The feedback we received after the tech spec was very
useful: to either switch our chassis or our target location, and to simplify
our system. Looking back on it, it seems like it should have been obvious that
we should use an ocean organism to solve an ocean problem, but I think we were
drowning in our many devices to the point where we forgot to even think of what
our system would look like as we deployed it. Our E. coli wouldn’t have had a
carbon source or even a native salt water survival system and wouldn’t have
lasted very long in the sea. Right now, we have agreed to switch to a
cyanobacterial chassis but are still deciding what strain to use- a common
strain that floats, or a less-well-researched species that can adhere to
plastics and other hydrophobic objects.
As for the device list, we are narrowing down our focus from
four targets (PET, polyethylene, polystyrene, and phthalates) to just one,
polystyrene. (We will add in others later if we have the time.) We’ll also have
to remove my favorite part, the OmpW salt pump, as cyanobacteria naturally
thrive in the salty ocean water. We are not sure now whether to even include a similar
cell death mechanism, because how much damage could these cyanobacteria really
do if they got loose?
The cell death question is now one of a large number of open
questions on this project, and it’s kind of difficult to know how to proceed in
answering them. I’m almost wishing for another Tech Spec—another chance to
regroup, reassess, and move us forward in the best direction possible. This
project is also making me realize just how challenging the different aspects of
an open-ended project are: narrowing down research so the problem does not seem
overwhelming, planning out a timeline for discussing certain aspects of the problem,
and balancing higher-level thinking with detail specification. They are all
super hard! Hopefully by the end of the semester I’ll have gotten at least a
little better at these skills, even if we don’t have a design that would really
work.
After reviewing our feedback and planning out a new
direction of research, our group is going strong. Go Team 99 Bottles!
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