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Putting E. coli to good use
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By Beth Forbes, Coordinator
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Four Purdue University students found a novel use for E. coli as part of an international competition to build a biological “machine.”
The students, members of the Purdue’s Biological Engineering in Genetics Club, created a biological photo paper with genetically modified E. coli.
Students from around the world showed off inventions that combined biology and engineering at the International Genetically Engineered Machine Competition, held last fall at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
This was the first time that Purdue sent a team to the competition. “We really learned a lot by checking out other projects and talking with students,” says team member John Schumm, a junior agricultural and biological engineering (ABE) major from Tucson, Ariz. “It was really cool to have so many biologists and engineers in one place.”
Club members are already looking forward to the 2007 competition. “I’m really excited for this upcoming year because the projects will be even better, now that the students have a better idea what to expect,” says Jenna Rickus, the club’s faculty advisor and an assistant professor of ABE and biomedical engineering.
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