U of C bringing ‘culture’ to competition

robin kuniski / metro calgary

Thane Kubik, a fourth year biomedical science student at U of C, shows off bacteria he and a team from the university will be entering in an international competition this weekend at MIT. Kubik’s team will be among three teams sent from the school.

Published: November 06, 2008 5:08 a.m.

Last modified: November 06, 2008 1:10 a.m.

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U of C health science students are headed to Massachusetts this weekend to show off their innovations in the field of genetic and synthetic engineering.

The iGEM competition, started by the?Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)?in 2003 to attract undergrads to the field of synthetic biology, will bring in 84 teams from 21 countries.

One?Calgary team has designed a strain of E. coli bacteria that recognizes and kills harmful salmonella and meningitis viruses before they spread. “Our bacteria have an antibiotic to kill specific targets,” said Thane Kubik, a biomedical science student. “It also alerts us to the presence of those cells by glowing red for salmonella, and green for meningitis.”