Latest Synthetic biology Stories
Experts believe the so-called "second genesis," or the creation of a new artificial lifeform, is getting closer and closer, the Telegraph UK reported on Thursday.Researchers call this an achievement that would be one of the greatest scientific breakthroughs of all time.And while building a new lifeform from scratch is a daunting task, Professor David Deamer from California University said he is confident it can happen in five to 10 years."The momentum is building - we're...
Advances in biotechnology are laying the groundwork for a huge boom as it becomes more largely applied in fields of healthcare and alternative fuel production, according to scientists at the annual conference of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Chicago."What you have seen over the last 35 years of biotech are tremendous applications, immediate applications of biotech starting with recombinant therapeutics all the way through," Drew Endy, assistant professor...
HAMPTON, Va., Jan. 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Recent ground-breaking research that investigates gene sequences in living organisms offers a new understanding of biology and life in general. The relatively young field, called Genomics, has the potential for development of new medical treatments and biological sources of energy. (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20081007/38461LOGO) On Tuesday, Jan. 13, NASA's Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va., is hosting two executives from...
NEW YORK, Dec. 18 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation announces a new initiative to study societal issues associated with synthetic biology -- a rapidly developing scientific field where researchers are constructing novel organisms from the building blocks of DNA. This new effort brings together leading scientists, ethicists and public policy specialists to explore the field's potential benefits and risks, as well as ethical questions and regulatory issues. The new...
Five free iPods to those who test their knowledge at www.synbioproject.org WASHINGTON, Dec. 17 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Among the 75 people Esquire magazine recently chose as the most influential in the 21st century are three researchers in an emerging discipline that combines science and engineering in order to design and build novel biological functions and systems -- otherwise known as synthetic biology. The promise of this burgeoning scientific field lies in the potential to apply...
Advance Allows for More Efficient Construction of Synthetic Genomes ROCKVILLE, Md., Dec. 4 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Researchers at the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI), a not-for-profit genomic research organization, have published a paper describing a significant advance in genome assembly in which the team can now assemble the whole bacterial genome, Mycoplasma genitalium, in one step from 25 fragments of DNA. Lead author Daniel G. Gibson, Ph.D. and his team published their results in...
College students often spend their free time thinking about beer, but a group of Rice University students are taking it to the next level. They're using genetic engineering to create beer that contains resveratrol, a chemical in wine that's been shown to reduce cancer and heart disease in lab animals.Rice's "BioBeer" will be entered in the International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) competition Nov. 8-9 in Cambridge, Mass. It's the world's largest synthetic biology...
By Robert S Boyd WASHINGTON -- Scientists are advancing slowly toward one of the most audacious goals humans have ever set for themselves: creating artificial life. They've already accomplished some steps needed to construct a simple, single-celled organism that's capable of evolving and reproducing itself -- basic requirements for life. "We have made considerable progress," said Jack Szostak, an artificial life investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute in Chevy Chase, Md. "Any...
By Robert S. Boyd WASHINGTON - Scientists are advancing slowly toward one of the most audacious goals humans have ever set for themselves: creating artificial life. They've already accomplished some steps needed to construct a simple, single-celled organism that's capable of evolving and reproducing itself - basic requirements for life. "We have made considerable progress," said Jack Szostak, an artificial life investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute in Chevy Chase, Md. "Any...
Scientists are advancing slowly toward one of the most audacious goals humans have ever set for themselves: creating artificial life. They've already accomplished some steps needed to construct a simple, single-celled organism that's capable of evolving and reproducing itself - basic requirements for life. "We have made considerable progress," said Jack Szostak, an artificial life investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute in Chevy Chase, Md. "Any prediction like this...
