Today the students started out the day learning about Biomedical Engineering and the main fields it covers. Biomedical engineering covers everything from pharmecuticals to things like prosthetic limbs and implants, bioinstumentation, genetic engineering, and synthetic biology. We then watched a WIRED science video on some cutting edge advances in the field, such as synthetic biology (creating organisms completely from scratch using DNA), recombinant DNA, and the goal of perhaps being able to code and build organisms like we do computer programs in the future. After that, we got a chance to take a closer look at some of the studies encompassed by biomedical engineering.
We started out by looking at some different models of what the inside of a cell looks like. The first one, "The Inner Life of a Cell" showed a version of the cell that was streamlined to make it easier to understand. We then looked at a model that showed the random movement of the cell more accurately. After that, we examined a model that showed all of the things that we might not think of that are also inside the cell, like water, amino acids, and other chemicals that affect the movement of things in the cell. After learning about the inside of individual cells we then looked at how the body works as a whole. Using online models from NCSI (http://computationalscience.org/cbbe/) we experimented with a model of how medecine affects the body. We used a AgentSheets model to try giving a patient different amounts of medecine at different intervals, and see how the medecine was metabolized by the body.
After that we looked at the actual code for the model, and learned a little AgentSheets, making a model where Agents moved around on the screen. We then got the chance to learn another modeling program, Vensim. In Vensim, instead of looking at individual agents we look at the bigger scheme, in a kind of "flow chart" of how things interact. Using this, we made a Predator Prey model that showed how the number of rabbits (prey) and wolves (predator) are dependent on each other and increase and decrease in a cycle. After experimenting with our Vensim model, we then progressed to NetLogo. We started out by looking at a Shodor built model of the immune response to a virus in the body, then after reading and talking about some of the code we made a few modifications to it. We then got a chance to make our own model, using ideas from the group. We made a Dragons and caterpillars model, where both breeds moved and interacted using input fro slider bars.
Because this was the last day of camp, all of the students were given One-Year Affiliate Circle Membership with Sigma XI, which gives them the Sigma XI scientific magazine every two months as well as access to online materials. It was a very cool way to end a very fun week of camp!