Evidence
This is our Make the World a Better Place Project, the final project of the year. For this project, we were assigned to choose and solve a world problem using a biotechnology solution. Our group decided to research gene therapy for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Throughout this project, we've had to brainstorm different topics, research our problem, create an action plan, and develop a prototype solution. The slide show above shows the culmination of our work.
Content
- Rheumatoid Arthritis- a chronic, autoimmune inflammatory disorder in which the body's immune system attacks joints causing swelling and pain
- This was our problem that we decided to solve
- Gene Therapy- the transplantation of normal genes into cells in place of missing or defective ones in order to correct genetic disorders
- This was our treatment for RA
- This was our treatment for RA
- Transfection- the process of introducing purified nucleic acids into a eukaryotic cell
- Our plan was to use transfection to introduce our plasmid into the T-Cell we need to modify
- Our plan was to use transfection to introduce our plasmid into the T-Cell we need to modify
- CD4+ T-Cell- a type of T-cell in the immune system that help suppress or regulate immune responses by creating cytokines
- We chose this T-Cell for its ability to migrate to the infection site and because it is a non-viral vector, since they are generally safer and cheaper to utilize than viral vectors
- We chose this T-Cell for its ability to migrate to the infection site and because it is a non-viral vector, since they are generally safer and cheaper to utilize than viral vectors
- Interleukin 10 (IL-10) Plasmid- an anti inflammatory cytokine which is produced by the IL 10 gene
- This is the plasmid that we inserted into the CD4+ T-Cell
- This is the plasmid that we inserted into the CD4+ T-Cell
- DNA Plasmid- a small DNA molecule within a cell that is physically separated from chromosomal DNA and can replicate independently
- For gene therapy, we need to insert the IL-10 plasmid into the CD4+ T-Cell.
- For gene therapy, we need to insert the IL-10 plasmid into the CD4+ T-Cell.
- Vector- a DNA molecule used as a vehicle to artificially carry foreign genetic material into another cell
- Vectors are necessary for the transport of plasmids in to the cell
- Vectors are necessary for the transport of plasmids in to the cell
Final Thoughts
Overall, I thought that this project was pretty fun. It was interesting to see how far we can go with something that we are passionate about. Additionally, the freedom we were given for this project allowed for unique and unexpected ideas. With these new unique ideas, comes high points of our project. One area we capitalized on was our extensive research. For this project, thorough research was necessary to make our plan succeed, and I feel we did really good with that. If we can continue to focus on our research, understanding of our project will be great. Another thing that we did well was team chemistry. Overall, we had no big problems with each other despite our pretty big work load. If our group can work together well, the work environment will be positive and we will be able to communicate and collaborate openly and effectively. However, we did struggle at certain times. For one, this project felt very sudden and rushed. We were not given a huge time frame to complete this project, which led to stress that could've negatively impacted the quality of work. Next time, in order to get work done more efficiently, we need to make a plan and work timeline. Another thing that we could work on was focus and effort. Not only did this project feel rushed, there was a huge work load, both for this project and outside this project. This led to some of us checking out and giving up on work. Though time management would help us, taking the time to relax and de-stress during a stressful time is important for the group's overall morale and work quality. To conclude, this project was a lot of work, but it is safe to say that this project was a good note to end the school year on.