Students set for US science contest final

A team of students is set to travel to the US to compete in an international science contest.

The ten undergraduates are working together on a research project as part of iGEM, a synthetic biology competition run by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

They are among than 300 teams from around the world competing to produce novel engineering solutions to the world's biggest problems. 

Hydrogen fuel

The interdisciplinary team – called Hydrolyte – is working on a process that could enable hydrogen to be produced in a sustainable way using bacteria.

Current production rates of biohydrogen – which can be used as a sustainable and affordable fuel – are so low they are not feasible for use, so the team is working to increase rates by creating a novel type of bacteria.

They have designed a device that can grow their photosynthetic bacteria and collect the hydrogen they produce.

Boston event

The iGEM competition will culminate at an event in Boston in autumn 2019.

At the MIT-hosted event, the Edinburgh team will have the opportunity to present their research and designs to more than 6000 scientists, industry members and synthetic biology enthusiasts.

The team has launched a campaign to help support their project. Find out more here: http://bit.ly/2Lek8vM

One of my favourite things about iGEM is the opportunity to collaborate with other UK university teams. Working with other science undergraduates across the country has been such a unique experience.