July 18, 2006
From 2006.igem.org
At this meeting, each of the teams discussed their projects in turn to explain to the rest of the group what their goal is. In explaining our projects, it was discovered that ligations have been a major problem for the group. Jay suggested that this problem may be due to miniprep quality, and is also complicated by the frequent problems with the gels. To improve our chance of having a successful ligation, we adopted 2 measures: the addition of a Buffer PB wash step during the miniprep protocol to provide a cleaner product and the use of new TAE stock to remedy gel issues.
The paper discussed was:
A synthetic gene–metabolic oscillator
Eileen Fung, Wilson W. Wong, Jason K. Suen, Thomas Bulter, Sun-gu Lee & James C. Liao
NATURE | VOL 435 | 5 MAY 2005
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v435/n7038/abs/nature03508.html
However, discussion was limited because many students could not access the paper from their home computers. We briefly went over the genes involved in the oscillating system. This paper is a useful example of something that relates to our current projects, yet is notably different and thus encourages us to think outside of the box.
The possibility of having more fundraising events was mentioned, but Jay encouraged us to focus for the moment on our projects as it is necessary for the lab work to go well before we have a legitimate cause to raise money for. Later in the summer we will likely plan fundraising events for the fall, when more students will be here to "target" for events such as bakesales or parties.
