Synthetic in Biological News

July 9-10 symposium on synthetic biology

The emerging field of synthetic biology uses engineering techniques to manipulate biological materials, enabling scientists to create new biological systems or even engineer new life forms. Though these technologies could lead to the creation of beneficial materials and applications for human heal...

Using combinatorial libraries to engineer genetic circuits advances synthetic biology

(Boston) -- Streamlining the construction of synthetic gene networks has led a team of Boston University researchers to develop a technique that couples libraries of diversified components with computer modeling to guide predictable gene network construction without the back and forth tweaking. ...

Milestone achieved toward production of malaria treatment using synthetic biology and fermentation

EMERYVILLE, Calif., March 2, 2009 - Amyris Biotechnologies has announced the publication of an article which reveals the achievement of a significant milestone toward the production of amorphadiene, a precursor of the antimalarial agent artemisinin. The article, "High-level production of amorp...

UNC scientists teach enzyme to make synthetic heparin in more varieties

CHAPEL HILL Scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have learned to customize a key human enzyme responsible for producing heparin, opening the door to a more effective synthetic anticoagulant as well as treatments for other conditions. Jian Liu, Ph.D., and colleagues at...

Caltech engineers build firast-ever multi-input 'plug-and-play' synthetic RNA device

PASADENA, Calif.--Engineers from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have created a "plug-and-play" synthetic RNA device--a sort of eminently customizable biological computer--that is capable of taking in and responding to more than one biological or environmental signal at a time. ...

New synthetic form of protein holds promise to stop cancer spread

Researchers at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee have a pending patent on a new synthetic form of a protein involved in certain types of cancers and immune system diseases. The protein, CXCL12, is known as a chemokine. Chemokines are proteins that regulate the movement of cells int...

New projects to raise UK profile in synthetic biology

Four UK Research Councils have come together to announce funding for new projects designed to rapidly build the UKs expertise and capacity in the emerging field of synthetic biology. The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Resear...

Oregano oil works as well as synthetic insecticides to tackle common beetle pest

New research in the Society of Chemical Industrys Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture shows that oregano oil works as well as synthetic insecticides to combat infestation by a common beetle, Rhizoppertha dominica, found in stored cereals. Not only does oregano oil work as well as syn...

Largest synthetic gene ever built offers insights into anti-malarial drug resistance

Researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center say they are moving closer to understanding why the most lethal form of human malaria has become resistant to drug treatment in the past three decades. They have been able to artificially construct, and then express in yeast, a protozoan gene th...

New synthetic self-assembling macromolecules mimic nature

We take "self-assembly" for granted when it is carried out by the biopolymers which are our hair, teeth, or skin. But when scientists devise new ways for molecules to self assemble into new materials, it is an important achievement. Researchers with the Macromolecules and Interfaces Institute (MI...

Breakthrough in micro-device fabrication combines biology and synthetic chemistry

Nanostructured micro-devices may be mass produced at a lower cost, and with a wider variety of shapes and compositions than ever before, for dramatic improvements in device performance by utilizing very small biologically produced structures. These entirely new biologically-enabled approaches are d...

Tagging pathogens with synthetic DNA 'barcodes'

A supermarket checkout computer can identify thousands of different items by scanning the tiny barcode printed on the package. New technology developed at Cornell University could make it just as easy to identify genes, pathogens, illegal drugs and other chemicals of interest by tagging them with c...

Researchers find promising cancer-fighting power of synthetic cell-signaling molecule

Novel anti-cancer compounds called Enigmols suppress the growth of human cell lines representing cancers of the prostate, breast, colon, ovary, pancreas, brain and blood, and reduce tumors in three animal studies, new research shows. In addition, Enigmols did not show side effects at effective do...

Inexpensive, mass-produced genes core of synthetic biology advances at UH

We ran a similar gene synthesis story earlier ; progress in this area is made in the UK, too. It'll open tons of research avenue, speeding the slow (and tedious) process of gene cloning, or gene modification (mutations, deletions, etc). Devices the size of a pager now have greater capabilities t...

Restoring a natural root signal helps to fight a major corn pest

...llow for an environmentally friendly growing of maize with minimized use of synthetic insecticides. The project was carried out within the framework of the Swiss...ormed maize plants. This control efficiency approaches that of conventional synthetic insecticides used to fight Diabrotica. Subsequent laboratory studies confir...

Corn yield stability varies with rotations, fertility

...can perform equally well to the rotated in high-yielding years, but performs poorly in low-yielding years such as dry summers and wet springs. When synthetic fertilizers or phosphorus-based manure are applied, however, continuous corn may yield less than rotated corn in low- and high-yielding years. Further...

Promising new treatment for Alzheimer's suggested based on Hebrew University research

... those brain plaques which are the neuropathological hallmark of this disease. To compare the normal protein to the K mutant, the researchers used synthetic tails of the normal and the K proteins, as well as engineered human BChE produced in the milk of transgenic goats at a U.S. company, Pharmathene. The ...

Finding the constant in bacterial communication

...s essential to the advancement of the new field of synthetic biology, where populations of genetically altered ...tion of quorum sensing, as well as for engineering synthetic gene circuits based on cell-to-cell communications." synthetic gene circuits are carefully designed combinations ...

UT scientist receives hemophilia research award

... Nearly one in three people with Hemophilia A have immune systems that are resistant to replacement Factor VIII and produce antibodies that attack the synthetic protein. "Current therapies to treat these antibodies are expensive and often unsuccessful," Smith said. Smith's solution is to alter the chemical ...

Triggering muscle development -- a therapeutic cure for muscle wastage?

...al activity to cause muscle wasting in elderly people. "The downside", warns Dr. Goldspink, "is that MGF has great potential for doping in sports. A synthetic version is already available over the internet, and although it is still very expensive, it is expected that new technologies will bring down the pric...

Can a new implant coating technique create a new six million dollar man?

... the adjacent bone, implants are often coated with synthetic hydroxyapatite, which is similar to the main inorg... have developed a way to electrochemically deposit synthetic hydroxyapatite. In place of plasma-spraying the co...rally contain apatite, covering the implant with a synthetic version allows the body to register the implant as...

DuoCort: New chronotherapy for adrenal insufficiency

...insufficiency involves replacing, or substituting, the hormones that the adrenal glands are not making. Cortisol is replaced using hydrocortisone, the synthetic form of cortisol, and sometimes with other corticosteroids. There are different types of adrenal insufficiency: primary adrenal insufficiency also cal...

Carnegie Mellon's Kris Matyjaszewski recieves EPA's Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award

...chnologies in an effort to reduce or eliminate waste, particularly hazardous waste, in industrial production. "Approximately 400 billion pounds of synthetic polymers are produced each year. Often, hazardous chemicals are used to produce these important industrial products," Matyjaszewski said. "We've been ...

GEN reports on alternative feedstocks for ethanol production

...o yield more than 100 gallons of ethanol per ton of dry biomass. Also discussed in the GEN article is biofuel research taking place at ICM, Qteros, synthetic Genomics, Solazyme, and the United States Department of Agriculture. ...

Tips from the journals of the American Society for Microbiology

...ons Including MRSA In a new study researchers from Japan suggest that a synthetic antimicrobial peptide identified as L5 may prevent death in mice suffering ...oto, S. Natori. 2009. Prevention of death in bacterium-infected mice by a synthetic antimicrobial peptide, L5, through activation of host immunity. Antimicro...

Study highlights massive imbalances in global fertilizer use

... synthetic fertilizers have dramatically increased food production worldwide. But the ... led some researchers and policymakers to call for reductions in the use of synthetic fertilizers. But in a report published in the June 19 issue of the journal ...

Crustacean shell with polyester creates mixed-fiber material for nerve repair

... In the clothing industry it's common to mix natural and synthetic fibers. Take cotton and add polyester to make clothing that's soft, breatha...rable qualities of the natural material with the mechanical strength of the synthetic polymer. "A nerve guide requires very strict conditions. It needs to be ...

Researchers describe 'implausible' chemistry that produces herbicidal compound

...hat the organism is susceptible again." The researchers hope the new findings will spur the development of much smaller, cheaper and more efficient synthetic catalysts that can also sever C-C bonds in one step. "Every time we find something new in nature it's an inspiration to see if we can copy that rea...

American Chemical Society's Weekly PressPac -- June 3, 2009

... MPs for 18 months in wine packaged in boxes and bottles with natural cork, synthetic cork, or screw caps. Boxed wine had less MPs up to 45 percent less than any other packaging. Bottles sealed with synthetic cork and screw caps performed best, with natural corks associated with the ...

Scientists discover new genetic immune disorder in children

...ico. Those who were alive at the time of diagnosissix in allwere treated with anakinra, a drug that is normally used for rheumatoid arthritis and is a synthetic form of human IL-1Ra. Although the patients were resistant to other medications such as steroids, most responded successfully and immediately to anaki...

REGiMMUNE presents enhanced efficacy data in preclinical transplantation models

...ed the potential of RGI-2001 to induce antigen-specific transplantation tolerance, which is considered a holy grail in transplantation." KRN7000, a synthetic derivative of alpha-galactosylceramide, is a small molecule that potently activates natural killer T (NKT) cells. RGI-2001 is a proprietary liposomal ...

A quicker, cheaper SARS virus detector -- one easily customizable for other targets

...le against epidemics. It consists of a piece of synthetic antibody attached to a nanowire that's attached to...nts. First, it takes advantage of bioengineered synthetic antibodies, much, much smaller versions of the nat...and Mark Thompson, chemists, and their team of the synthetic antibody, including both the active area, design t...

Boston University biomedical engineers teach bacteria to count

...the major application still to be addressed within synthetic biology: Can you count discrete events?" said Coll...of Science . The young but burgeoning field of synthetic biology addresses biological research questions wi...pidly advancing, the gene-based tools available to synthetic biologists remain limited. Gene networks that...

Scientists develop a new HIV microbicide -- and a way to mass produce it in plants

...in-N) into a single "fusion" molecule and showed that this molecule is more active against HIV than either of its individual components. They designed synthetic DNA for producing this molecule and introduced this DNA into plant cells. After regenerating transgenic plants that produce the fusion molecule, they ...

ESA map reveals European shipping routes like never before

...d the map based on a new ship detection algorithm they developed. Using this algorithm, they processed near-real time products from Envisat's Advanced synthetic Aperture Radar (ASAR) from 2002 to 2009. Hajduch calibrated the products they retrieved from the ESA archive and then, because ships appear as bri...

Tips from the American Journal of Pathology

... of Neuroscience, Tokyo, Japan have found that the synthetic retinoid AM80 is effective in treating early sympt...use model of MS, Klenmann et al found that AM80, a synthetic molecule related to vitamin A, inhibited Th17 T ce..., and colleagues "conclude that treatment with the synthetic retinoid AM80 is a considerable intervention strat...

Research team finds important role for junk DNA

...her lab, Landweber studies the evolutionary origin of novel genetic systems such as Oxytricha's. By combining molecular, evolutionary, theoretical and synthetic biology, Landweber and colleagues last year discovered an RNA (ribonucleic acid)-guided mechanism underlying its complex genome rearrangements. "L...

Strong immune response to new siRNA drugs in development may cause toxic side effects

... New Rochelle, NY, May 20, 2009Small synthetic fragments of genetic material called small interfe...uences. The discovery that naturally occurring and synthetic siRNAs can effectively prevent expression of a dis...rferons. Exploring the possibility of designing synthetic siRNAs and developing novel delivery methods that ...

Old stain in a new combination

... New combinations of agents based on the oldest synthetic malaria drug, the methylene blue stain, can curb the spread of malaria parasites and make a significant contribution to the long-term eradication call...

Synthetic catalyst mimics nature's 'hydrogen economy'

...nent of the catalyst. "By better understanding the mechanism in the nickel-iron hydrogenase active site, we are learning how to develop new kinds of synthetic catalysts that may be useful in other applications," said graduate student Bryan E. Barton, lead author of the paper. "The study of hydrogenases off...