As summer winds to a close, and fall classes loom closer and closer, we recognize that it will be difficult for us to post by our regular schedule (as in, a greater deviation than usual).
However, rest assured that updates from all subteams will still be completed on a regular basis! Right, guys?
:D Enjoy the rest of the summer, and see you in September!
-Mandy
Showing posts with label Mandy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mandy. Show all posts
Friday, August 21, 2009
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Letter from one island to another
Dear Mandy,
Due to finals early this week and you having left for Hawaii, second life team members have been sparse. I wanted to stay in touch and keep you up to date somehow.
As you are aware, since scripting and equipment in the lab has been completed, last week we began the base of the Biobrick spiral where some of the fundamentals of molecular biology, including the central dogma will be located. You will be happy to know I have completed the DNA replication animation that avatars will be able to click on in order to learn what is required to happen for successful replication as well as a initiation point/button to begin the activity as well as reset it. All that is left is make it user friendly since everything that can be touched will perform some action and these actions just need to be explained and secured so that order is important. This may also be done with the help of a notecard that has been made. The only reason this went so slowly is the fact that I am attempting to complete wiki notebook updates in parallel and believe me, it has been a painful experience decrypting the notes that I have. Now, transcription and translation will have to be added and will most likely be tackled by either you or myself in the near future. I have started the initial framework for transcription, but most likely will not be able to complete it before this week is finished.
As I understand it, the biobrick simulator is basically completed and now the levels have to be organized and the textures for the buttons of the biobrick simulator interface. Thank you for completing the buttons Patrick required for the HUD he has made. They look great and I’m sure he really appreciates it.
I see the area avatars first enter the island has been expanded by you and Stefan and now includes a map (including teleportation areas) and directive tubing into synthetic kingdom. To ignore the big red X’s and arrows would have to be intentional and pathway stones litter the landscape throughout. Stefan has been working on his eukaryotic cell and finishing up his disease hunting bacteria within it. Also, I would like to thank you for allocating an area for previous iGEM projects and I see that the logo now decorates the outer walls of the virtual lab. A section of the island will now be filled with worthy iGEM projects, which may be done in the fall with enough linden dollars.
Hoping you are able to locate a bobtail squid,
Katie
Due to finals early this week and you having left for Hawaii, second life team members have been sparse. I wanted to stay in touch and keep you up to date somehow.
As you are aware, since scripting and equipment in the lab has been completed, last week we began the base of the Biobrick spiral where some of the fundamentals of molecular biology, including the central dogma will be located. You will be happy to know I have completed the DNA replication animation that avatars will be able to click on in order to learn what is required to happen for successful replication as well as a initiation point/button to begin the activity as well as reset it. All that is left is make it user friendly since everything that can be touched will perform some action and these actions just need to be explained and secured so that order is important. This may also be done with the help of a notecard that has been made. The only reason this went so slowly is the fact that I am attempting to complete wiki notebook updates in parallel and believe me, it has been a painful experience decrypting the notes that I have. Now, transcription and translation will have to be added and will most likely be tackled by either you or myself in the near future. I have started the initial framework for transcription, but most likely will not be able to complete it before this week is finished.
As I understand it, the biobrick simulator is basically completed and now the levels have to be organized and the textures for the buttons of the biobrick simulator interface. Thank you for completing the buttons Patrick required for the HUD he has made. They look great and I’m sure he really appreciates it.
I see the area avatars first enter the island has been expanded by you and Stefan and now includes a map (including teleportation areas) and directive tubing into synthetic kingdom. To ignore the big red X’s and arrows would have to be intentional and pathway stones litter the landscape throughout. Stefan has been working on his eukaryotic cell and finishing up his disease hunting bacteria within it. Also, I would like to thank you for allocating an area for previous iGEM projects and I see that the logo now decorates the outer walls of the virtual lab. A section of the island will now be filled with worthy iGEM projects, which may be done in the fall with enough linden dollars.
Hoping you are able to locate a bobtail squid,
Katie
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Crunch Time in Second Life
Hello again! This week has been another busy week for us Second Lifers. We are wrapping up a lot of our work for the summer. Patrick's update about the biobricker from last week was awesome, and this week I'll be describing what we've been up to in the Synthetic Kingdom and the Labs.
In the Synthetic Kingdom (where we show potential applications of synthetic biology), we are completing the pathway through the levels, and the descriptions and instructions for the stations. We will also be completing descriptions of free moving bacteria that can be interacted with, which visitors can try to look for them while following the path, creating a dynamic environment that still provides guidance for users. This area will also be expanded to include descriptions of past iGEM projects in an "iGEM Hall of Fame". The pathway through the kingdom is complete, as well as the individual stationed activities and the drop in point. Now we are just building on it to make it clear what sort of things we want users to learn as they travel through the kingdom.
All of the lab scripts are complete, and all of the lab activity parts have been duplicated and modified for the second lab. We are still working on the instructions and descriptions for each of these activities. Now that the lab missions are fully functional, we've also created prizes to be given for successful completion of the lab , as an incentive. As the lab missions get successively more difficult, the awesomeness of the prizes increases. :)
Since the lab component is mainly complete, we have begun working on base of the biobricker helix, where we will be putting up exhibits and other objects that will explain some basics: what are genes, how gene expression can be modified, replication, transcription, translation, and some important parts of iGEM (the registry, how biobricking works, etc.).
We're getting nearer to the end of summer, so now we're trying to complete as much as we can in hopes of having most (if not all) of the island ready for people to explore.
In the Synthetic Kingdom (where we show potential applications of synthetic biology), we are completing the pathway through the levels, and the descriptions and instructions for the stations. We will also be completing descriptions of free moving bacteria that can be interacted with, which visitors can try to look for them while following the path, creating a dynamic environment that still provides guidance for users. This area will also be expanded to include descriptions of past iGEM projects in an "iGEM Hall of Fame". The pathway through the kingdom is complete, as well as the individual stationed activities and the drop in point. Now we are just building on it to make it clear what sort of things we want users to learn as they travel through the kingdom.
All of the lab scripts are complete, and all of the lab activity parts have been duplicated and modified for the second lab. We are still working on the instructions and descriptions for each of these activities. Now that the lab missions are fully functional, we've also created prizes to be given for successful completion of the lab , as an incentive. As the lab missions get successively more difficult, the awesomeness of the prizes increases. :)
Since the lab component is mainly complete, we have begun working on base of the biobricker helix, where we will be putting up exhibits and other objects that will explain some basics: what are genes, how gene expression can be modified, replication, transcription, translation, and some important parts of iGEM (the registry, how biobricking works, etc.).
We're getting nearer to the end of summer, so now we're trying to complete as much as we can in hopes of having most (if not all) of the island ready for people to explore.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
New Beginnings
Welcome to Synthetic BLOGology!
This is the blog for the University of Calgary's iGEM Team. You can find us, and info about our project at:
iGEM Calgary
This is the blog for the University of Calgary's iGEM Team. You can find us, and info about our project at:
iGEM Calgary
Second Life: The first day on our virtual island, May 27th 2009
Here, we will be posting updates for Modeling, Second Life, Wet Lab, Marketing, & Ethics/Outreach, so stay tuned!
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