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Team:Gaston Day School/Project
From 2009.igem.org
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| We plan on creating a biological nitrate detector. Nitrate contamination is a growing problem all across the world, especially in countries that depend on agriculture. Such contamination can cause methehemoglobinemia, or blue baby syndrome. This disease prevents the blood from carrying oxygen throughout the body, in a process called cyanosis. The state of North Carolina heavily relies on agriculture to sustain its economy, producing such staples as tobacco, peaches, and corn. | In the March 4th, 2008 edition of The Fayetteville Observer, journalist Greg Barnes writes about the struggles of families in North Carolina with nitrate-contaminated drinking water. "In 2005, state environmental officials found excessive levels of nitrates in the Voelkers' well and three others... near Stedman[, NC]. The Aquifer Protection Section notified the Voeklers of the contamination by letter in 2006... But [a] recommendation was never made... They stopped only after a reporter told them about the contamination in November... the Aquifer Protection Section recently found contamination in about 40 wells." |  The GDS Seal in a Petri Dish with Bacteria |
| It is because of these discrepancies in time, during which serious health risks can occur, that we are doing this project. The Voeklers have 3 young children, who could have become seriously ill - and possibly died. Similar cases exist all over the world, and our goal is to create a cost-efficient nitrate detector that will take a matter of moments to inform the user of the level of contamination, rather than months as it took the Voeklers to be notified. In this manner first- and third-world countries alike will be able to keep their citizens healthy and protected from methehemoglobinemia. | This 2007 National Census of Agriculture for the United States of America highlights the water sheds of this country and how the land around them are being used. |
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