Synthetic Biology News and Research

RSS

Systems biologist to pursue research into next-generation genome sequencing technology

Systems biologist Edward Marcotte has received a $2.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to pursue cutting-edge research in the area of genome sequencing technology.

21 Sep 2012

Synthetic biology pioneer wins 2012 Heinz Award

Jay Keasling, a leading authority and pioneer on synthetic biology who has engineered microbial "factories" to manufacture an affordable version of a frontline antimalarial drug and biofuel substitutes for gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, has won a 2012 Heinz Award, which is presented by the Heinz Family Foundation and carries with it a cash prize of $250,000.

13 Sep 2012

Simple low-cost biosensor to detect contaminated drinking water

Diarrheal disease is the second leading cause of death in children under five years old - killing as many as 1.5 million children worldwide every year. These startling statistics from the World Health Organization (2009) point to the reason why a group of undergraduate students from Arizona State University is working to develop a low-cost biosensor - a simple device that would detect contaminated drinking water.

7 Sep 2012

Rice University researcher to see how delays in gene transcription affect cellular processes

A Rice University researcher and his colleagues have received a National Institutes of Health grant to see how delays in gene transcription - life's most basic messaging system - affect cellular processes.

16 Aug 2012

Researchers turn inanimate silicone and living cardiac muscle cells into a jellyfish

Using recent advances in marine biomechanics, materials science, and tissue engineering, a team of researchers at Harvard University and the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have turned inanimate silicone and living cardiac muscle cells into a freely swimming "jellyfish."

23 Jul 2012

Biological filter to remove estrogens from waste water and drinking water

A biological filter to remove estrogens from waste water and drinking water. The 15 Bielefeld students submitting this project to the 'international Genetically Engineered Machine competition' (iGEM) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Boston, USA are setting their sights high.

26 Jun 2012

Life Technologies introduces three next generation genetic engineering kits

Life Technologies Corporation today announced the launch of three next generation GeneArt genetic engineering kits that allow molecular and synthetic biologists unprecedented speed, flexibility, precision, and efficiency for the seamless cloning, assembly, and editing of genetic material.

19 Jun 2012

EPSRC to help researchers in synthetic biology to establish platform technology

The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) will help the UK's world-leading researchers in synthetic biology to establish platform technology in the emerging field with a new grant of almost -5 million. Platform technology is the crucial next step necessary for applications to be produced and commercialised.

25 May 2012

Automated way to record electrical activity inside neurons in the living brain

Gaining access to the inner workings of a neuron in the living brain offers a wealth of useful information: its patterns of electrical activity, its shape, even a profile of which genes are turned on at a given moment. However, achieving this entry is such a painstaking task that it is considered an art form; it is so difficult to learn that only a small number of labs in the world practice it.

7 May 2012

Cyberplasm could pinpoint diseases within the human body

A tiny prototype robot that functions like a living creature is being developed which one day could be safely used to pinpoint diseases within the human body.

30 Mar 2012

Public agencies must study ecological risks of synthetic biology

Experts say at least $20 million to $30 million in government research is needed over the next decade to adequately identify and address the possible ecological risks of synthetic biology, an emerging area of research focused on the design and construction of new biological parts and systems, or modification of existing ones, to create new applications in areas ranging from energy to chemicals and pharmaceuticals.

1 Mar 2012

ESOF 2012 science program launches today at AAAS meeting in Vancouver

The science program for Euroscience Open Forum 2012 (ESOF 2012) was officially launched today at the AAAS meeting in Vancouver.

20 Feb 2012

World Economic Forum releases list of 'Important Technologies'

The World Economic Forum's Global Agenda Council on Emerging Technologies has just released its list of "Important Technologies" that will change the world in the years ahead. The list highlights technology trends most likely to impact on the state of the world in the near future and was developed by a cross section of experts from science, businesses, and public policy.

15 Feb 2012

Governments must rethink policies surrounding biosecurity, not resort to censorship

Author Laurie Garrett, senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations, writes in this Foreign Policy opinion piece that the announcement researchers from the Netherlands and the U.S. have developed a supercontagious variety of bird flu "has highlighted a dilemma: How do you balance the universal mandate for scientific openness against the fear that terrorists or rogue states might follow the researchers' work -- using it as catastrophic cookbooks for global influenza contagion?"

7 Jan 2012

Researchers develop CAD-type tools to engineer RNA control systems

The computer assisted design (CAD) tools that made it possible to fabricate integrated circuits with millions of transistors may soon be coming to the biological sciences. Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)'s Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI) have developed CAD-type models and simulations for RNA molecules that make it possible to engineer biological components or "RNA devices" for controlling genetic expression in microbes.

23 Dec 2011

Researchers map every apparent physical interaction of HIV virus with human cells

In perhaps the most comprehensive survey of the inner workings of HIV, an international team of scientists led by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco has mapped every apparent physical interaction the virus makes with components of the human cells it infects—work that may reveal new ways to design future HIV/AIDS drugs.

22 Dec 2011

Study on how Antarctic worms survive current levels of ocean warming

Researchers at the University of Delaware are examining tiny worms that inhabit the frigid sea off Antarctica to learn not only how these organisms adapt to the severe cold, but how they will survive as ocean temperatures increase.

21 Dec 2011

Adeona to develop and commercialize DNA-based therapeutic for PAH using Intrexon technology

Adeona Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and the Human Therapeutics Division of Intrexon Corporation, announced today the formation of a global exclusive channel collaboration through which Adeona intends to develop and commercialize a DNA-based therapeutic using Intrexon's UltraVector platform and RheoSwitch Therapeutic System for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH).

21 Nov 2011

ZIOPHARM announces new preclinical data from two darinaparsin studies on solid tumors

ZIOPHARM Oncology, Inc., a drug development company employing small molecule and synthetic biology approaches to cancer therapy, announced today new preclinical data from two separate studies of darinaparsin, a novel organic arsenic, in various solid tumor models at the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics, taking place November 12-16 in San Francisco.

16 Nov 2011

ZIOPHARM announces darinaparsin preclinical data on prostate cancer

ZIOPHARM Oncology, Inc., a drug development company employing small molecule and synthetic biology approaches to cancer therapy, announced today that results from preclinical studies of darinaparsin (Zinapar or ZIO-101), a novel organic arsenic, in prostate cancer were presented at the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics, taking place November 12-16 in San Francisco.

14 Nov 2011