KU Leuven students secure place in iGEM final with bacteria that can both freeze and unfreeze water
A multidisciplinary team of (bio)engineering, bio-medicine, and media students have developed a bacteria that can both freeze and unfreeze water, according to the needs of the user. The team advanced to the iGEM overall finals after placing in the regional finals in Amsterdam over the weekend.
The students worked for an entire summer to prepare their entry—called ‘E.D.Frosti’—for the iGEM competition, an international contest held since 2005 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States. IGEM stands for International Genetically Engineered Machine. Using standard pieces of DNA called ‘bio-bricks’, participants must create an artificial bacteria with an entirely new function. That new fuction can range from the socially beneficial, such as water purification, to the downright wacky, such as rainbow-coloured pigmentation.
“With E.D.Frosti, we created a bacteria that can inhibit as well as stimulate ice crystallisation depending on surrounding conditions," says Alice Uwineza, a third-year bachelor student and iGEM group leader for human practice. “We were looking for an enjoyable topic that was also socially relevant. The possible applications are endless; from slowing glacier melt to preventing snow tire freeze, all without sky-high energy costs."
On 1 and 2 October, the KU Leuven team took their creation to the iGEM European finals in Amsterdam and successfully advanced to the overall finals, to be held at MIT in early November.
The KU Leuven team’s entry for the iGEM competition is coordinated by BioSCENTer, KU Leuven’s research centre for bio-science, bio-engineering and bio-technology, with the support of IMEC, KU Leuven-LRD and several sponsors.
