INDEX: is a Danish-based, non-profit organization that was established in 2002 and coined the concept “Design to Improve Life”. They work globally to promote and apply both design and design processes that have the capacity to improve the lives of people worldwide. INDEX: is widely recognized for the global biennial design award, the INDEX:Award, which is the largest monetary design prize in the world, worth €500,000 and encompassing the five categories of INDEX:: Body, Home, Work, Play, and Community.

The E. chromi project has been nominated for an award in the Body category in this prestigious competition.



E. chromi
Body category

An inexpensive personalized disease monitor
Synthetic biology is a new approach to genetic engineering that could lead to new medical technologies, energy sources and foods. A team of young synthetic biologists studying at Cambridge University spent the summer of 2009 creating E. chromi — a set of DNA parts, or BioBricks, that can be inserted into E. coli bacteria. Each BioBrick contains genes selected from existing organisms, enabling the bacteria to produce a color: Red, yellow, green, blue, brown or violet. By combining these with other BioBricks, the bacteria can be programmed to do useful things.