For the last two years, we have been happy to support our local iGEM team from Tartu University Institute of Technology (Tartu TUIT IGEM Team), and both years they have won gold medals! So proud and happy to be part of their success story!
iGEM (International Genetically Engineered Machine) is a competition that gives students the opportunity to push the boundaries of synthetic biology by tackling everyday issues facing the world.
Supporting them is important to us since with this small step we are helping to build a strong scientific community next to us. Solis BioDyne is located in Tartu - quite a small city centered around Tartu University. Our team has been international from the beginning but most of our laboratory staff have studied at Tartu University and we are happy to have a very strong connection with the university regarding product development and testing new solutions on real projects.
Tartu University Institute of Technology iGEM team projects have been really fun to follow and the energy they put into their work is unbelievable. Within the project, the team conducts experiments, build mathematical models, raise awareness in the local community through workshops and public events, and engage the public in synthetic biology.
This year’s project is called SPARKLE (Solar-Powered ARtificially Knitted Lipid Enclosures) and it tries to find a solution for convenient and affordable bio-production of lipids (biodiesel, high-value lipids, etc.) in yeasts. To increase the competitiveness compared to chemical synthesis the team engineered the yeast to accumulate high lipid levels by using light both as an inductor for a metabolic switch and as an electron source. The yeast is designed to self-lyse after production. First extra copies of lipid synthesizing enzymes controlled by light-inducible promoters are introduced. Next, cells are coated with light-absorbing nanoparticles to enable the cells to use light as an electron source for NADPH formation – a critical cofactor for lipid synthesis. This leads to increased carbon flux to lipid production. To ease the product extraction, the cells are designed to autolyze by induction of cell wall degrading glucanases that are targeted to cell wall via anchor proteins.
Since this year the big gathering of all the teams around the world (The Giant Jamboree) was canceled we used the picture from last year where our team is with Randy Rettberg - the President of iGEM.
There are two options for target detection when doing qPCR - either you use dye or probe-based detection. Today we are going to take a deep dive into the world of dye-based qPCR, which was invented during the early nineties by Russell Higuchi [1] and is still used daily around the world.
Depression is a very complex disease, and it has many different aspects that affect it. Once we get to know more and more things about depression and its mechanisms, then in the end, we might discover new possible drugs or drug targets for treating depression.
If you ever need someone to help you with your computer, fix your house, join you in a sports competition, or just be a friend, Marek is your guy. Being one of the friendliest, most helpful people out there certainly makes him a really cool person everyone should know more about.
Solis BioDyne has always welcomed all innovative ideas with open hands. In order to elevate our mission and introduce new solutions to the field of genetic testing, we are delighted to present to you our OEM service offerings. Learn how you can implement the Stability TAG technology into your business.