Synthetic Biology News and Research

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New method to estimate the contribution of each amino acid residue

You can't expect a pharmaceutical scientist to switch labs to the facilities available in a television studio and expect the same research output. Enzymes behave exactly the same. But now, in a study recently published in ACS Synthetic Biology, researchers from Osaka University have imparted an analogous level of adaptability to enzymes, a goal that has remained elusive for over 30 years.

3 Nov 2022

New control system could be used to finely tune the production of useful proteins

Using an approach based on CRISPR proteins, MIT researchers have developed a new way to precisely control the amount of a particular protein that is produced in mammalian cells.

1 Nov 2022

Using magnetic bacteria to fight cancerous tumors

Researchers at ETH Zurich are planning to use magnetic bacteria to fight cancerous tumors. They have now found a way for these microorganisms to effectively cross blood vessel walls and subsequently colonize a tumor.

26 Oct 2022

Researchers identify a natural defense mechanism that protects cells from Pseudomonas infection

Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P.a.) are resistant to most antibiotics and cause life-threatening infections of wounds or the lungs.

21 Oct 2022

Light-Seq technology for barcoding and deep-sequencing selected cell populations in tissues

Under the microscope, researchers often observe different cell types organizing themselves in peculiar patterns within tissues, or sometimes a rare cell type that stands out by occupying a unique position, exhibiting an unusual shape, or expressing a specific biomarker molecule.

10 Oct 2022

Study establishes a feasible combination therapeutic strategy for ulcerative colitis

Despite recent advancements in our knowledge of the pathogenic mechanisms of ulcerative colitis, there is still a considerable unmet medical need for the treatment of ulcerative colitis.

29 Sep 2022

Scientists visualize antibiotics in action inside a pathogenic bacterium

Every living cell relies on proteins in order to function and the process of protein synthesis – translation – is critical for survival.

28 Sep 2022

Scientists harness the potential of bacteria to help create synthetic cells with lifelike functionality

Scientists have harnessed the potential of bacteria to help build advanced synthetic cells which mimic real life functionality.

14 Sep 2022

Evonetix commences early access program for DNA synthesised by thermal control on its semiconductor chip

Researchers are invited to apply to receive DNA that has been synthesised using Evonetix’s platform.

From Evonetix 16 Aug 2022

Scientists explore ecological firewalls for the containment of synthetic microbes

In a new study, researchers described ecological firewalls (EFWs) to contain synthetic microbes.

10 Aug 2022

Using native microbes as chassis for transgene delivery in live bacterial therapeutics

Residing within the human gut are trillions of bacteria and other microorganisms that can impact a variety of chronic human ailments, including obesity, type 2 diabetes, atherosclerosis, cancer, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and inflammatory bowel disease.

4 Aug 2022

Study defines how cannabis cells make cannabinoids

For the first time, plant biologists have defined the high-efficiency "hacks" that cannabis cells use to make cannabinoids (THC/CBD). Although many biotechnology companies are currently trying to engineer THC/CBD outside the plant in yeast or cell cultures, it is largely unknown how the plant does it naturally.

3 Aug 2022

New DNA repair vehicle used to fix a common genetic cause of hereditary kidney disease

Genetic mutations which cause a debilitating hereditary kidney disease affecting children and young adults have been fixed in patient-derived kidney cells using a potentially game-changing DNA repair-kit. The advance developed by University of Bristol scientists is published in Nucleic Acids Research.

29 Jul 2022

NSF grant awarded to Zhang for producing muscle fiber with synthetic biology approach

Fuzhong Zhang, professor of energy, environmental and chemical engineering at the McKelvey School of Engineering, has developed a synthetic biology platform to produce muscle fibers that are strong, tough and can absorb energy in ways very similar to the real thing.

29 Jul 2022

Rice researchers use deactivated Cas9 proteins to synthetically trigger the transcription of genes

Rice University researchers have demonstrated that CRISPR-Cas9, increasingly famous as a gene-editing tool, can be employed in powerful additional ways in human cells.

18 Jul 2022

Antibody signatures strongly associated with SARS-CoV-2 immunopathology identified using a novel B cell epitope discovery method

A recent study discovered antibody footprints strongly correlated with immunopathology of SARS-CoV-2 infection using a new B cell epitope identification approach

14 Jul 2022

Scientists show how to design "ecological firewalls" for biosphere terraformation

Researchers discuss the use of ecological firewalls to predict and control communities of microbiota into which synthetic organisms are released.

11 Jul 2022

Researchers develop a modular software system for optimizing biological systems

Machine learning is transforming all areas of biological science and industry, but is typically limited to a few users and scenarios.

8 Jul 2022

UMass Amherst assistant professor wins $1.4 million grant to engineer synthetic bacteria for water contaminant removal

Lauren Andrews, University of Massachusetts Amherst assistant professor and the Marvin and Eva Schlanger Faculty Fellow in the department of chemical engineering, has received a three-year, $1.4 million grant from the National Science Foundation for a collaborative project to engineer synthetic bacteria to neutralize toxic contaminants found in drinking water.

28 Jun 2022

Evonetix appoints Colin McCracken as Chief Executive Officer

EVONETIX LTD (‘Evonetix’), the synthetic biology company bringing semiconductor technology to DNA synthesis, today announced the appointment of Colin McCracken as Chief Executive Officer with immediate effect.

From Evonetix 14 Jun 2022