please submit your application by November 4th, 2018.
Join us in changing our field together and help us spread the iGEM spirit around the world. We look forward to changing the world with you!
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Last month, we released the inaugural issue of The iGEM Digest.
Download/view it here:
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We are now accepting stories for future issues. If you would like to share an experience in the lab, a lesson learned, an exciting revelation, or anything else that might be of interest to your fellow iGEMers, email your story to after@igem.org. If selected it will be featured in the next issue of the iGEM Digest.
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From October to November, the ambassadors have been cooking up some exciting new projects. We have tracked down interviews with iGEM alumni for the iGEM Digest, developed the mentorship program, and gathered materials for the new educational hub to planning after iGEM events all over the world. We are also working hard to find ambassadors to add to the team in 2019. It’s not too late to apply, so check out our guidelines below.
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From Giant Jamboree
to
After iGEM Summit
This year, the Giant Jamboree was followed by the inaugural After iGEM Summit. Summit I welcomed new iGEMers fresh from the 2018 season, and helped returning iGEMers to build stronger connections within their community. The Summit was filled with fun activities, challenges, professional perks, and advice for those who have completed the iGEM Competition. We hope to welcome you to the 2019 Summit, whether you participate in the Competition or have moved on to other endeavors.
Click the link below to learn more about this unique event!
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Little Bananas:
New Ways to
Study Embryonic
Development
Scientists reported in 2014 that clusters of about 300 mouse embryonic stem cells would self-organize into an elongated shape when kept in a growth-promoting broth and exposed to a compound that activates an essential developmental gene called Wnt. It would be expected that the cells would organize into a tumor-like shape, but instead, you get something very highly organized, the mouse cells have been observed to organize into a little banana or a little zucchini.These structures made from balls of cells derived from a mouse embryo—may give scientists a new way to study embryonic development in a lab dish.
How will this help scientists to create a new model to study the sequence of genetic changes responsible for early embryonic growth? Discuss on After iGEM's group section.
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DNA Hard Drive
The concept is simple: store 0s and 1s in the sequences of A’s, T’s, C’s, and G’s of DNA. Catalog, a start-up based at the Harvard Life Lab, has announced plans for the first commercial DNA data storage service. But why DNA? DNA is incredibly stable and easy to preserve: we’ve recovered readable DNA from a 28,000-year-old mammoth carcass. It is also incredibly space-efficient, a single gram of DNA can store almost a zettabyte of digital data.
Let’s discuss how genetic engineering is turning the agriculture industry upside down. Whatever your thoughts are, feel free to share those and any news on After iGEM's group section.
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