Foldit启发的“合成生物学”教学新方式

Foldit-inspired innovative teaching of Synthetic Biology

摘要:

合成生物学旨在通过构建人工生物系统来理解生命和设计生命，是新一轮科技革命和产业变革的新引擎。为了适应合成生物学前沿知识与传统生物科学框架的融汇交叉，本文聚焦于全新设置的“合成生物学”课程中元件开发与设计基础知识的教学现状，提出理论传授与Foldit实践操作有机结合的方式，增强学生对“蛋白质元件折叠与设计”的掌握与运用。从课程设计、教学方法等方面进行探讨，提出智能软件辅助解决课程难点的策略。创新的教学模式有效促进了学生在蛋白质设计前沿领域的创新能力与实践技能的发展，对于培养适应未来科技挑战的生物科学人才具有重要意义。

Abstract:

Synthetic biology aims to understand and design life by building artificial biological systems. It is a new engine for the next round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial revolution. To adapt to the integration between cutting-edge knowledge of synthetic biology and conventional biological science frameworks, we proposed the combination of theoretical teaching and practical operation of Foldit in the teaching of component development and design in the newly developed Synthetic Biology course. The combined teaching mode significantly enhanced students’ understanding of protein folding and design. Further, we discussed the course design and teaching methods and put forward the idea of using intelligent software to assist in the teaching of difficult points in this course. This innovative approach significantly fosters the students' ability and hands-on experience in the domain of protein design, which play pivotal roles in nurturing next-generation talents to meet the demands of forthcoming technological challenges.