Synthetic Biology News and Research

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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

ZIOPHARM reports promising preclinical data with palifosfamide in pediatric sarcoma model

ZIOPHARM Oncology, Inc., a drug development company employing small molecule and synthetic biology approaches to cancer therapy, today announced the presentation of promising preclinical data with palifosfamide in a pediatric sarcoma model.

29 Oct 2011

Intrexon acquires Immunologix

SCRA, on behalf of its SC Launch program, today announced that Portfolio Company Immunologix has been acquired by Virginia-based synthetic biology company Intrexon Corporation. The Charleston-based Immunologix team is now part of Intrexon's Protein Production Division.

29 Oct 2011

VitaYeast project to curb global malnutrition

Any way you slice it, bread that contains critical nutrients could help combat severe malnutrition in impoverished regions. That is the goal of a group of Johns Hopkins University undergraduate students who are using synthetic biology to enhance common yeast so that it yields beta carotene, the orange substance that gives carrots their color. When it's eaten, beta-carotene turns into vitamin A.

27 Oct 2011

Yale researchers use AB SCIEX's QTRAP technology to synthesize phosphoproteins

AB SCIEX, a global leader in life science analytical technologies, today announced that Yale University researchers used QTRAP technology to prove the validity of a new approach to synthesize phosphoproteins.

28 Sep 2011

ZIOPHARM initiates ZIN ATI-001 Phase 1 clinical study in advanced melanoma

ZIOPHARM Oncology, Inc. today announced that the first patient has been dosed in a Phase 1 clinical study of ZIN ATI-001, a novel DNA-based therapeutic candidate, in patients with advanced melanoma.

30 Aug 2011

Harmless bacteria re-engineered to fight a deadly strain

Scientists in Singapore have re-engineered a harmless strain of bacteria to fight another common, drug-resistant microbe that spreads in hospitals and is deadly to patients with weak immune systems.

17 Aug 2011

Wiley-Blackwell, The Hastings Center partner to publish leading journal on bioethics

Wiley-Blackwell, the Scientific, Technical, Medical, and Scholarly (STMS) publishing business of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. is pleased to announce a new partnership with The Hastings Center, to publish the Hastings Center Report, one of the leading journals in the field of bioethics.

5 Aug 2011

Biomax Informatics expands long-term licensing and services agreement with DSM

Biomax Informatics today announced the expansion of its long-term licensing and services agreement with Royal DSM to include solutions for synthetic biology using Biomax's BioXM Knowledge Management Environment.

19 Jul 2011

Life Technologies enters exclusive agreement for TAL Effector Technology license

Life Technologies Corporation has signed an exclusive license agreement for novel technology that enables synthetic biologists to effectively program and control the genetic circuitry in engineered pathways and organisms.

10 Jun 2011

FDA accepts ZIOPHARM's IND for ZIN ATI-001 to treat melanoma

ZIOPHARM Oncology, Inc., a drug development company employing small molecule and synthetic biology approaches to cancer therapy, announced today that the U.S. Food & Drug Administration has accepted the Company's investigational new drug application to begin clinical study of ZIN ATI-001, a novel DNA-based therapeutic candidate also known as Ad-RTS-IL-12 + AL, in oncology.

10 Jun 2011

Intrexon, Halozyme partner to develop subcutaneous alpha 1-antitrypsin for A1AT deficiency

Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. and Intrexon Corporation, today announced the signing of a worldwide exclusive licensing agreement for the use of rHuPH20 in the development of a subcutaneous injectable formulation of Intrexon Corporation's recombinant human alpha 1-antitrypsin (rHuA1AT).

7 Jun 2011

Initial positive results from ZIOPHARM's ZIN-CTI-001 Phase Ib study against advanced melanoma

ZIOPHARM Oncology, Inc. announced today that Douglas J. Schwartzentruber, MD, FACS, of the Indiana University Health Goshen Center for Cancer Care, presented initial positive clinical results from the first-ever treatment demonstrating control over transgene encoding of a therapeutic anticancer protein in humans using a small molecule activator ligand.

7 Jun 2011

Bacteria that infect cystic fibrosis patients could help combat MRSA

A bacteria which infects people with cystic fibrosis could help combat other antibiotic-resistant microbes, according to a team from Cardiff and Warwick Universities.

27 May 2011

Berkeley Lab researchers aim to create biological circuits for synthetic biology

Taking a page from the book of San Francisco radio legend Scoop Nisker, biologists who find themselves dissatisfied with the microbes nature has provided are going out and making some of their own. Members of the fast-growing "synthetic biology" research community are designing and constructing novel organisms and biologically-inspired systems - or redesigning existing organisms and systems - to solve problems that natural systems cannot.