Synthetic Biology
US syn bio corporation diving into GM mosquitoes, pest control research
The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion and analysis. Oxitec, a University spin-out ...
Synthetic DNA greatly expanding capability to produce new drugs
The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion and analysis. In the May 15, ...
Response to Steven Pinker: Society can’t afford for bioethicists to ‘get out of the way’ of science
"Get out of the way." So said the European colonists as they pushed indigenous Africans, Americans, Aborigines, and Maoris off ...
Steven Pinker on CRISPR bioethical constraints and critics: ‘Get out of the way’
Professor Steven Pinker of Harvard has been one of the most outspoken advocates for more gas and less brakes in ...
Legos and Mark Ruffalo explain promises and perils of synthetic biology
Synthetic biology is proving to be one of the most promising areas of science. So far, it's given us a source of ...
Debating perils and promise of gene editing
“Crap!” That was the first word out of Kevin Esvelt’s mouth as he scanned a paper published in Science in March. The work ...
East meets west: How biotechnology accelerates shrinking of global economic divide
If current economic growth trends persist, the “great divergence” between Western Europe and East and South Asia in per capita ...
How does synthetic biology, including genetic engineering, work?
Nature has always been the world's best engineer. That’s because there’s always been a divide between technology — the inanimate stuff ...
Asia poised to overtake anti-GMO Europe in farming innovation
If current economic growth trends persist, the “Great Divergence” between Western Europe and East and South Asia in per capita ...
Some geneticists worry ‘gene drive’ tech could create bio-weapon or environmental disaster
A powerful new technique for generating “supercharged” genetically modified organisms that can spread rapidly in the wild has caused alarm ...
Genetically modified yeast shows off its artistic side
For centuries, humans have played around with yeast. In ancient days, we domesticated it to make beer and bread. Now, ...
‘Ribo-T’, first artificial ribosome, opens path to designer drugs
In a first, researchers have engineered a tethered ribosome - the protein-making "factory" within cells - that works nearly as ...
Does search for ‘intelligence genes’ lead down road to eugenics?
Academic giftedness (I use this in a broad term to cover greater general academic aptitude), it would appear, is largely ...
CRISPR modifies human T cell genome, offering future AIDS therapy
Investigators from the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) have developed a new strategy to precisely modify human T cells using CRISPR/Cas9—implications ...
#CRISPRfacts media debate over Wired’s hype of gene editing technique
On July 21, WIRED magazine released its August issue with a cover story on the controversial new gene-editing technique CRISPR. Under the headline “The Genesis ...
Star Trek, synbio and sustainable food: Will Friends of the Earth and other activists block the future?
Far as we are from instantaneous synthesis of food on command, advances in synbio and genetic engineering offer a glimpse ...
What has CRISPR accomplished in three years, and what are the dangers we’ll have to face?
Preeminent genetic researchers like David Baltimore, then at MIT, went to the Asilomar conference in 1975 to grapple with the ...
Synthetic components added to DNA expand genetic alphabet
DNA stores our genetic code in an elegant double helix. But some argue that this elegance is overrated. “DNA as a ...
5 Myths about GMOs
In the neverending debate about genetically modified foods, which myths do you believe? ...
Synthetic biology created ‘living’ running shoes self-adjust to wearer’s foot
Proto-cell technology is a burgeoning science that in its own way mirrors Mary Shelley's literary masterpiece, Frankenstein. Just as her ...
Designer gut bacteria could help fight stomach diseases in the future
Biologists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have created a genetically modified version of a common bacteria found in the ...
New vaccine for GMOs? Mercks’ got the miracle cure!
NEW HAVEN, CT – The pharmaceutical giant Merck announce today that is has finished development on a new vaccine to ...
Congress’ only scientist raises warns about human gene editing
It is rare that prominent members of the scientific community come together to warn our leaders of technological breakthroughs that ...
Artificial DNA acts just like the real thing. Does that mean we should we make it?
We know we can create 'artificial DNA'. The real questions are: Should we? and To What end? Should there be ...