Synthetic Biology News and Research

RSS

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

OSU researchers study quorum sensing in a gram-negative bacterium that displays social behaviors

Oregon State University scientists have identified proteins that prevent a bacterial cell from becoming misguided by its own messaging, allowing it to instead wait for collective communication from its group.

13 Jun 2022

Researchers gain understanding of biosynthetic mechanisms for producing cyanobacterin

Researchers in the groups of Prof. Tobias Gulder from TU Dresden and Prof. Tanja Gulder from Leipzig University have succeeded in understanding the biosynthetic mechanisms for the production of the natural product cyanobacterin, which in Nature is produced in small quantities by the cyanobacteria Scytonema hofmanni.

27 May 2022

Dr. Paul Brooks is CN Bio's New Chief Business Officer

CN Bio, a leading Organ-on-a-chip Company (OOC) that designs and manufactures single- and multi-organ microphysiological systems (MPS), today announced the appointment of Dr. Paul Brooks as Chief Business Officer.

From CN-Bio 25 May 2022

Synthetic biologists interrogate single-celled survivalists to understand stress response

Rice University synthetic biologists and bioengineers are preparing to interrogate some single-celled survivalists to find out how they deal with stress.

23 May 2022

Micro Products with Macro Impact; The Role of Microplate Readers in Life Sciences

In this interview, we speak to Martin Mangold, an applications specialist at BMG LABTECH, about their microplate readers and the essential role they play within life sciences research.

From BMG LABTECH GmbH 19 May 2022

bit.bio launches Huntington’s disease human cell model

First neurodegenerative disease model launched from bit.bio's new ioDisease Model portfolio.

From bit.bio 10 May 2022

Evonetix Granted Patent for Binary Assembly Method for Gene Synthesis

EVONETIX LTD (‘Evonetix’), the synthetic biology company bringing semiconductor technology to DNA synthesis, today announced it has been granted a European patent covering its unique Binary Assembly method for gene synthesis.

From Evonetix 9 May 2022

Experts develop new method to control gene expression using electrical signals

Researchers have created an improved method for turning genes on and off using electrical signals.

4 May 2022

Therapeutic promise of CAR-T cell bispecific engagers against SARS-CoV-2

A new paper describes a novel method, using a specific molecule to engage T cell receptors and the virus receptor, the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2, at the same time.

28 Apr 2022

Decoy nanoparticles could provide a quick, effective treatment for COVID-19

They might look like cells and act like cells. But a new potential COVID-19 treatment is actually a cleverly disguised trickster, which attracts viruses and binds them, rendering them inactive.

12 Apr 2022

Evonetix granted patent for technology enabling thermally-controlled DNA synthesis

EVONETIX LTD (‘Evonetix’), the synthetic biology company bringing semiconductor technology to DNA synthesis, today announced it has been granted patent EP3551331B1 in Europe for its proprietary thermal control technology for DNA synthesis, as well as the design and manufacture of its silicon chips.

From Evonetix 4 Apr 2022

Strand displacement mechanism in RNA appears to switch genetic expression from “on” to “off”

Similar to a light switch, RNA switches (called riboswitches) determine which genes turn "on" and "off." Although this may seem like a simple process, the inner workings of these switches have confounded biologists for decades.

29 Mar 2022

BGI discovery could pave the way for advances in organ regeneration and synthetic biology

In a world-first, scientists from BGI-Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and a group of partners published a study in Nature, announcing the discovery of a transgene-free, rapid, and controllable method to convert pluripotent stem-cells into bona fide 8-cell totipotent embryo-like cells, paving the way for advances in organ regeneration and synthetic biology.

22 Mar 2022

New type of drug delivery vehicle mimics the properties of a red blood cell

From the liver to the kidneys to the lungs, the human body is equipped with many levels of filters, which protect the body from harmful outside materials. But this system also has its downsides. Critically important drugs such as chemotherapy or multiple sclerosis treatments are also foreign materials, so the body filters out a large portion of these drugs – up to 90%, in some cases.

2 Mar 2022

New cloud-based repository creates a digital fingerprint of engineered microorganisms

A cloud-based repository that creates a digital fingerprint of engineered microorganisms has been successfully trialed.

9 Feb 2022

Development of synthetic molecules that can bridge T cells with SARS-CoV-2 infected cells

Scientists have recently used synthetic biology to design primary human CD8 T cells to express Spike protein-specific chimeric antigen receptors (ACE2 CAR or anti-Spike CAR).

25 Jan 2022

Researchers develop a computational approach to identify genomic safe harbors for therapeutic genes

Many future gene and cell therapies to treat diseases like cancer, rare genetic and other conditions could be enhanced in their efficacy, persistence, and predictability by so-called "genomic safe harbors (GSHs)."

24 Jan 2022

Codexis Launches Codex® HiTemp Reverse Transcriptase to Address Key Challenges in One-Step Assays for RNA Detection in PCR Testing, including COVID-19 Testing

Codexis, Inc. (NASDAQ: CDXS), a leading enzyme engineering company enabling the promise of synthetic biology, today announced the launch of its Codex® HiTemp Reverse Transcriptase for use in one-step quantitative reverse transcription PCR (RT-qPCR).

From Codexis 17 Dec 2021