Time to Think SimchaSynthBio

Hello, all. It's Jake, another of the student scientists who couldn't resist a chance to have as much fun with science as I could imagine. Our little science workshop at Camp Simcha Special (whatever it's wacky name will be) is going to be a hotbed of sciencey fun, with sneaky undercurrents of actual learning, too!

Although it sounds advanced, I'm intent on pushing the limits of our science exploration past simple chemistry, physics, and biology. Let's run a synthetic biology experiment at Camp Simcha Special! "Synthetic biology?," you groan, "but that's booooring!" To you, I say, "nay".

iGEM, an annual international competition in genetic engineering (a field that is under the umbrella of synthetic biology) has shown, over the past few years, amazingly fun and simple things that new scientists can do with the technologies of synthetic biology. Bacteria that glow in several different colors? We can do that. Bacteria that smell deliciously minty? We can do that, too. Don't like mint? We've even got banana-scented bacterias. How do you like them bananas?

Our lab will be the real deal - we'll need gloves and goggles, lab coats and beakers, petri dishes and inoculating loops - but we'll be doing real science. And our results will glow in the dark.