October 24, 2014
(Phys.org) – A team led by ETH professor Yaakov Benenson has developed several new components for biological circuits. These components are key building blocks for constructing precisely functioning and programmable bio-computers. Bio-engineers are working on the development of biological computers … Read More
October 24, 2014
(Phys.org) – Despite the wide variety of tasks that natural proteins perform, they appear to use only a limited number of structural types, perhaps just a few thousand or so. These are used over and over again, being altered and … Read More
October 14, 2014
(Phys.org) – A new paper examines security risks and policy questions related to the growing field of synthetic biology. While the author doesn’t think the field is ripe for exploitation by terrorists, it does highlight significant gaps in our understanding … Read More
October 2, 2014
(The Scientist) – Now that synthetic biology (synbio) has become an official bio-buzzword, it is time to take a step back and ask, “What’s in it for biomanufacturing?” At least one expert is not shy about answering the question. “Synthetic … Read More
September 24, 2014
(Time) – What should we worrying about in this moment of tremendous, and potentially cataclysmic, scientific discovery? In advance of the Zócalo/Arizona State University event “How Will Synthetic Biology Change the Way We Live?, we asked experts the following question: … Read More
September 18, 2014
(NPR) – The difference between the gothic speculations of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and today’s reality is twofold: First, we are beginning to build these creatures — fiction is now real; second, money plays a huge role in it. There is … Read More
September 9, 2014
(The Conversation) – The hope is – once we understand enough – we might be able to design processes that convert cheap feedstock, such as sugar and amino acids, into drugs or fuels. These production lines can then be installed … Read More
August 18, 2014
(Harvard Magazine) – Insofar as a common theme unites these diverse creations, it is the transformation of biology into an engineering discipline. Traditional genetic engineering amounted more or less to biological cut-and-paste: scientists could, for instance, transfer a cold-tolerance gene … Read More
August 5, 2014
(R & D Magazine) – The researchers are creating complex genetic logic circuits similar to those used to build traditional computers and electrical devices. In a simple circuit, if one input and another input are both present, the circuit carries … Read More
July 29, 2014
World Future Review (Vol. 6, No. 2, June 2014) is now available online by subscription only. Articles include: “Cognitivity Everywhere: The Omnipresence of Intelligent Machines and the Possible Social Impacts” by Alexandre Pupo “What If? Genetically Modified Organisms and Synthetic Life: … Read More
July 21, 2014
Medicine, Health Care and Philosophy (Vol. 17, No. 3, August 2014) is now available online by subscription only. Articles include: “The methodological rigor of anticipatory bioethics” by Bert Gordijn & Henk ten Have “The value and pitfalls of speculation about science … Read More
July 10, 2014
Science and Public Policy (Vol. 41, No. 3, June 2014) is now available online by subscription only. Articles include: “Synthetic biology: Too early for assessments? A review of synthetic biology assessments in Germany” by Davy van Doren and Nils B. Heyen … Read More
July 9, 2014
(The Guardian) – He was looking quite lost. An eminent scientist and UN delegate was stumbling over the meaning of a term that has been the subject of recent international debates: “synthetic biology.” Often called “extreme genetic engineering,” synthetic biology … Read More
July 3, 2014
(Yale Scientific) – In 2010, American biologist Craig Venter created the first cell with a synthetic genome. Two years later, researchers in San Diego created the first artificial cell membrane. Now, scientists have created the first synthetic eukaryote, bringing artificial … Read More
June 27, 2014
(Forbes) – Synthetic biology opens new doors on what life can be, and do. How will we utilize the awesome new tools at our disposal? In this video from our June 17 Techonomy Bio conference, Andrew Hessel of Autodesk moderates a … Read More
June 17, 2014
(Phys.org) – Genetic engineering is one of the great achievements of modern science, allowing for the insertion or deletion of genes in order to control an organism’s characteristics and behaviors. However, genetic engineering has its drawbacks, including the difficulties involved … Read More
June 16, 2014
(Scientific American) – According to the New York Times, synthetic biology is creating DNA out of thin air. A recent article about synthetic biology and consumer goods describes DNA synthesis as a process where “DNA is created on computers and … Read More
May 30, 2014
(Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News) – Policy specialists from the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI), the University of Virginia, andEMBO released a report that details the challenges faced by regulators with the increased use of more sophisticated synthetic biology techniques … Read More
May 29, 2014
(Phys.org) – Australia is to play a significant role in the quest for artificial life as it joins an international project to create the world’s first synthetic yeast, we can announce today. Under the leadership of Jef Boeke from New … Read More
May 26, 2014
(Harvard Wyss Institute) – In an issue of Nature (vol. 509, issue 7499), Wyss Institute Core Faculty member Pamela Silver and Senior Staff Scientist Jeffrey Way argue that rational design can be used to predictably engineer new biological systems. The goal … Read More
May 26, 2014
(Phys.org) – A solution to this challenge can be provided by synthetic biology approaches that are becoming essential for a variety of applications, in particular for modern medicine where novel biomolecular devices that control biology in the way as nature … Read More
May 23, 2014
(Phys.org) – The link between synthetic biology and heightened biosecurity threats is often exaggerated. In a report published today (22nd May) by King’s College London, researchers say that in order to produce more refined assessments of the biosecurity threat, we … Read More
May 22, 2014
(Nature) – The instructions encoded into DNA are thought to follow a universal set of rules across all domains of life. But researchers report today in Science that organisms routinely break these rules. The finding has implications for the design … Read More
May 9, 2014
(Nature) – The creation of an artificial yeast chromosome shows that synthetic biology is getting closer to what most scientists want: to be able to deliver benefits to society. The field has already found cheaper ways to produce medicines, and … Read More
May 9, 2014
(The Guardian) – The Inter-Academy Panel, a network of the world’s science academies including our own Royal Society, today issued a statement on synthetic biology. A few years ago, biologists in the higher branches of the Royal Society would claim … Read More
