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Scooped by
Gerd Moe-Behrens
April 18, 2012 7:16 AM
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Synthetic biology: Automated design of RNA devices
New and Views by Farren J Isaacs
"RNA molecules have diverse functional roles, including silencing genes, catalyzing biochemical reactions and sensing chemicals that control gene expression. Biologists have drawn from nature's toolbox to construct engineered RNA molecules with versatile capabilities and can now begin to automate the design of libraries of regulatory RNAs."
http://bit.ly/IY9zdb is a comment to this original paper: Rationally designed families of orthogonal RNA regulators of translation by
Vivek K Mutalik, Lei Qi, Joao C Guimaraes, Julius B Lucks & Adam P Arkin
"Our ability to routinely engineer genetic networks for applications is limited by the scarcity of highly specific and non–cross-reacting (orthogonal) gene regulators with predictable behavior. Though antisense RNAs are attractive contenders for this purpose, quantitative understanding of their specificity and sequence-function relationship sufficient for their design has been limited. Here, we use rationally designed variants of the RNA-IN–RNA-OUT antisense RNA–mediated translation system from the insertion sequence IS10 to quantify >500 RNA-RNA interactions in Escherichia coli and integrate the data set with sequence-activity modeling to identify the thermodynamic stability of the duplex and the seed region as the key determinants of specificity. Applying this model, we predict the performance of an additional ∼2,600 antisense-regulator pairs, forecast the possibility of large families of orthogonal mutants, and forward engineer and experimentally validate two RNA pairs orthogonal to an existing group of five from the training data set. We discuss the potential use of these regulators in next-generation synthetic biology applications."
http://bit.ly/HHltTT #syntheticbiology #synbio #syntheticbio #RNA
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Scooped by
Gerd Moe-Behrens
April 17, 2012 9:08 AM
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by Elizabeth Brunk, Marilisa Neri, Ivano Tavernelli, Vassily Hatzimanikatis2, Ursula Rothlisberger "Microbial production of desired compounds provides an efficient framework for the development of renewable energy resources. To be competitive to traditional chemistry, one requirement is to utilize the full capacity of the microorganism to produce target compounds with high yields and turnover rates. We use integrated computational methods to generate and quantify the performance of novel biosynthetic routes that contain highly optimized catalysts. Engineering a novel reaction pathway entails addressing feasibility on multiple levels, which involves handling the complexity of large-scale biochemical networks while respecting the critical chemical phenomena at the atomistic scale. To pursue this multi-layer challenge, our strategy merges knowledge-based metabolic engineering methods with computational chemistry methods. By bridging multiple disciplines, we provide an integral computational framework that could accelerate the discovery and implementation of novel biosynthetic production routes. Using this approach, we have identified and optimized a novel biosynthetic route for the production of 3HP from pyruvate. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2012; 109:572–582"
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Scooped by
Gerd Moe-Behrens
April 17, 2012 8:15 AM
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by By Alan Boyle
"Someday, microbiomes just might give us a world where crude oil is grown like a crop, where vaccines for new flu strains can be produced in days instead of months, and where physicians can tweak the bacteria in your gut to cure what ails you. At least that's the promise held out by genomics pioneer Craig Venter and others at a symposium conducted this week at Seattle's Institute for Systems Biology.
A decade ago, Venter was among a cadre of researchers who first decoded the human genome — in Venter's case, his own. Today, as the head of the J. Craig Venter Institute, he's among a cadre of researchers who are not only working out the implications of that genetic code for our daily lives, but also studying how to tweak the genetic codes of the myriad microbes that surround us — and in some cases, live within us. The makeup of those microbial communities is what scientists refer to a "microbiome."
A decade ago, the main challenge facing geneticists was to translate the "analog" information of cellular chemistry into a digital database, Venter told attendees. Today, the main challenge is to reverse course and make the "digital to analog" conversion, so that innovations in genetic code can be applied to the real world.
How's that done? Venter and his colleagues made a start on that task just a few years ago, by pioneering a process to synthesize DNA and insert it into a strain of bacteria. The daughter cells reflected the artificially altered programming instead of their forebears' natural genetic code....."
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Scooped by
Gerd Moe-Behrens
April 16, 2012 4:04 PM
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This is the site where you will learn about our ongoing project to synthesize the genome – from oligos to chromosomes, and the design features of the new version of Saccharomyces cerevisiae which we fondly refer to as Sc2.0.
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Scooped by
Gerd Moe-Behrens
April 16, 2012 11:37 AM
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Homegrown labware made with 3D printer
by Helen Shen "Armed with a three-dimensional (3D) printer and the type of silicone-based sealant typically used for bathrooms, researchers have demonstrated a novel way to control chemical reactions: by making the reaction vessel an integral part of the experiment itself. The results, published 15 April in Nature Chemistry1, could open the door to a new generation of custom labware made to suit individual researchers’ needs...." http://bit.ly/HCtxW1
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Scooped by
Gerd Moe-Behrens
April 16, 2012 9:50 AM
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"One of the great discoveries of biology is that the engines of life are molecular motors--tiny machines that create, transport and assemble all living things. That's triggered more than a little green-eyed jealousy from physicists and engineers who would like to have molecular machines at their own beck and call. So there's no small interest in developing molecular devices that can be easily harnessed to do the job. Today, Jin Zhang at the University of California Los Angeles and a few pals say they've identified a machine that fits the bill. A couple of year ago, chemists discovered that groups of 13 or 19 boron molecules form into concentric rings that can rotate independently, rather like the piston in a rotary Wankel engine. Because of this, they quickly picked up the moniker "molecular Wankel engines". The only question was how to power them..."
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Scooped by
Gerd Moe-Behrens
April 16, 2012 8:15 AM
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by: Vikramaditya G. Yadav, Marjan De Mey, Chin Giaw Lim, Parayil Kumaran Ajikumar, Gregory Stephanopoulos "Industrial biotechnology promises to revolutionize conventional chemical manufacturing in the years ahead, largely owing to the excellent progress in our ability to re-engineer cellular metabolism. However, most successes of metabolic engineering have been confined to over-producing natively synthesized metabolites in E. coli and S. cerevisiae. A major reason for this development has been the descent of metabolic engineering, particularly secondary metabolic engineering, to a collection of demonstrations rather than a systematic practice with generalizable tools. Synthetic biology, a more recent development, faces similar criticisms. Herein, we attempt to lay down a framework around which bioreaction engineering can systematize itself just like chemical reaction engineering. Central to this undertaking is a new approach to engineering secondary metabolism known as ‘multivariate modular metabolic engineering’ (MMME), whose novelty lies in its assessment and elimination of regulatory and pathway bottlenecks by re-defining the metabolic network as a collection of distinct modules. After introducing the core principles of MMME, we shall then present a number of recent developments in secondary metabolic engineering that could potentially serve as its facilitators. It is hoped that the ever-declining costs of de novo gene synthesis; the improved use of bioinformatic tools to mine, sort and analyze biological data; and the increasing sensitivity and sophistication of investigational tools will make the maturation of microbial metabolic engineering an autocatalytic process. Encouraged by these advances, research groups across the world would take up the challenge of secondary metabolite production in simple hosts with renewed vigor, thereby adding to the range of products synthesized using metabolic engineering."
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Scooped by
Gerd Moe-Behrens
April 15, 2012 2:44 PM
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Peter Schmitt, an MIT doctoral student, printed a clock in 2009. He didn't print an image of a clock on a piece of paper.
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Scooped by
Gerd Moe-Behrens
April 15, 2012 2:19 PM
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by Yoshiyuki Shibata, Pankaj Kumar1, Ryan Layer, Smaranda Willcox, Jeffrey R. Gagan, Jack D. Griffith, Anindya Dutta We have identified tens of thousands of short extrachromosomal circular DNAs (microDNA) in mouse tissues as well as mouse and human cell lines. These microDNAs are 200 to 400 base pairs long, are derived from unique nonrepetitive sequence, and are enriched in the 5′-untranslated regions of genes, exons, and CpG islands. Chromosomal loci that are enriched sources of microDNA in the adult brain are somatically mosaic for microdeletions that appear to arise from the excision of microDNAs. Germline microdeletions identified by the “Thousand Genomes” project may also arise from the excision of microDNAs in the germline lineage. We have thus identified a previously unknown DNA entity in mammalian cells and provide evidence that their generation leaves behind deletions in different genomic loci."
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Scooped by
Gerd Moe-Behrens
April 14, 2012 4:51 PM
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A biobrick library for cloning custom eukaryotic plasmids by
Marco Constante, Raik Grünberg, Mark Isalan "Researchers often require customised variations of plasmids that are not commercially available. Here we demonstrate the applicability and versatility of standard synthetic biological parts (biobricks) to build custom plasmids. For this purpose we have built a collection of 52 parts that include multiple cloning sites (MCS) and common protein tags, protein reporters and selection markers, amongst others. Importantly, most of the parts are designed in a format to allow fusions that maintain the reading frame. We illustrate the collection by building several model contructs, including concatemers of protein binding-site motifs, and a variety of plasmids for eukaryotic stable cloning and chromosomal insertion. For example, in 3 biobrick iterations, we make a cerulean-reporter plasmid for cloning fluorescent protein fusions. Furthermore, we use the collection to implement a recombinase-mediated DNA insertion (RMDI), allowing chromosomal site-directed exchange of genes. By making one recipient stable cell line, many standardised cell lines can subsequently be generated, by fluorescent fusion-gene exchange. We propose that this biobrick collection may be distributed peer-to-peer as a stand-alone library, in addition to its distribution through the Registry of Standard Biological Parts (http://partsregistry.org/)."
http://bit.ly/IJAFT3
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Scooped by
Gerd Moe-Behrens
April 13, 2012 8:51 AM
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by Li NS, Frederiksen JK, Piccirilli JA.
"RNA represents a prominent class of biomolecules. Present in all living systems, RNA plays many essential roles in gene expression, regulation, and development. Accordingly, many biological processes depend on the accurate enzymatic processing, modification, and cleavage of RNA. Understanding the catalytic mechanisms of these enzymes therefore represents an important goal in defining living systems at the molecular level. In this context, RNA molecules bearing 3'- or 5'-S-phosphorothiolate linkages comprise what are arguably among the most incisive mechanistic probes available. They have been instrumental in showing that RNA splicing systems are metalloenzymes and in mapping the ligands that reside within RNA active sites. The resulting models have in turn verified the functional relevance of crystal structures. In other cases, phosphorothiolates have offered an experimental strategy to circumvent the classic problem of kinetic ambiguity; mechanistic enzymologists have used this tool to assign precise roles to catalytic groups as general acids or bases. These insights into macromolecular function are enabled by the synthesis of nucleic acids bearing phosphorothiolate linkages and the unique chemical properties they impart. In this Account, we review the synthesis, properties, and applications of oligonucleotides and oligodeoxynucleotides containing an RNA dinucleotide phosphorothiolate linkage. Phosphorothioate linkages are structurally very similar to phosphorothiolate linkages, as reflected in the single letter of difference in nomenclature. Phosphorothioate substitutions, in which sulfur replaces one or both nonbridging oxygens within a phosphodiester linkage, are now widely available and are used routinely in numerous biochemical and medicinal applications. Indeed, synthetic phosphorothioate linkages can be introduced readily via a sulfurization step programmed into automated solid-phase oligonucleotide synthesizers. In contrast, phosphorothiolate oligonucleotides, in which sulfur replaces a specific 3'- or 5'-bridging oxygen, have presented a more difficult synthetic challenge, requiring chemical alterations to the attached sugar moiety. Here we begin by outlining the synthetic strategies used to access these phosphorothiolate RNA analogues. The Arbuzov reaction and phosphoramidite chemistry are often brought to bear in creating either 3'- or 5'-S-phosphorothiolate dinucleotides. We then summarize the responses of the phosphorothiolate derivatives to chemical and enzymatic cleavage agents, as well as mechanistic insights their use has engendered. They demonstrate particular utility as probes of metal-ion-dependent phosphotransesterification, general acid-base-catalyzed phosphotransesterification, and rate-limiting chemistry. The 3'- and 5'-S-phosphorothiolates have proven invaluable in elucidating the mechanisms of enzymatic and nonenzymatic phosphoryl transfer reactions. Considering that RNA cleavage represents a fundamental step in the maturation, degradation, and regulation of this important macromolecule, the significant synthetic challenges that remain offer rich research opportunities."
http://1.usa.gov/IN2DK0
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Scooped by
Gerd Moe-Behrens
April 13, 2012 8:25 AM
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Prepared by the Lab’s Synthetic Biology Working Group, formed under the direction of Sam Chapman, manager of State & Community Relations and including representatives from Public Affairs, Federal Government Relations, the Joint Genome Institute, Joint BioEnergy Institute, Environmental Health & Safety, UC Berkeley and others. What is synthetic biology? Synthetic biology combines modern principles of science and engineering to develop novel biological functions and systems. This includes the design and construction of new biological devices, such as molecules, genetic circuits or cells, and the re-designing and engineering of existing biological systems, such as microorganisms. The goal is to engineer microorganisms to produce valuable chemical products from simple, inexpensive and renewable starting materials, such as sugars, in a sustainable manner. Is synthetic biology an entirely new and untested field of science? No. Through selective breeding, humans have been altering the genetic code of plants and animals for more than a thousand years. Synthetic biology today is an extension of the genetic engineering research that began about 40 years ago. Also known as recombinant DNA technology, genetic engineering has produced valuable chemical products such as human insulin and growth hormones, hormones for treating infertility, monoclonal antibodies and the hepatitis B vaccine. Through better understanding of biological systems and metabolic pathways, coupled with enormous advances in computing, synthetic biology moves beyond these earlier efforts to make the design and production of biological parts and systems more predictable and reliable. Berkeley Lab scientists will apply synthetic biology to the production of advanced biofuels that can replace gasoline, diesel and jet fuel in today’s engines and can be transported via existing pipeline infrastructures. Spinoffs from this research will include medical drugs, biodegradable and green chemistry replacements for other petrochemical products, such as plastics, and environmental restoration through decontamination of hazardous pollutants. How safe is synthetic biology? Out of four potential biosafety levels (BLs) of containment detailed in national and international standards, (BL1=least dangerous to BL4) Berkeley Lab operates at only the two lowest and most common biosafety levels, BL1 and BL2. Synthetic biology research at JBEI typically operates at the BL1 level, which is defined as being: “Suitable for work involving agents of unknown or minimal potential hazard to laboratory personnel and the environment, or work with defined and characterized strains of viable microorganisms not known to consistently cause disease in healthy adult humans.” Through the Integrated Safety Management (ISM) program the Lab meets or exceeds standards for biosafety, worker safety and health, and environmental protection set by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for the biosafety of recombinant and other research; California Department of Public Health (CDPH) for biohazardous waste; Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for bloodborne pathogens; U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for protection of animal and plant resources; and other agencies. Biosafety of research is also reviewed by a Lab Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) comprised of peer researchers, safety and health experts, and members of the public. IBC reviews include assessment and documentation of any risks and required controls. Berkeley Lab maintains a robust incident and emergency reporting and response program in which staff and management are trained and encouraged to report incidents. The California Department of Public Health inspects the Lab for compliance with medical waste storage and disposal requirements and has consistently found the Lab’s program in compliance.
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Scooped by
Gerd Moe-Behrens
April 12, 2012 6:30 PM
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Cramming biology on silicon is not a new effort, and it’s one that has helped advance the science of genomics and led to the $1,000 genome. But in the last few weeks, I’ve noticed some pretty sweet combinations of biology and chip research. They will first end up helping biological research and test new drug compounds, but in the future might become something out of Ray Kurzweil’s The Singularity, the melding of man and machine. A gut chip for a gut check: You and I might not want a chip that mimics the entire process of a human digestive system including peristalsis and living bacteria, but folks trying to test out drugs do. And now, thanks to researchers at Harvard University they have one. The lab-on-chip uses two thin channels coated in a biological growth medium and human intestinal cells to create a mini-intestine that apparently can sustain actual gut bacteria for about a week. Who needs an ant farm anymore?...
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Scooped by
Gerd Moe-Behrens
April 17, 2012 9:23 AM
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"The International Genetically Engineered Machine competition (iGEM) assembles university-affiliated teams of undergraduate students in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics to design and build biological systems that operate in living cells. The program uses engineering approaches to biology and is devoted to education and competition in the field of synthetic biology, while encouraging scientific collaboration. iGEM began as a month-long course at MIT in 2003, quickly expanded the next year into a summer competition of 5 teams, and by 2011 included 165 teams participating worldwide. In the spring, each team receives a set of biological parts (BioBricks) representing genetic elements such as promoters, genes, and plasmid backbones from the Registry of Standard Biological Parts (http://partsregistry.org). The teams use these and any new parts they design in different combinations to build biological devices and systems. Projects are often chosen for their broader humanitarian implications and have included an arsenic detector, inducible biodetectors with calibrated outputs, and a cost-effective red blood cell substitute. Projects run through the summer and are followed in the fall by a series of competitions that culminate in the World Championship Jamboree. In 2011 IDT sponsored 11 iGEM teams by providing credit towards obtaining IDT products, including oligonucleotide primers and synthetic GENEs for use in the team research projects. Here we highlight 4 of the 2011 teams that IDT sponsored. The iGEM program continues to expand, and this year will include a high school division to support incorporation of synthetic biology into the high school curriculum. "
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Scooped by
Gerd Moe-Behrens
April 17, 2012 8:26 AM
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http://bit.ly/HMWlij Table of cotent: Nicole Kronberger
Synthetic biology: taking a look at a field in the making
Public Understanding of Science February 2012 21: 130-133, doi:10.1177/0963662511426381 Helge Torgersen and Jürgen Hampel
Calling controversy: assessing synthetic biology’s conflict potential
Public Understanding of Science February 2012 21: 134-148, first published on February 16, 2011 doi:10.1177/0963662510389266 Lei Pei, Sibylle Gaisser, and Markus Schmidt
Synthetic biology in the view of European public funding organisations
Public Understanding of Science February 2012 21: 149-162, first published on February 16, 2011 doi:10.1177/0963662510393624 Brigitte Gschmeidler and Alexandra Seiringer
“Knight in shining armour” or “Frankenstein’s creation”? The coverage of synthetic biology in German-language media
Public Understanding of Science February 2012 21: 163-173, first published on May 10, 2011 doi:10.1177/0963662511403876 Nicole Kronberger, Peter Holtz, and Wolfgang Wagner
Consequences of media information uptake and deliberation: focus groups’ symbolic coping with synthetic biology
Public Understanding of Science February 2012 21: 174-187, first published on March 31, 2011 doi:10.1177/0963662511400331 Matthias Kaiser
Commentary: looking for conflict and finding none?
Public Understanding of Science February 2012 21: 188-194, doi:10.1177/0963662511434433
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Scooped by
Gerd Moe-Behrens
April 16, 2012 4:09 PM
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PNAS Podcast - George Church discusses the potential of synthetic biology
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Scooped by
Gerd Moe-Behrens
April 16, 2012 12:32 PM
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By BENEDICT CAREY "In the largest collaborative study of the brain to date, scientists using imaging technology at more than 100 centers worldwide have for the first time zeroed in on genes that they agree play a role in intelligence and memory. Scientists working to understand the biology of brain function — and especially those using brain imaging, a blunt tool — have been badly stalled. But the new work, involving more than 200 scientists, lays out a strategy for breaking the logjam. The findings appear in a series of papers published online Sunday in the journal Nature Genetics..." Crowd-Sourcing will also be powerful in other areas of science!
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Scooped by
Gerd Moe-Behrens
April 16, 2012 10:01 AM
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There are several of such devices, which can monitor your body on the horizon. One area of synthetic biology is about to build such sensor out of biological material. This concept has also clear ethical implications and ethical engineering of this kind of devices is important to do in parallel with the physical engineering. In medicine it is very important to have a pure focus on the individual patient. Thus it is very important that data obtained remain under full control of the patient. There is misuse potential. For details see this post by ANJELIKA PARANJPE "We've all been there. The weekend was simply too fun or the day at work totally got away from you, and you forgot to take your daily medication. No matter how many times you set that iPhone alarm, you always seem to miss it. Well, forgetful folks, your days of missing crucial doses are behind you thanks to… The Cyberpill....."
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Scooped by
Gerd Moe-Behrens
April 16, 2012 8:54 AM
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A free and open internet is key for modern data driven science, such as systems biology and it's practical application synthetic biology. Thus I support a battle for a free internet. Scientists need their data collected in an open free accessible common data pool. Internet censorship will destroy modern science, and thus future companies and jobs. For details see this article by Ian Katz in the Guardian "The principles of openness and universal access that underpinned the creation of the internet three decades ago are under greater threat than ever, according to Google co-founder Sergey Brin. In an interview with the Guardian, Brin warned there were "very powerful forces that have lined up against the open internet on all sides and around the world". "I am more worried than I have been in the past," he said. "It's scary." The threat to the freedom of the internet comes, he claims, from a combination of governments increasingly trying to control access and communication by their citizens, the entertainment industry's attempts to crack down on piracy, and the rise of "restrictive" walled gardens...." A free and open internet is key for modern data driven science. Thus I support a battle for a free internet.
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Scooped by
Gerd Moe-Behrens
April 16, 2012 8:08 AM
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"Synthetic biology uses interchangeable and standardized “bio-parts” to construct complex genetic networks that include sensing-, information processing- and effector-modules: these allow robust and tunable transgene expression in response to a change in signal input. The rise of this field has coincided closely with the emergence of regenerative medicine as a distinct discipline. Unlike synthetic biology, regenerative medicine uses the natural abilities of cells to make trophic factors and to produce new tissues as they would in normal development and tissue maintenance. In this article, we argue that bringing these young fields together, so that synthetic biology techniques are applied to the problem of regeneration, has the potential to significantly enhance our ability to help those in clinical need. We first review the synthetic tool kit available for engineered mammalian networks, then examine the main areas in which synthetic biology techniques might be applied to promote regeneration: (i) biosynthesis and controlled release of therapeutic molecules, (ii) synthesis of scaffold material, (iii) regulation of stem cells, and (iv) programming cells to organize themselves into novel tissues. We finally consider the long-term potential of synthetic biology for regenerative medicine, and the risks and challenges ahead."
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Scooped by
Gerd Moe-Behrens
April 15, 2012 2:34 PM
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"The time may soon come for chemists to throw away all their old glass reaction vessels. UK and Norwegian scientists have now shown that far better and more effective vessels can be fabricated on a 3D printer. Not only do 3D printers offer the possibility of producing vessels with much more complex architectures, but the vessels can be designed to influence the course of the reaction or even to take part in it. And if that's not enough, 3D printers also offer a convenient way to introduce reactant chemicals into the vessels. 'I have always been interested in new ways of doing complex chemistry and exploring new reaction spaces,' explains lead researcher Lee Cronin at the University of Glasgow. 'I had never used a 3D printer before but met a researcher interested in designing new objects for 3D printed architecture and got to asking them about combining it with chemistry.'..."
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Scooped by
Gerd Moe-Behrens
April 15, 2012 10:28 AM
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by Shahar Alon, Eyal Mor, Francois Vigneault, George Church, Franco Locatelli, Federica Galeano, Angela Gallo, Noam Shomron and Eli Eisenberg "A-to-I editing modifies RNA transcripts from their genomic blueprint. A prerequisite for this process is a double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) structure. Such dsRNAs are formed as part of the microRNA (miRNA) maturation process, and it is therefore expected that miRNAs are affected by A-to-I editing. Editing of miRNAs has the potential to add another layer of complexity to gene regulation pathways, especially if editing occurs within the miRNA-mRNA recognition site. Thus, it is of interest to study the extent of this phenomenon. Current reports in the literature disagree on its extent; while some reports claim that it may be widespread others deem the reported events as rare. Utilizing a next-generation sequencing (NGS) approach supplemented by an extensive bioinformatic analysis, we were able to systematically identify A-to-I editing events in mature miRNAs derived from human brain tissues. Our algorithm successfully identified many of the known editing sites in mature miRNAs, and revealed 17 novel human sites, 12 of which are in the recognition sites of the miRNAs. We confirmed most of the editing events using in-vitro ADAR over-expression assays. The editing efficiency of most sites identified is very low. Similar results are obtained for publicly available datasets of mouse brain-regions tissues. Thus, we find that A-to-I editing does alter several miRNAs but it is not widespread."
http://bit.ly/ITHN0m
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Scooped by
Gerd Moe-Behrens
April 13, 2012 5:43 PM
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Scooped by
Gerd Moe-Behrens
April 13, 2012 8:41 AM
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"In a recent Penny Stock Detectives article, editor Danny Esposito reports on opportunities in synthetic biology, a revolutionary biotechnology that engineers and so rebuilds natural systems, imitating nature. Esposito reveals that there are biotech companies creating an artificial gene, with the only function of absorbing oil that has been spilled in the ocean, or creating a synthetic gene with the sole purpose of absorbing the harmful pollution that is emitted right from the manufacturer’s site. According to the editor, these are just few examples of the profits that can be made with synthetic biology."
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Scooped by
Gerd Moe-Behrens
April 13, 2012 8:14 AM
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A Method for Fast, High-Precision Characterization of Synthetic Biology Devices
A Method for Fast, High-Precision Characterization of Synthetic Biology Devices by
Jacob Beal1, Ron Weiss2, Fusun Yaman1, Noah Davidsohn2, and Aaron Adler1
1Raytheon BBN Technologies and 2MIT "Engineering biological systems with predictable behavior is a founda- tional goal of synthetic biology. To accomplish this, it is important to accurately characterize the behavior of biological devices. Prior charac- terization efforts, however, have generally not yielded enough high-quality information to enable compositional design. In the TASBE (A Tool-Chain to Accelerate Synthetic Biological Engineering) project we have developed a new characterization technique capable of producing such data. This document describes the techniques we have developed, along with exam- ples of their application, so that the techniques can be accurately used by others." free PDF can be found here:
http://bit.ly/HzJcnC
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