Synthetic Biology News and Research

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AI could accelerate commercialization of bio-based chemical manufacturing

The era of "biomanufacturing", in which microbes, not petroleum, produce chemical products, is one step closer. A KAIST research team has analyzed the key challenges limiting the commercialization of biomanufacturing and proposed an AI-driven strategy for industrialization.

13 Jul 2026

New project aims to systematically map billion cellular interactions

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23 Jun 2026

Synthetic biology platform unmasks hidden bacterial targets of bacteriophages

An interdisciplinary team of Rice University researchers has uncovered previously unknown relationships between bacteriophages - viruses that infect bacteria - and their bacterial hosts, offering a powerful new tool for next-generation microbiome engineering.

17 Jun 2026

Review outlines virtual tumor concept and next-generation immunotherapy

A comprehensive review led by Associate Researcher Linnan Zhu and Academician Zemin Zhang at Biomedical Pioneering Innovation Center (BIOPIC), Peking University, China, and Chongqing Medical University, China, was published in Volume 2, article number 27 of the journal Immunity & Inflammation on June 05, 2026.

12 Jun 2026

Study identifies key protein driving colon cancer drug resistance

One of the most widely used chemotherapeutic agents for colorectal cancer is 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), a cornerstone treatment that has improved outcomes for countless patients.

9 Jun 2026

How Programmable Nanobiology Could Drive the Fifth Industrial Revolution

Professor Heddle's insights on nanobiology and AI highlight their potential to innovate drug delivery and vaccine development, addressing critical health needs.

9 Jun 2026

Rice University receives CPRIT funding to advance cancer research

New funding from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) will help Rice University advance cancer research on several fronts, from strengthening a core genetic engineering facility that serves researchers across Texas to supporting new studies in cancer immunotherapy and ovarian cancer.

8 Jun 2026

Gut microbiota may determine severity of life-threatening sepsis infections

Why do some people recover easily from bacterial infections while others rapidly deteriorate into life-threatening sepsis? According to a new study, the answer may lie not only in the invading pathogen itself, but also in the microorganisms already living inside the gut.

28 May 2026

AI-engineered p53 superproteins may reshape future cancer therapies

The Oncodarwinian Hypothesis (OdH) proposes a paradigm shift: cancer is not merely a disease but a potential macro‑immunoadaptive response – a self‑replicating algorithm that can be reprogrammed via AI‑based 3D printed p53 superproteins.

22 May 2026

Harvard researchers outline roadmap to solve orphan receptor challenge

A new review highlights how synthetic biology, AI, and spatial omics could transform ligand-receptor discovery from one-by-one searches into network-level mapping.

22 May 2026

Turning the flu virus into a powerful tool to fight cancer

A recent Views & Comments article published in Engineering highlights advances in repurposing influenza viruses as flexible therapeutic platforms for infectious diseases and cancer, driven by progress in reverse genetics and viral vector engineering.

14 May 2026

Building large DNA pieces to create custom microbes

A review in Quantitative Biology demonstrates that scientists can now reliably build and combine very large pieces of DNA, making it much easier to redesign microbes such as yeast and bacteria to act as efficient "cell factories."

7 May 2026

UCLA researchers build programmable artificial organelles using RNA

Just as the human body relies on organs such as the heart or liver for essential functions, cells depend on their own tiny organs, or organelles, to carry out vital tasks, including transporting nutrients, removing waste and regulating genetic activity.

30 Apr 2026

Engineered gut bacteria successfully treat metabolic drivers of liver disease

When the liver fails, toxins - such as ammonia - that should be filtered from the blood build up and reach the brain.

28 Apr 2026

Synthetic biology approach boosts growth of implanted liver tissue

In patients developing end-stage liver disease, the damage has become too severe for the liver's normally extraordinary regenerative capacity to repair or compensate for it. Once this "point of no return" has been reached, the only option is an organ transplant.

17 Apr 2026

New method boosts AI-driven protein engineering with massive data

Protein engineering is a field primed for artificial intelligence research. Each protein is made up of amino acids; to optimize a protein function, researchers modify proteins by switching out one of 20 different amino acids for another.

13 Apr 2026

CiQUS researchers develop flexible chemical strategy to create biomimetic synthetic cells

A team at the Center for Research in Biological Chemistry and Molecular Materials (CiQUS) at the University of Santiago de Compostela has developed a more flexible chemical strategy to create biomimetic structures—artificial systems that mimic cellular functions.

7 Apr 2026

Gut-derived metabolites regulate immune cells in complex ways

Published on March 23, 2026, in Volume 2, article number 18 of the journal Immunity & Inflammation, the review begins by systematically outlining the sources and synthetic pathways of immune-relevant microbial metabolites, including bile acids, short-chain fatty acids, amino acid derivatives, vitamins, trimethylamine/trimethylamine N-oxide, and odd-chain fatty acids.

31 Mar 2026

Researchers identify the limiting factors behind protein diversification

The number of known proteins is infinitely small in comparison to the universe of possible proteins which could in theory be realized.

31 Mar 2026

Mapping the physical forces that propel proteins forward

Scientists at Oregon Health & Science University have uncovered a previously unknown system of internal "trade winds" that help cells rapidly move essential proteins to the front of the cell, reshaping how researchers understand cell migration, cancer spread and wound healing.

31 Mar 2026