Tag Archives: Cell Wars

Combat cells (Robot Wars for cells) and a plea from Concordia University

Students at Concordia University (located in Montréal, Québec, Canada) are requesting help (financial or laboratory supplies) for their submission to  the 2016 iGEM (International Genetically Engineered Machine) competition.

Here’s a little about their entry (from a June 16, 2016 request received via email),

For this year’s project, we plan to design a biological system that mimics the concept of the popular TV series Robot Wars. We will be engineering cellular species to wear nanoparticles as battle shields and then use microfluidics to guide them through an obstacle course leading to a battledome, where both cells will engage into a duel. Essentially, we want to test the interactions between nanoparticles and cell membranes, as well as their protective abilities against varying environmental conditions and other equipped cells. The method in which we will adapt Robot Wars for synthetic biology is by creating a web series that will visualize the cell battle and communicate the research behind it. This web series will serve as an entertaining  medium to educate and inspire the audience to develop an interest in science. We are incorporating the emerging fields of  synthetic biology, nanotechnology and microfluidics to make this process possible.  Furthermore, this study will contribute to the advancement of nanotechnology, an interdisciplinary field aiming to make applicable improvements in other fields such as medicine, optics and cosmetics.

Here’s a little more about iGEM (from the organization’s homepage),

The iGEM Foundation is dedicated to education and competition, advancement of synthetic biology, and the development of open community and collaboration.

The main program at the iGEM Foundation is the International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) Competition. The iGEM Competition is the premiere student competition in Synthetic Biology. Since 2004, participants of the competition have experienced education, teamwork, sharing, and more in a unique competition setting.

The deadline for donations/sponsorships is the end of September 2016 and sponsors/donors will be acknowledged on “our website, all of our social media accounts (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter), at our community outreach events and at the competition [from the June 16, 2016 email].”

For more information contact:

Maria Salouros
iGEM Concordia
igem.concordia@gmail.com

Finally, there’s this:

We are excited to make this year’s project a reality and we are determined to win gold. Any help, either financially or by the donation of laboratory supplies, would contribute to the development of our project and would be greatly appreciated.

Good luck to the students! Hopefully one or more of my readers will be able to help. In which case, thank you!