‘GROWTH’ WITH THE AFFECTION OF THE WORLD

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In our project this year, we designed a novel cell-free platform built with synthetic bio-components to achieve the low-cost, handy and visualized detection of serum miRNAs, which can be employed in low-resource settings. The idea that we chose this topic was to serve the world with a novel early cancer detection system that could help more people, especially in remote areas to take early screening and detection of cancers. However, to help with fight against cancer, developing new technologies and applications are not enough. Thus in the meanwhile in the Human Practice part, we decided to tell more people about cancer and early cancer detection, and at the same time to arouse their awareness and alertness.

ABOUT OUR DESIGN

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After putting up the design, we wanted to figure out how much our project may matter to the world, if our initial direction was right and other things about ethics. Thus starting from the design, we decided to gather as much information as possible to know about currrent situations of early cancer detection, so that we can get some useful tips that may contribute to our promotion of the project. We chose different methods to gathering information, and the results are shown below.

Medical Experiences

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< style="text-indent:22pt;"> △Interviews with doctors

Since our project aimed at developing a novel detection system for blood-microRNAs which had a close link to cancer, we kept consulting and collaborating with local doctors through the whole process of the project, including several parts.

PART 1: Talk with DR.Lee, Hematology Department

From the conservation, firstly,we found that there is a great distance between clinical application and basic research in early detection of cancer.For instance, means of early cancer detection still has a long way to be proven.What’s worse, despite the early diagnosis methods are springing up, 5-10 years of the experimental validation phase is integral to clinical application.

Secondly,when the topic involved microRNA and its potential to early detection of cancer,the doctor showed her concern due to the instability of microRNA.She guessed that the microRNA would be degraded but in fact she didn’t know well about the mechanism of microRNA because she was occupied by specific treatment as a clinician and it’s hard for them to approach the basic one.Then we had a discussion about the value of relative researches and sure enough she supported us a lot—hoping us to find out genomes with much greater specificity with fewer side effects so that more targeted medicine can be invented to kill cancer tumors.

Thirdly,she mentioned the procedure of current cancer detection,including extracting DNA from blood cells, amplifying it with PCR and then getting it sequenced.Detection varies from complicated diseases and gene chip also could be true with enough money,yet only parts of the detection are essential.Anyway,the clinician could never assess the severity only by the gene detection,they always have to combine with patients’ clinical symptoms,chromosome and the oncologists even need to do the Immunohistochemical checker and pathology section to make sure.That suggests the difficulty of early cancer detection,without the auxiliary of pathological symptoms and so-so specified biomarkers.

Even though the current technology could not support early detection of cancer,we can still take advantage of the application of microRNA in early screening,especially the people with household hereditary factors.And it’s also a good way to help alert people to pay more attention to their living habits and health condition as soon as possible.

< style="text-indent:22pt;"> △Gatherings of clinical samples

Due to the specialty of our project---making a novel early cancer detection system, we need cancer patient’s serum to test whether our system works. To achieve this, we talked to doctors, patients and ethics department. Below are processes we had getting serum for experiment.

1.Asking from the doctors

Firstly we found Dr.Tan, one of the principles of a health center in Changsha. After hearing our aim of the project and our results of former experiments, Dr.Tan was very pessimistic about our project and was willing to help us with serum. However, he said we must get patient’s permission before taking the serum samples.

As a conclusion, through the process of collecting samples, we contacted with cancer patients face to face. Their support to our project along with the doctors and ethics department’s expectation made us more valid of our project this year, and we were encouraged again to carry on.

Survey for The Project

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△CURRENT METHODS AND COSTS OF EARLY CANCER DETECTION

Part I: FROM HEALTH CENTERS & DOCTORS

Below is the interview with our medical consultant---Dr.Hou from oncology department, Xiangya Hospital, Changsha, Hunan, China.

PART II: FROM THE INTERNET

Looking at both results we found that the biggest disadvanges of current early cancer detection were costs and side effects. And this informed us of the direction our project should strive for---handy and low cost.

△INTERNET SURVEY(PART I) FOR THE PUBLIC

To understand how much the public knew about early cancer detection and what their main problems were when seeking for early cancer detection, thus to promote our project and guide our directions, we designed an Internet survey and put it on social media.

The data from this survey reflected that although most people attatched great importance to early cancer detection, not so many of them knew much about cancer detection, which reminded us that if we wanted to help the world with our handy tumor biomarkers detection system, lateral publicity of early cancer detection to arouse people’s awareness would play a vital role.

What’s more, people had the idea to take early cancer detection, but were stopped by the high cost, possible radiation and operating complexity of current methods. Thus our handy, low-cost detection system may have great hope to decrease the pressure of high cost and complex steps of current early cancer detection methods.

ABOUT THE PROJECT

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While carrying out our project, we encountered several occasions of making choices. Also we consider it important to link our project closely to the public especially their suggestions and doubts, for the main aim of our project is to create a novel method of medical service for the public. At this point Human Practice worked and helped us again.

△DILEMMA: SPLIT-GFP, SPLIT LUCIFERASE, OR SPLIT HRP?

To improve the sensitivity and specificity of RCA output signal and to visualize the RCA outputs in the wet-lab experiments, we designed a single guide RNA mediated dCas9 binding system and a conjugated reporting system. However, dilemma came that split-luciferase, split-HRP and split-GFP all seemed to meet our requirements of reporting the signal. Which was the best fit?

Firstly we searched for information of the three reporting systems:

Then we turned to our medical consultant--DR.Hou, expert in oncology, and stated our question that which reporting system we should choose. We analyzed the situation together, had a talk about our novel blood-microRNA detection system, and discussed on the disadvanges of current early cancer detection methods as well as expected new points of our project. Finally this helped us decide which reporting system we would use---the split-HRP.

△INTERNET SURVEY(PART II) FOR THE PUBLIC

In order to know how the public thought about our project and what their attitudes were towards it, we made another survey on the media. This time the questions mainly aimed at people’s opinion on the expected product of our project---paper-based early cancer detection system. And this again worked as a reminder for us to develop our initial design as well as considering in a newer angle. Presented below are some results of our survey(part II).

From the stats we learned that people held great expectations towards our project. However, the cost and validity of our product were what they doubted most, which reminded us that we must try to low down the cost and to raise the validity of the product.

Ethics

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Since the idea this year has a close relationship with cancer early detection, we had a discussion standing in shoes of cancer patients. We also considered how synbio in detection of cancers would affect the world.

△DISCUSSION ON CANCER ETHICS

Q1: What problems cancer patients may meet with in their life?

We held this discussion in our laborotary, and called on several students from different majors(eg. Chemistry, Medicine, Electronic Engineering) to take part. As we talked gradually deeper, our moods became increasingly low. Cancer has been a monser for so many years, but the ethical issues of treatment, finance, lie or tell and social assisstance have never had an answer.

This year what we want to spread is not only a novel early cancer detection system, but also awareness of people to cancer. We are all weak in face of diseases, especially deadly ones like cancer. Only if we pay attention to our health and stay alert for accidental diseases can we live a healthy life for long.

WHAT WE CONTRIBUTE TO THE WORLD

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||IDEA & AWARENESS DIFFUSION

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With the project being gradually on the way, we realized that to help the world by synbio, by our project this year, one dispensable thing was to developing a novel detection system to change the current situation, and the other was to arouse the world’s awareness. Thus we planned the following activities related to our project and early cancer detection for people from all ages to arouse their awareness.

Grandpas and grannys’ mini lecture

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Looking at the results we found that most of the elder only had heard about early cancer detection, and more than half of them surveyed were not willing to take the early cancer detection due to its complexity, and some even said that they didn’t think it necessary.

This reminded us of the significance of arousing their awareness. Therefore, we planned mini lectures of knowledge of cancer and early cancer detection in several districts mainly for the elder to increase their attention to early cancer detection, to spread the idea that early cancer was not terrifying and could be cured or prevented. Through this lecture we also publicized knowledge about synthetic biology, iGEM, and our project this year.

Lab day for high school students

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