Dorkbot SoCal 55 on Sunday

Dorkbot SoCal 55

***** Sunday, November 10, 2013
***** 1:00 pm to 3:00pm
***** LA Biohackers Lab
***** 6th Floor, ETO Building
***** 1340 E 6th Street, Los Angeles, CA, 90013


Come meet the LA Biohackers and find out more about some of the biotech projects going on in their lab! 

Speakers to include...

Keoni Gandall
Keoni will be talking about how he is bootstrapping a synthetic bacteria using the common laboratory bacteria Bacillus subtilus. Currently there is no easy method for creating a new organism even if you have the ability to synthesize a new genome from scratch. A method Keoni is working on allows for a new genome to first be integrated into a host genome, then split off during cell division to create two daughter cells - 1 with the host genome and 1 with the new genome. This method will have great use in synthetic biology. 

Sophia Hewitt

Sophia will be talking about her research on using epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), a compound found in green tea as an anti-tumor treatment. In some types of cancer the cancer cells repair their telomeres so the cells effectively don't age, allowing the tumor to grow perpetually. Sophia is testing whether EGCG can inhibit this telomere repair mechanism and allow for treated cells to age. She is usingthe model organism called Tetrahymena thermophila which is an excellent test bed for studies on telomere length. 

Cory Tobin

Cory will be talking about his work on creating plants that make their own fertilizer. He is studying an extremophile bacteria that makes it's own ammonia (fertilizer) using water and nitrogen gas from the atmosphere. By understanding the mechanism this bacteria uses, he hopes to create plants and algae capable of synthesizing their own ammonia, negating the need to apply fertilizer to the soil.