IGEM
Encyclopedia
Synthetic biology
Synthetic biology is a new area of biological research that combines science and engineering. It encompasses a variety of different approaches, methodologies, and disciplines with a variety of definitions...
competition aimed at undergraduate university students.
Competition details
Student teams are given a kit of biological parts at the beginning of the summer from the Registry of Standard Biological PartsRegistry of Standard Biological Parts
The Registry of Standard Biological Parts is a collection of genetic parts that are used in the assembly of systems and devices in synthetic biology. The registry was founded in 2003 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and resides in the Koch Biology Building. The registry contains over...
. Working at their own schools over the summer, they use these parts and new parts of their own design to build biological systems and operate them in living cells. Randy Rettberg, an engineer who has worked for companies including Apple, Sun
Sun Microsystems
Sun Microsystems, Inc. was a company that sold :computers, computer components, :computer software, and :information technology services. Sun was founded on February 24, 1982...
and BBN
BBN Technologies
BBN Technologies is a high-technology company which provides research and development services. BBN is based next to Fresh Pond in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA...
, is the director of the iGEM competition.
Biological systems / BioBricks
One of the aims of the competition is to attempt to build simple biological systems from standard, interchangeable parts and operate them in living cells.The iGEM competition facilitates this by providing a library of standardized parts (called BioBrick
BioBrick
BioBrick standard biological parts are DNA sequences of defined structure and function; they share a common interface and are designed to be composed and incorporated into living cells such as E. coli to construct new biological systems. BioBrick parts represent an effort to introduce the...
standard biological parts) to students, and asking them to design and build genetic machines with them. Student teams can also submit their own BioBricks. Successful projects produce cells that exhibit new and unusual properties by engineering sets of multiple genes together with mechanisms to regulate their expression.
Information about BioBrick standard biological parts, and a toolkit to make and manipulate them, is provided by the Registry of Standard Biological Parts, or simply, the Registry. This is a core resource for the iGEM program, and one that has been evolving rapidly to meet the needs of the program.
Broader goals
Beyond just building biological systems, broader goals of iGEM include:- To enable the systematic engineering of biology.
- To promote the open and transparent development of tools for engineering biology.
- And to help construct a society that can productively apply biological technology.
iGEM's dual aspects of self-organization and imaginative manipulation of genetic material have demonstrated a new way to arouse student interest in modern biology and to develop their independent learning skills.
Growth and recent years
iGEM developed out of student projects conducted during MIT's Independent Activities PeriodsTraditions and student activities at MIT
The traditions and student activities at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology encompass hundreds of student activities, organizations, and athletics that contribute to MIT's distinct culture.-Traditions:...
in 2003 and 2004. Later in 2004, a competition with five teams from various schools was held. In 2005, teams from outside the United States took part for the first time. Since then iGEM has continued to grow, with 130 teams entering in 2010.
Because of this increasing size, in 2011 the competition was split into three regions: Europe, the Americas, and Asia (though teams from Africa and Australia also entered via "Europe" and "Asia" respectively). Regional jamborees will occur during October; and some subset of teams attending those events will be selected to advance to the World Championship at MIT in November.
Competition results
| Winner | Finalist | Finalist | Finalist | Finalist | Finalist | Complete Results | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Washington University of Washington University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University... |
Imperial Imperial College London Imperial College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom, specialising in science, engineering, business and medicine... (2nd) |
ZJU China Zhejiang University Zhejiang University , sometimes referred to as Zheda, is a national university in China. Founded in 1897, Zhejiang University is one of China's oldest institutions of higher education... (3rd) |
MIT Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in... (4th) |
iGEM 2011 | ||
| 2010 | Slovenia | Peking Peking University Peking University , colloquially known in Chinese as Beida , is a major research university located in Beijing, China, and a member of the C9 League. It is the first established modern national university of China. It was founded as Imperial University of Peking in 1898 as a replacement of the... (2nd) |
BCCS Bristol University of Bristol The University of Bristol is a public research university located in Bristol, United Kingdom. One of the so-called "red brick" universities, it received its Royal Charter in 1909, although its predecessor institution, University College, Bristol, had been in existence since 1876.The University is... (3rd) |
Cambridge | Imperial Imperial College London Imperial College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom, specialising in science, engineering, business and medicine... |
TU Delft | iGEM 2010 |
| 2009 | Cambridge | Heidelberg (2nd) | Valencia (3rd) | Freiburg Bioware University of Freiburg The University of Freiburg , sometimes referred to in English as the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg, is a public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.The university was founded in 1457 by the Habsburg dynasty as the... |
Groningen University of Groningen The University of Groningen , located in the city of Groningen, was founded in 1614. It is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands as well as one of its largest. Since its inception more than 100,000 students have graduated... |
Imperial Imperial College London Imperial College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom, specialising in science, engineering, business and medicine... |
iGEM 2009 |
| 2008 | Slovenia | Freiburg University of Freiburg The University of Freiburg , sometimes referred to in English as the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg, is a public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.The university was founded in 1457 by the Habsburg dynasty as the... (2nd) |
Caltech (3rd) | Harvard | NYMU Taipei National Yang Ming University National Yang-Ming University is a public university in Shipai, Beitou District, Taipei, Taiwan. It is known for its academic programs related to Medicine, Life Sciences and Biotechnology... |
UC Berkeley | iGEM 2008 |
| 2007 | Peking Peking University Peking University , colloquially known in Chinese as Beida , is a major research university located in Beijing, China, and a member of the C9 League. It is the first established modern national university of China. It was founded as Imperial University of Peking in 1898 as a replacement of the... |
Paris | Slovenia | UC Berkeley | UCSF | USTC USTC USTC may mean:*Universal Short Title Catalogue*University of Science and Technology of China*Union of Central African Workers *University of Science & Technology Chittagong... |
iGEM 2007 2007 had six finalists but none were selected as specific runners-up. |
| 2006 | Slovenia | Imperial Imperial College London Imperial College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom, specialising in science, engineering, business and medicine... (2nd) |
Princeton Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution.... (3rd) |
iGEM 2006 | |||
| 2005 | Years prior to 2006 had no specific winners | iGEM 2005 | |||||
| 2004 | IAP 2004, SBC 2004 | ||||||
| 2003 | IAP 2003 | ||||||