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Overview
The central theme of our educational programs is to raise public awareness about cataracts and the importance of their prevention, as well as to investigate the public acceptance of new technology products,eye drop.
Our educational efforts have targeted diverse demographic groups, including primary school students, high school students,young adults, and the elderly.
According to the characteristics of different groups, we adopted different types of communication methods. For children, we used games to teach them knowledge about eyes. When it came to young people, we employed youth-friendly ways, such as online dissemination. As for the elderly, we chose face-to-face conversations. This not only made them feel cared for but also enabled the delivery of scientific content.
1 Elderly Group
Since the incidence of cataracts is relatively high among the elderly, we focus our attention on this group, especially emphasizing the actual needs and inner feelings of elderly patients. To this end, we actively visited elderly service centers, popularizing knowledge about cataract prevention, treatment, and scientific eye - care to the elderly through professional explanations. At the same time, we had in - depth face - to - face conversations with the elderly cataract patients, attentively listening to their demands and deeply understanding the practical difficulties they encountered in their lives and treatment. Moreover, to extend our care to a wider range of the elderly, we also went deep into communities, delivering warmth by distributing convenient hand-fans. Simultaneously, we carried out lectures on eye - care knowledge, enabling more elderly people to feel genuine concern and receive professional guidance in their daily lives.
1a Huangshan Senior Service Center
i) Basic Information
Time: June 28, 2025
Location: Huangshan Senior Service Center
Participant Demographics: A total of 30 elderly individuals participated in the activity, with ages ranging from 60 to 90 years old.
ii) Activity Description
To gain a comprehensive understanding of elderly individuals’ awareness of cataracts, the number of affected individuals, and daily eye care habits in nursing homes, we aimed to educate them on cataract prevention and raise their awareness of personal health. Simultaneously, we collected information on their methods of treating cataracts,as well as their acceptance and actual needs for eye drops,so as to provide more targeted eye care support for the elderly in nursing homes in the future.
Using pictures and videoswe explained the causes, symptoms, harms, and prevention methods of cataracts to the elderly, such as avoiding prolonged exposure to strong light, maintaining eye hygiene, and scheduling regular eye examinations. A questionnaire covering topics such as cataract awareness, prevalence, eye habits, and eye drop needs was designed, and we assisted the elderly in filling it out. The elderly were also encouraged to ask questions related to cataracts, and our team provided answers. Correct responses were rewarded with prizes.
We were delighted to witness the enthusiastic participation during the activity.We found that most participants had limited knowledge about the core aspects of cataracts, such as their causes and prevention methods. After our explanations, this situation improved significantly.
The elderly residents at the service center commended us for our patience and clear explanations, saying that we had helped them acquire valuable knowledge and they highly recognized our work. The staff at the Elderly Service Center stated that such activities were of great significance. They not only showed concern for the health of the elderly but also provided valuable references for future services. They hoped that similar activities could be organized more frequently in the future.
When planning the event, we prepared a questionnaire for the elderly present to fill out, hoping to collect everyone's harvest before and after the event, whether they have a better understanding of eye protection knowledge, cataract prevention measures, etc. However, questionnaire collection is poor due to the older age and large number of older people. Therefore, our follow-up plan pays special attention to this, and tries to avoid filling out questionnaires, but uses more face-to-face communication with the elderly.
1b Communication with Patients
i)Basic Information:
TimeJuly&August,2025
Participant Demographics four cataract patients, two in the early stage and two have had surgery.
ii)Specific Description:
In order to understand the needs of cataract patients more accurately and convey scientific knowledge, over several months, we successfully located four cataract patients. Through in-depth face-to-face communication, we popularized key points of cataract prevention and treatment, as well as daily eye-care knowledge for the elderly. Meanwhile, we introduced synthetic biology, a new technology, and the new-type eye drops developed under the background of this technology.
During the communication, we observed distinct differences in attitudes. Two of the elderly, despite their advanced age, maintained curiosity and enthusiasm for new things. They not only showed a positive acceptance of synthetic biology technology and new-type eye drops but also actively discussed eye-protection methods with us and were eager to learn relevant new knowledge. However, the other two elderly had an obvious resistance to the new technology. They believe that mature products on the market are safer, and they think that they have been cured after surgery, and are unwilling to spend time learning about new products. Even after team members patiently and meticulously explained the technical principles and practical value repeatedly, their attitudes did not change significantly.
This communication made us deeply aware that popular science work targeting the elderly is not accomplished overnight. There is still a long way to go to break down cognitive barriers and build trust. This made us deeply realize that it is an indispensable preliminary step to carry out market education for the target user group; therefore, in the overall business plan, marketing promotion and publicity have also become a particularly crucial component that requires focused planning and implementation.
Based on the experience and reflection from this practice, we decided to further expand the scope of communication. We plan to continuously carry out promotion and popular science activities regarding synthetic biology technology and eye-health knowledge in a wider range of regions. By adopting methods that are more in line with people's needs, we aim to gradually narrow the gap between cutting - edge technology and the public.
(To protect the privacy of patients, we will not disclose information such as photos of our interactions with them.)
1c Wider Community Promotion
i)Basic Information:
TimeSeptember& October,2025
Participant DemographicsCommunity residents
ii)Specific Description:
We recognized that while the science is complex, the condition primarily affects the elderly. To ensure our work was responsive to real-world needs, we needed to understand the baseline knowledge, misconceptions, and concerns the general public, particularly the at-risk demographic, has about cataracts. We wish to practice responsible science by moving beyond the lab and actively contributing to our local community by providing valuable health information in an easy-to-understand interactive way.
We designed and executed a targeted community outreach activity aimed at the elderly population throughout various Chinese provinces during the peak of summer. We distributed custom-designed hand fans .
Our fan featured concise points explaining what cataracts are, their common symptoms, and the role of "harmful molecules" (free radicals) in their development. We used simple analogies and large, readable fonts. The fan also clearly displayed our team name (Nanjing-BioX) to establish credibility and a large, scannable QR code linked directly to our social media account on Douyin, allowing interested individuals to follow our project's journey and learn more over time. Team members approached elderly individuals in community parks, public squares, and residential areas during the morning and evening hours when they were most active. We initiated contact respectfully, offering the fan as a tool to cope with the heat. We briefly explained that we were students working on a science project about eye health and that the fan contained some helpful information. We politely asked if they would be willing to help our research by scanning the QR code and filling out a short survey. We emphasized that it was optional and that the fan was a gift regardless of their decision. We offered to help them scan the code and read the questions aloud if they faced any difficulties with their smartphones or eyesight.
2 Young People and Children
We are well aware that cataract are an irreversible eye disease, and "prevention" is of paramount importance in curbing their onset and progression. Therefore, we have directed the focus of our popular science efforts toward young people: on one hand, we disseminate scientific eye care knowledge to help them develop prevention awareness and avoid eye health risks; on the other hand, we aim to use young people as a bridge, enabling them to pass on eye care concepts to the elderly around them. This creates a radiating effect of "young people guiding their elders," allowing prevention efforts to reach a broader population.
We designed differentiated courses for young people and children. For young people, in addition to campus-based popular science activities, we provided a comprehensive courseware package on "Synthetic Biology". For children, we integrated eye-related and biological knowledge into games, enabling them to learn while having fun, while also helping them learning to care for the elderly and protect their own eyes.
2a High Schools
i)Basic Information:
TimeSeptember,2025
LocationA high school at Hangzhou
Participant DemographicsHigh school students and teachers
ii)Specific Description:
As a dynamic new force in the field of knowledge dissemination, middle school students are not only learners of scientific knowledge but also potential disseminators of popular science concepts. Based on this understanding, our team, in collaboration with several other iGEM teams in Hangzhou, jointly planned a large-scale campus promotion and education activity with a wide coverage and high participation rate. The aim was to expose more of our peers to the innovative achievements in the field of synthetic biology.
In terms of the choice of activity promotion carriers, we took “posters” as the core medium and carefully designed each piece of promotional material. In the posters, not only were the research directions, goals, and core achievements of each iGEM team clearly presented, but also through simple and easy-to-understand combinations of pictures and texts, complex scientific research content was transformed into popular science knowledge close to campus life. By avoiding the obscurity of professional jargon, teachers and students could quickly understand the value and significance of different research projects.
To maximize the publicity effect, we made full use of the campus resources of team members. Taking advantage of the opportunities for extracurricular learning in our respective schools, we accurately posted the designed posters in the extracurricular expansion areas on campus, including bulletin boards around laboratories, the walls of the club activity center, and the public display areas of teaching buildings. These are locations with high daily activity frequencies and convenient access for teachers and students. This “embedded” posting method not only does not interfere with the normal teaching order of the campus but also allows all teachers and students to freely browse during their spare time, subtly getting them to understand the knowledge of synthetic biology and the charm of iGEM projects.
2b Sanlin Little Treasure Cabin
i) Basic Information:
Time: The eye protection science popularization activity was held in two sessions.
-First session time: August 19, 2025, from 15:00 to 16:00.
-Second session time: August 20, 2025, from 09:00 to 10:00.
Location: Shanghai Sanlin Shanghai Sanlin Little Treasure Cabin
Participant Demographics: The participants were primary school students from underdeveloped rural areas in China, with a total of approximately 20 attendees.
ii) Specific Description:
This activity was carefully designed by our team, with the core goal of enabling children to recognize the importance of eyes, gain a basic knowledge of synthetic biology fundamentals, understand the causes and prevention key points of cataracts, and raise their awareness of caring for the elderly at home and people with eye diseases—all through interesting science popularization and interactions. Based on children's characteristics of short attention spans and preference for concrete expressions, we adopted a design approach that combined knowledge explanation with question-and-answer interactions.
The August 19 session focused on knowledge-based science popularization. Team members explained the mechanism of cataract formation (such as lens aging, ultraviolet damage, etc.) by comparing the disease mechanism to card games familiar to children, combined with simple and easy-to-understand diagrams. Knowledge quizzes were interspersed throughout to encourage children to ask questions proactively.
The second session on August 20, while continuing the knowledge context from the previous day, focused on children's hands-on creation of crafts associated with our lesson. During the entire activity, our team deliberately reserved sufficient time for children to express themselves freely, and collected many imaginative and creative ideas. For example, after the popularization of knowledge related to synthetic biology, a child proposed creating "bacteria that can produce good things from soil”.
From the perspective of activity feedback and effects, there was a significant dual improvement in knowledge cognition and practical awareness. Through simple interactions before the activity, we found most children had a vague understanding of common eye diseases; after the activity, not only did most children clearly understand the importance of eye health, but they also took the initiative to share the eye protection knowledge learned in class with their families, and they gave reminders later to elders about the importance of eye health— demonstrating the communication goal of education—classroom -> personal life
The participation and interaction levels were amazing, with children's enthusiasm and participation far exceeding our expectations. During the activity, even the younger kids maintained a state of actively raising their hands and communicating actively, putting forward a lot of creative ideas. We're happy to report an activity site with vitality in real interest for learning!
We guided the children to DIY their own "pet rock eye"—smooth rocks on which the children painted vivid eye patterns. This art activity also helped the children deepen their memory of eye protection knowledge, throughout the hands-on process.
In addition, the teachers at Sanlin Little Treasure Cabin gave high recognition, commenting, "...You [guys] explain professional knowledge in such a beautiful way! They [the children] understood accurately without much trouble at all. [The education activity is] So meaningful, really, than ordinary classroom lessons. Let us know if [you guys have] any more activities like this one you have time to carry out!"
3 Online Education
3a “Circle of ‘LIVE’“live stream
Centering around the theme of "Circle of ‘LIVE’", we joined hands with four other iGEM high-school teams. We deeply integrated the characteristic research topics of each team
-Converting waste "coffee grounds" into organic fertilizers
-Rapidly detecting antibiotics in the environment to protect the ecosystem
-Highly increasing the production of leonurine,
-developing new - type eye drops for cataract prevention
-creating antibacterial sprays for zoonotic diseases
We meticulously designed two themed courses, "Contribution" and "Wellness", and opened them to the public in the form of a live-stream.
During the live-stream courses, we focused on the practical applications of synthetic biology technology. We elaborated on how each team utilized this technology to actively explore and fulfill their responsibilities in fields such as environmental governance, human health protection, and harmonious social development. This enabled the audience to directly experience the scientific research commitment of youth teams and the practical value of the technology.
In addition, to enhance interactivity and listen to diverse voices, we specifically set up a Q&A session to encourage the audience to ask questions and communicate, further expanding the depth and breadth of the courses. To expand the dissemination scope of the courses and provide more people with the opportunity to participate in learning, we simultaneously launched the live-stream on three platforms: WeChat Video Account, Douyin, and Xiaohongshu, covering different user groups and maximizing the reach and influence of the activity.
3b “Synthetic Biology”series of courses
We meticulously designed six introductory-level courses. The content is concise, easy to understand, and gradually progresses from the basics to more complex concepts. These courses aim to build an "enlightenment bridge" to the discipline of synthetic biology for students who have no prior knowledge but are interested in it. The courses follow a step - by - step rhythm. The first three classes focus on basic understanding, explaining core concepts such as cell structure and DNA functions in a popular way to help students lay a theoretical foundation. The middle courses delve into practical areas, analyzing the principles and applications of the "gene scissors CRISPR", and discussing the biosafety norms and ethical boundaries in the field of synthetic biology. The last class features "home-operable" experiments. Through hands-on guidance in home-based experiments, students can consolidate what they've learned and truly make the transition from "understanding" to "experiencing".
3c Multiple self-media platforms
We have registered accounts on three Chinese platforms and two international platforms, namely Douyin, Xiaohongshu, WeChat Official Account, YouTube, and Instagram. By establishing a presence across multiple platforms, we aim to expand our outreach, engage with audiences from diverse backgrounds, and achieve a more international impact.
We have published numerous posts in both graphic and video formats. Since our audience consists largely of young people, our visual designs incorporate vibrant color schemes and integrate popular internet memes, which have received positive feedback—many praised our content for being creative and engaging. We also posted multiple educational posts to raise awareness about cataracts and the iGEM competition, promoting our initiatives in the process. Additionally, we produced laboratory vlogs to give the public a glimpse into our daily experimental work.
