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We all use the light of various lamps: incandescent, fluorescent, halogen, neon, LED, and many others. But a lamp that contains a living luminous bacterium – a biolamp, if you like, is something radically different from all that is on the market today.
Three young students from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, CrowdGrant Challenge Finalists launched a crowdfunding campaign to create a set using which anyone can make their own biolamp.
“A biolamp is actually a closed ecosystem in one vessel,” says team biochemist Michael Tsayken. “It contains several different types of microorganisms, each of which plays a role in processing important nutrients needed by other bacteria to survival. ”
A key component of a lamp is genetically modified E. coli. This bacterium does not glow under normal conditions, however, the researchers plan to introduce a DNA fragment into it, which let her bioluminesce like a firefly.
No electricity is needed to power this lamp. Modified E. coli plus culture medium, microbes, that use ambient light to create food and process waste – and the lamp should be able to independently glow and recharge for days and months.
A biolamp has not yet been created; the team has yet to learn the best genes, biological kit ingredients, and skin care methods them. One of the key tasks at the moment is to find Method for storing luminescence DNA code in Escherichia coli as its breeding.
Besides creating a healthy and environmentally friendly light source, research team hopes their project will attract public attention to the field of synthetic biology.
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