Groningen iGEM team best in Europe

A team of 11 University of Groningen students won the European iGEM competition last Sunday in Amsterdam. This victory qualifies them for the finals of the International Genetically Engineered Machine competition (iGEM) in Boston. One hundred and seventy teams from across the world take part in the competition, which aims to convert bacteria to a practical goal using biotechnology.

In the iGEM competition, student teams try to use synthetic biology to construct the best biological ‘machine’. Team Groningen thought up a detection system for rotting meat.

The Groningen students have designed a bacterium that changes colour as meat starts to go off. They have developed a sticker that you can put on meat at home to check whether it is still fresh. It is a complete system with the colour-change bacteria safely packaged in a special film which allows volatile substances from the meat to permeate but is completely sealed for liquids and other bacteria. The system is very sensitive and reacts long before a person could smell anything suspicious.

Forty-seven teams participated in the European preliminary rounds, of which 5 were Dutch. The University of Groningen students were selected as the best in Europe, beating teams from Cambridge and the former world champion Slovenia, among others. Teams from Wageningen and Delft will be going to Boston in four weeks too. The Groningen team will be participating in the final from 2 to 5 November.

- RUG iGEM team

- iGEM competition