Undergrads pitch novel soil monitor at international synthetic biology competition
Aiming to keep heavy metals out of the food we eat, a team of Boston University undergrads advised by Assistant Professor Miguel Jimenez (BME) has traveled to Paris, where they’re pitching a soil monitor they invented, as part of the annual International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) Grand Jamboree.
Some 427 student teams from around the globe are competing for awards in more than a dozen categories in what one contestant calls “a giant science fair” focused on synthetic biology. And whether or not the Terriers take home a prize, they have crafted a novel solution to a serious public health problem.
Toxic heavy metals from industrial pollution can leach into agricultural soil, eventually winding up in our food. Current methods of testing soil for such contaminants are too expensive and time-consuming for many small farmers in under-resourced regions.
Enter AgriNOVA, the BU student team and their device of the same name. Barely bigger than a toaster oven, the tester contains bacteria that have been genetically engineered to light up when they encounter cadmium or manganese.
Read the full story at BU Today.