This blog is where we share stories, announcements, and insights from around the iGEM community.
All in iGEM Blog
As the iGEM Competition evolves each year, so does the way we do judging. For example, the last major changes occurred during the pandemic years and made it possible for all teams to participate whether they could access a laboratory or not. Now that pandemic restrictions have eased and teams are back in the lab, the Judging Committee has reviewed the judging criteria and the feedback we received, and have defined a few goals for the 2023 Competition.
The experience that you are about to begin is truly unique. You will be given the opportunity to dream up solutions with your multi-talented team, gain meaningful insights by engaging directly with the very stakeholders who you wish to impact, and learn how to advocate for your ideas to gain the space and funding to execute on them. An iGEM Project is a crash course in the essential skills that are needed to bring a project to life.
This year, iGEM is introducing three new Villages – Agriculture, Bioremediation, and Space. Though iGEM teams have worked on projects in these areas for many years, this will be the first time teams will be gathered together within these official Villages.
DNA Day (April 25) is just around the corner. As you can imagine, DNA is a rather big deal at iGEM. In just a few short weeks, the 2023 iGEM Distribution kit - containing thousands of physical DNA parts - will be sent in the mail to teams all around the world. Take a moment to consider what it means to have a curated collection of DNA parts from iGEM’s entire 20-year history arriving in your mailbox!
Ever since I worked on the Astroshield project with my teammates on the Sao_Carlos-Brazil 2019 iGEM team, I’ve been fascinated with how synthetic biology applied to space exploration can yield important insights for making life better here on Earth.
More diverse and inclusive teams produce greater innovation and overall better science. Yet, STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) fields still exist within demographic bubbles due to the systemic and persistent exclusion of people based on gender, or ethnicity, or socioeconomic status, or other reasons. iGEM’s new purpose is to make sure that the field of synthetic biology, and all of the power that this technology holds, gets developed everywhere by everyone.
Every five years, the States Parties to the Biological Weapons Convention hold a Review Conference, where they make decisions about the future of the treaty. In 2022, iGEM brought 10 delegates to participate in drafting the Youth Recommendations for the Ninth Review Conference of the BWC held in Geneva, Switzerland in 2022.
This Saturday (February 11) we celebrate the International Day of Womens and Girls in Science - a day proclaimed by the United Nations aiming “to ensure full and equal access to and participation in science for women and girls.”
If you were in Paris for the iGEM Grand Jamboree, you may have already heard the news – Asimov is partnering with iGEM to build the future of mammalian synthetic biology! We are thrilled to be giving back to the community that has helped inspire, support, and connect students with each other to make synthetic biology the technology that will transform the world.
As we near the end of 2022, all of us at iGEM HQ wish to express our appreciation for the many people who have dedicated their time, talent, work, and support in helping ensure that the field of synthetic biology, and all of the power this technology holds, gets developed everywhere by everyone.
This past week, iGEM sent six delegates from the Biodiversity Youth Leadership Program to Montréal, Canada to participate in the 15th Conference of the Parties (COP15) of the Convention on Biological Diversity by the United Nations. There, they will present and discuss existing and future approaches to tackling one of the greatest challenges of our planet.
We were invited to the Grand Jamboree by the iGEM Design League, who hosted our presentations. We discussed how synthetic biology has made our achievements possible. Sean's presentation, titled "Transforming Medicine Through Synthetic Biology: A Look at the Future of Synthetic Biology," discussed Synlogic's approach to producing our drugs and how our team applies genetic engineering to probiotics that are already well-understood (or well-characterized) by scientists.
EPIC’s Startup Showcase featured the top 15 iGEM Startups, who pitched their ideas in front of an audience and panel of judges at the iGEM 2022 Grand Jamboree. Here are some highlights and insights from the winner and finalists.
The iGEM 2022 teams have done amazing work in translating their projects into commercially viable products and services that could change the lives of many people by improving health, or combatting climate change, or addressing many other important, urgent world problems.
Everyone in our community is working towards iGEM’s purpose to “make sure that the field of synthetic biology, and all of the power that this technology holds, gets developed everywhere by everyone”. At the 2022 Grand Jamboree, one of the Keynotes focused on iGEM’s purpose through a moderated discussion with panelists from four different regions of the world.
Tomorrow (November 10) is World Science Day for Peace and Development, a day established by the United Nations to recognize the importance of science in society and the need to inform the public about the relevance of science in their lives and to engage them in discussions on emerging scientific issues. In honor of World Science Day for Peace and Development, we’d like to highlight the nominees and winners of the Best Sustainable Development Impact award in the 2022 iGEM Competition.
Held for the first time at the Paris Porte de Versailles Expo, the Grand Jamboree featured the synthetic biology innovations of 350+ teams from 40+ countries who demonstrated their ideas, initiatives, and innovations for humanity’s most pressing problems, including the climate crisis, food security, human health, foundational advances, biomanufacturing and more.
Two years, 359 days, and 18 hours. That’s how long it’s been since people have been able to join together in person for the most important global synthetic biology gathering. Today, iGEM is welcoming the world to the Grand Jamboree in Paris!
For the first time in nearly three years, the world’s largest SynBio community will be gathering in person for the iGEM Grand Jamboree. With over 40 different countries and regions represented, Jamboree participants bring with them a wealth of knowledge in different topic areas, and a diversity of expertise – from academic research to commercial ventures to governance and policy making.
