By JACQUELINE CAROZZA
The International Genetically Engineered Machine competition challenges students with the following prompt: build a novel biological system from standard genetic parts and incorporate this system into a cell.
The 30-member Cornell iGEM project team applied their diverse scientific backgrounds to design a synthetic biological solution to a problem faced by local upstate New York company, Ecovative Design, which produces biodegradable alternatives to packaging such as polystyrene, known commercially as Styrofoam.
Courtesy of Swati Sureka ’15Morphing mushrooms | Cornell’s International Genetically Engineered Machine Project Team, also called iGEM, worked to perfect a biodegradable organofoam made from fungi.