Jung Kirsten J, Rasor Blake J, Rybnicky Grant A, Silverman Adam D, Standeven Janet, Kuhn Robert, Granito Teresa, Ekas Holly M, Wang Brenda M, Karim Ashty S, Lucks Julius B, Jewett Michael C
Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA.
Chemistry of Life Processes Institute, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA.
bioRxiv. 2023 Jan 9:2023.01.09.523248. doi: 10.1101/2023.01.09.523248.
As the field of synthetic biology expands, the need to grow and train science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) practitioners is essential. However, the lack of access to hands-on demonstrations has led to inequalities of opportunity and practice. In addition, there is a gap in providing content that enables students to make their own bioengineered systems. To address these challenges, we develop four shelf-stable cell-free biosensing educational modules that work by just-adding-water and DNA to freeze-dried crude extracts of . We introduce activities and supporting curricula to teach the structure and function of the operon, dose-responsive behavior, considerations for biosensor outputs, and a 'build-your-own' activity for monitoring environmental contaminants in water. We piloted these modules with K-12 teachers and 130 high school students in their classrooms - and at home - without professional laboratory equipment or researcher oversight. This work promises to catalyze access to interactive synthetic biology education opportunities.
随着合成生物学领域的不断拓展，培养和训练科学、技术、工程和数学（STEM）从业者的需求至关重要。然而，由于缺乏实践演示的机会，导致了机会和实践的不平等。此外，在提供能让学生制作自己的生物工程系统的内容方面存在差距。为应对这些挑战，我们开发了四个无需冷藏保存的无细胞生物传感教育模块，这些模块只需将水和DNA添加到冻干的粗提物中即可发挥作用。我们引入了活动和配套课程，以教授操纵子的结构和功能、剂量响应行为、生物传感器输出的注意事项，以及一个用于监测水中环境污染物的“自己动手制作”活动。我们在K-12教师和130名高中生的课堂上以及家中试用了这些模块，无需专业实验室设备或研究人员监督。这项工作有望促进获得互动式合成生物学教育机会。
