International awards for SA bacterial 'social network'

The students also received two of ten special prizes awarded to top competitors in various categories.

'Bio-tweet', a bacterial communication network that emulates social networking to facilitate speedy assimilation and exchange of information, caught the iGEM judges' eyes and was noted as "an exemplary piece of work". Biology student Ezio Fok explained: "[w]e have tried to emulate the concept of a social communication network, such as Facebook or Twitter, but in bacteria. We have designed bacteria to carry messages within a network, passing the information on to other bacteria, which can then respond by performing a task, or signalling to the user what type of information has been received." Team Wits-CSIR will now advance to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), in Boston, US, in December to represent South Africa in the iGEM world championship final.

Professor Marco Weinberg, one of the team's faculty advisers, said the research was relevant as synthetic biology, which focuses on the creation of biological 'machines', designed according to engineering principles but made out of biological components, such as deoxyribonucleic acid and proteins, was emerging as a promising technology for solving previously intractable problems.

"This competition allows students to immerse themselves in the challenges and possibilities of synthetic biology, and is creating a new generation of scientists who think differently about biology. Ultimately, it will allow South Africa to be more competitive in staying at the cutting edge of scientific research," Weinberg said.

Read the full article on www.engineeringnews.co.za.