IISER-Tirupati_India
OviCloak - A Novel Contraceptive for Uterus Owners
"We’re employing synthetic biology to design a novel contraceptive for uterus owners “OviCloak”- commensal bacteria of the fallopian tube genetically engineered to sense hormonal levels and secrete natural ovum specific protease that acts as the contraceptive molecule.
Keeping in view the need for a reversible and safe contraceptive, we shall introduce inducible kill switches regulated by molecules that are neither harmful to the consumer nor the environment. We envision designing a non-hormonal, and long-term contraceptive with minimal side effects.
As our proposed solution falls under the non-hormonal and LARC (Long-Acting Reversible Contraceptives) spectrum, it has a negligent carbon footprint and conforms to Green Contraceptive norms. This makes our contraceptive user-friendly and empowers users by providing control over their fertility without compromising their health.
Hence we wish to instigate a fresh perspective towards contraceptives and realize global reproductive health and rights by providing a safe and effective alternative. "
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Our project targets two Sustainable Development Goals: Goal #4: Quality Education, and Goal #3: Good Health and Wellbeing. More specifically, the goals we would like to emphasize are sub-goals 4.5 and 3.7.
Task 1 (4.5): By getting feedback on our sign language video, we will be able to improve on our sign language videos and make more educational videos about synthetic biology.
Task 2 (4.5): Interactive zines deliver quality education to diverse age groups with a fun element. By sharing our zine on the less spoken topic of “reproductive tract microbiome”, we will be able to deliver quality education around the world.
Task 3 (3.7): Through interviewing those who are users of hormonal contraceptives we can understand the problems faced by them and further tailor our contraceptive as an ideal alternative.
LINKS FOR TASKS:
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Insta: @igem_iisertirupati
Email: igem2021iisertirupati@gmail.com