Team:Todai-Tokyo

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Revision as of 11:49, 21 October 2009

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THEME

"Prevention of lifestyle diseases using synthetic living systems"

 Lifestyle diseases, diseases caused by unhealthy living habits, comprise one of the major problems in modern society, especially as they may lead to fatal heart problems or even cancer. However, preventing or curing these diseases is extremely difficult at present.
 Our team, Todai-Tokyo, has been tackling treatment of lifestyle diseases such as hypercholesterolemia, diabetes, circadian rhythm dysfunction, and bad smoking habits by using synthetic living systems, utilizing their ability to incorporate complex logic functions and dispensability of external control once in operation. To do this, we aim to create the following: cells that ingest cholesterol to decrease blood cholesterol levels, healthy low calorie breads, a system in which periodic gen e expression is controlled, and bacteria that encourage smokers to quit smoking, respectively.
 By applying similar synthetic biology methodologies to these, prevention of numerous lifestyle-related diseases may become reality, serving as a first step towards their eradication.
1."Imagine there's no smoker"
The world has become bitter against smokers.However, many people like smoking and can't quit smoking.You might be one of such people. So, what if you got stinky in your mouth if you smoked or broke the "non-smoking promise"?? Very stinky breath will go out from your mouth,and all the people around you, the professors , friends, family members ,and also boy/girl friends.Then you will get so alone.... We are growing E.coli or bacterias which express the enzyme that reacts Dioxine and catalyzes a smelling substract.
>>in detail
2."DON'T BEAR OFF, EAT WHAT YOU WANT!"
Yes, Everyone wants to eat what they want.Many people like beaf steak,fried chiken,pork cutlets,hot dogs, hamburgers, many fatty foods,and so on.Only one imagines such foods,and thier mouth will soon get watering.However, too much eating such foods are dangerous for the body.It's very unhealthy.such food (that we like?or the foods like us? I wonder) include much LDL cholesterol.LDL cholesterol causes many diseases.We finally eat what we want! So,one of our projects will make the desire come true.We find a new way to prevent one of the diseases LDL cholesterol cause. Arteriosclerosis is caused by LDL cholesterols. So, we are growing S.cerevisiae which express LDL cholesterol receptor and inhibits the absorption of LDLcholesterols in the blood vassel.
>>in detail
3."Nothing's gonna stop my sleeping!?"
You may need to get up early in the morning everyday.Or,You may suffer from sleeping disorders.You sometimes oversleep or sometimes get up too early.Normal alarm clocks are of course outside of your body, so you can stop the alarm easily and then you continue to see the good dreams...like you have some delicious chocolate or you get a new "Prius" in a lot...however, you get up only to see yourself overslept. What if the alarming clock were in your body? you could not easily stop it. Our project is to make such a bioclock used inside of the human body. We will produce E.coli that can make oscillation of GFP. The oscillation startsby the UV light and stops in a certain time.>>in detail
4."If they have no bread,let them eat bread without sugar"
Different from the time when Marie Antoinette said like the above words, people don't have troubles with the price of bread.People can eat bread everywhen they want.Many people all over the world like bread.(of course include us Japanese)However,making bread requires sugar,and sugar may cause the fearful disease "diabetes!"...So,We will be all happier if we can eat bread without worrying about diabetes. We are making food which has additional nutritions.Without adding sugar,Bread becomes sweet by enzymes of bread yeast.
>>in detail