Homework
Weekly homework submissions:
Week 1 HW: Principles and Practices
I am an artist interested in growing and using the following bacterial pigments: Serratia marcescens (red/pink) Bacillus species (orange/yellow) Environmental isolates from soil Firstly, in growing them myself (which I am new to), as well as mechanotransduction experiments with sounds and vibrations; having the bacteria’s pigment respond to sounds and vibrations. Connecting mechanosensitive channels to pigment gene expression. If possible, explore the possibilities of UV-protective, antimicrobial, colored bioplastic material or packaging using bacterial pigments in a seaweed matrix, and build on what has been done to amplify natural pigment production through gene cloning. Combining bacterial pigments directly with seaweed‑based bioplastic matrices (like carrageenan or alginate) for UV‑protection and antimicrobial function.
Week 2 HW: DNA Read, Write, and Edit
Part 1 Benchling & In-silico Gel Art To be continued. Part 2 No wet lab access Part 3 DNA Design Challenge Choose Protein I chose the amino acid sequence of VioC - Chromobacterium violaceum for Violacein pigment.
#DRAFT FINAL PROJECT IDEAS
Week 4 HW: Protein Design Part 1
Part A: Conceptual Questions (9) How many molecules of amino acids do you take with a piece of 500g of meat? (avg amino acid ~100 Daltons) Why do humans eat beef but do not become a cow, eat fish but do not become fish? Why are there only 20 natural amino acids? Can you make other non-natural amino acids? Design some new amino acids. Where did amino acids come from before enzymes that make them, and before life started? If you make an α-helix using D-amino acids, what handedness (right or left) would you expect? Can you discover additional helices in proteins? Why are most molecular helices right-handed? Why do β-sheets tend to aggregate? What is the driving force for β-sheet aggregation? Why do many amyloid diseases form β-sheets? Can you use amyloid β-sheets as materials? Design a β-sheet motif that forms a well-ordered structure. Part B: Protein Analysis and Visualization