UC Berkeley Team a Finalist at iGEM 2008

Slovenia took the prize at this year's iGEM in Cambridge, Massachusetts -- the International Genetically Engineered Machine competition which challenges teams of undergrads to develop new biological systems from a kit of biological parts. The winning team engineered a vaccine against Helicobacter pylori bacteria. H. pylori contributes to increased incidence of ulcers and gastric malignancies.

The UC Berkeley iGEM team, with their Clonebots project, was one of six finalists. You can check out a video overview of Clonebots here, as described by team member Molly Allen. Another Bay Area contender, the UCSF team, won Best Application Area. The team website has information on their Chromatin Memories project.

iGEM dates back to January of 2003 and a month-long course during MIT's Independent Activities Period where students designed biological systems to make cells blink. In 2004, five teams competed. In 2008, 84 teams from 21 countries participated in the competition, each presenting their projects at the iGEM Jamboree on November 8 and 9.

Learn more about iGem:

• iGEM 2008 Results
• About iGEM
• iGEM 2008 Team Abstracts
• Team Slovenia Website

^{Image Courtesy of iGEM}