Students from Maths, Physics, Engineering and Life Sciences will be travelling to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Boston this September (24-28) to compete in a global synthetic biology competition.

The competition named International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM), involves designing genetic features that are incorporated into living micro-organisms to create solutions for real world issues.

The team aims to build a bioengineering tool that can construct organised structures using living cells as the material.

Team member Ben Hayward, third year mathematician, said:

MIT is one of the most inspiring scientific institutions in the world and their work, both in and out of synthetic biology, has been really exciting to hear about over the years. This visit will allow us to engage with other researchers, from many different countries.

The team’s research could result in the creation of different cells types that could be used for tissue bioengineering or constructing artificial organs.

For updates on the team’s progress visit their website or follow them on Twitter.

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