Team:WHHS Cincinnati OH

From 2014hs.igem.org

This is a template page. READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS.

You are provided with this team page template with which to start the iGEM season. You may choose to personalize it to fit your team but keep the same "look." Or you may choose to take your team wiki to a different level and design your own wiki. You can find some examples HERE.

You MUST have the following information on your wiki:

a team description
project description
safety information (did your team take a safety training course? were you supervised in the lab?)
team attribution (who did what part of your project?)

You may also wish to add other page such as:

lab notebook
sponsor information
other information

REMEMBER, keep all of your pages within your teams namespace.
Example: 2013hs.igem.org/Team:WHHS_Cincinnati_OH/Our_Pets

You can write a background of your team here. Give us a background of your team, the members, etc. Or tell us more about something of your choosing.	File:WHHS Cincinnati OH logo.png 200px
Tell us more about your project. Give us background. Use this as the abstract of your project. Be descriptive but concise (1-2 paragraphs)	File:WHHS Cincinnati OH team.png Your team picture
	Team WHHS_Cincinnati_OH

Official Team Profile

In the United States, arsenic levels in water sources are not high enough to raise eyebrows, but in most developing countries, arsenic levels remain a prevalent cause of many problems. Although the World Health Organization (WHO) and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) both recommend a maximum level of contamination (MCL) of 10 parts per billion (ppb), many areas, such as West Bengal and Bangladesh, have a much more relaxed MCL of 50 ppb. In these countries, tube wells, which tend to be deeper than 100 meters, were unknowingly drilled through large concentrations of arsenic, subsequently giving those who drank large quantities of water from the wells arsenicosis. Arsenicosis, arsenic poisoning, has severe effects, including the likes of headaches, vomiting, hair loss, and skin lesions. Arsenic has also been known to lead to heart disease, stroke, cancer, and eventually death.

A simple, highly performing yet cost efficient biosensor would allow these areas to observe the levels of arsenic contamination before continuing the water use. Many previous arsenic biosensors have required knowledgeable technicians and expensive equipment, which is not easy to use in the field. Some methods, for example the one used by the 2006 Edinburgh iGEM Team, involved a sensor that gave a pH response, which is much more practical for field use.

This inspired the WHHS iGEM to do something similar and just as effective, yet with our own spin. Instead of pH, a pigment output would also be a viable method. Using the lycopene plasmids that were created by the 2009 Cambridge team, we are engineering an E. Coli strain that will produce visible red pigment when it comes in contact with certain toxic arsenic concentrations.

Notebook

Show us how you spent your days.

Results/Conclusions

What did you achieve over the course of your semester?

Safety

What safety precautions did your team take? Did you take a safety training course? Were you supervised at all times in the lab?

Attributions

Who worked on what?

Human Practices

What impact does/will your project have on the public?

Fun!

What was your favorite team snack?? Have a picture of your team mascot?

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