Abstract:

Continuing the tradition of Docendo Discimus project started at the end of 2015 within XXIX Edition of Futuro Remoto, a four-day event held in Plebiscito Square in Naples with the theme "To build", I’ve recently started the training of a new Team made of six students new coming and an old component with the charge of team leader.

I selected seven Life Science undergraduate students and added them to Docendo Discimus Team ( DOCENDO DISCIMUS F2 Team profile on istagram) beginning the training for Science dissemination and popularization activities on DNA sequencing and building all the activities in the frame of theme "To be 4.0" of XXXIII Edition of Futuro Remoto guested at Città della Scienza in NAPLES (Italy) next November from 21th to 24th.

One of the objective of Docendo Discimus Team will be to design and realize some easy interactive scientific activities proposing them during the event with the aim to comunicate and disseminate to the audience about milestones, history and evolution of methods starting from first to fourth generation of DNA sequencing Technologies.

In fact, sequencing Technology has become increasing powerful over the last few years with many new platform that boast improved cost for each sample, depth of base reads, and finally throughput. Today with the many sequencing options available choosing the right one can be challenging, It is important the right choice to answer the research investigating question.

After studying from scientific literature, students have identified few types of question that scientist are asking: from identification of clinical relevant cancer mutation, to identification of mutation for genetic disease or understanding condition that have non clear cause as well as rare disease. Analyzing bacteria that contribute to infection to understanding how a virus spreads. These are just a few of the type of questions that can be answered today with sequencing technologies.

We plan, to use poster written also in English language and games to communicate in different ways the different generations of DNA technologies and sequencing methods, and more modern portable, real-time DNA/RNA sequencing device will be shown in partnership with leading company in the sector.

Different devices (from the laboratory), "ancient" and "modern", the interactive games of different types specially designed and built directly by the members of the Docendo Discimus Team and original models build ad hoc to illustrate and practically perform DNA sequencing will be available.

A further playful activity, which 'll be very successful, is one in which visitors should be to "connect" images of organism to their respective genetic complexity and chromosome number discovering the paradox of C value, and that there is no correlation between gene number and C value in Eucaryota but that there is in microorganisms (Prokaryota).

Crosswords, memory games and some simple experiments in line with the theme will be proposed. I’m also collaborating with Docendo Discimus Team to build a model with poor material that I’ll use for my teaching activity al University next academic year.

Dissemination activities integrated with those carried out in the molecular biology laboratory (wet-lab) and also in Bioinformatics (in silico lab) have constituted and will constitute the thesis project of three-year degree in Biological Sciences of some team members (http://www.dipartimentodibiologia.unina.it/progetto-docendo-discimus).

Keywords:

DNA Sequencing, serious Game, science popularization, By teaching we learn, Long Life Learning.