Top 10 Finish For W&M IGEM Team

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Post on Nov 05, 2024

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W&M iGEM Team Rocks the Giant Jamboree!

Alright, so you might be thinking, "iGEM? What's that?" Well, my friends, it's the International Genetically Engineered Machine Competition, and it's basically the Olympics for synthetic biology.

This year, the William & Mary iGEM team absolutely crushed it, landing a top 10 finish out of hundreds of teams from around the world! That's like winning a bronze medal at the Olympics, but instead of doing the 100-meter dash, they're engineering bacteria to solve real-world problems.

The Problem: Food Waste and Its Impact

Food waste is a huge problem, and it's getting worse. Think about all those perfectly good fruits and vegetables that end up rotting in landfills. Not only is that a waste of resources, but it also contributes to climate change.

The W&M iGEM team tackled this issue head-on with their "Food Waste Upcycling" project. Their solution? They engineered bacteria to break down food waste and transform it into useful products, like biofuel and fertilizer.

The Process: Engineering Bacteria for the Win!

These brilliant students spent months designing, building, and testing their engineered bacteria. It wasn't all smooth sailing. They had to overcome tons of challenges, from figuring out the best genetic modifications to optimizing the bacterial growth conditions.

The Results: A Top 10 Finish and Real-World Impact

All that hard work paid off. The team's project was a huge success, and they impressed the judges with their innovative approach and the potential for real-world impact. They ended up with a top 10 finish at the iGEM Jamboree, proving that W&M students are at the forefront of cutting-edge science.

The Future: More Food Waste Solutions on the Horizon

The W&M iGEM team's success is inspiring, and they're not stopping there. They're already working on new ways to improve their project and explore other food waste upcycling solutions.

This team is making a difference in the world, one engineered bacterium at a time. So next time you see a perfectly good piece of fruit going bad, remember the W&M iGEM team and their amazing work to reduce food waste. They're truly changing the game, one experiment at a time!