Open to all new coders of all ages. No experience necessary!
Covid variants are starting to pop up all over the world. At the Wellcome Genome Campus Sanger Institute, scientists are racing to identify new potentially dangerous variants in the UK population. They do this using a technology called genome sequencing.
Genome sequencing is a journey from sample to processing and data analyses, and involves many steps in the lab along the way. A bit like baking a cake, things like storage temperature and an incorrectly timed process can mean the difference between a failed experiment and success.
This project aims to use a mini-computer called a BBC micro-bit to help scientists in the lab.
Technology can help scientists in many ways. For example, software developers have built a software called LIMS (Laboratory Information Systems) to track a sample arriving to a lab through to the moment it is processed. Scientists also rely on equipment that has lots of sensors, often controlled by a computer, to help them with their research.
We will take you through a series of activities where you can use your own BBC micro:bit, or a web-based BBC micro:bit simulator, to create code which could help scientists keep their samples at the correct temperature and manage their sequencing data. You will help solve a puzzle - has a new covid variant been detected?
The workshop will be split into 2 consecutive sessions: Workshop 1 (date time) and Workshop 2 (date time). We recommend attending both workshops, or only the 1st workshop, as the 2nd workshop assumes prior workshop attendance.
- Following registration, you should be provided with instructions on how to join the virtual video workshops.
- A computer with internet connection (for access to the video workshop and a BBC micro:bit webpage).
- A micro:bit is not necessary, however, if you do not own one, you can buy one (e.g. https://thepihut.com/products/micro-bit-v2-go-starter-kit>) or some libraries are able to loan them. If you bring one along it can be used in addition to or instead of the micro:bit simulator.
- We have set up our own pre-workshop micro:bit activity. This is in the form of a tutorial, to help get you up and running! This is very much optional, and we will run through it briefly again during the workshop. However, we encourage you to have a go, if you can.
Are you still wondering, what is a BBC micro:bit?!
The micro:bit foundation webpage is a brilliant resource to find out more about what it is and how it is being used in practise! The video tutorials in the get-started page can also be helpful, if you would like to try out an activity.
For an introduction to the micro:bit editor that we will be using, and how to use it, please see this short video tutorial There is also a micro:bit editor picture guide saved inside this Github repository, shown above.
In the workshop we will also be using a virtual classroom (https://classroom.microbit.org/). A link to the classroom log-in and a password will be made available at the start of the workshop.
We have set up our own pre-workshop micro:bit activity. This is in the form of a tutorial, to help get you up and running! This is very much optional, and we will run through it briefly again during the workshop. However, we encourage you to have a go, if you can.
And finally - wondering what covid sequencing actually looks like in a lab? A short film taken at the Wellcome Genome Campus Sanger Institute can be found here:Sanger Institute - What does it take to sequence tens of thousands of COVID-19 samples
This event is for any new coder, including children and adults. There will be online guidance during the Zoom workshop with a chat forum so that we can answer questions. We want you to have fun and find out what it is like to code! It is as much about creativity and problem solving as it is about learning to code.
Good luck! Your workshop tutors: Ami, Kim, Maria and Saamin :)