All Synthetic Biology articles
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NewsScientists design protective ‘living tattoos’ for buildings
An international research team wants to integrate selected microorganisms into façade coatings to bring building walls to life. The microorganisms are intended to protect surfaces, store CO2 and filter pollutants.
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NewsBiosynthetic pathway discoveries mean we can halve the price of costly cancer drug
Researchers have identified the enzymes responsible for the two critical final steps in the biosynthetic pathway that makes the chemotherapy drug Taxol active as a drug, potentially opening it up to biotech based production.
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NewsOcean microbes offer clues to environmental resilience
Researchers have developed a new way to identify genetic changes that help tiny oxygen-producing microbes survive in extreme environments.
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NewsSelf-assembly of a large metal-peptide capsid nanostructure through geometric control
Controlling the topology and structure of entangled molecular strands is a key challenge in molecular engineering. This new hollow dodecahedral shell demonstrates remarkable stability and potential for functionalization and encapsulating macromolecules.
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NewsSynthetic lichen points a pathway to self-healing concrete
Addressing one of the most persistent and expensive problems in construction, scientists have taken inspiration from nature to develop a synthetic lichen system to enable concrete to self-repair.
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NewsElectricity-generating bacteria may power future innovations
Scientists have discovered how certain bacteria breathe by generating electricity, using a natural process that pushes electrons into their surroundings instead of breathing on oxygen.
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NewsThe solution for microbial communities to survive environmental stress is self-sufficiency
Researchers have shown, based on an experimental system that reproduces a mutualistic microbial community, that the most common evolutionary solution for two co-dependent organisms to survive extreme environmental change could be to become self-sufficient.
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NewsOpen benchmarking of CycloneSeq™ for complete bacterial genomes
Benchmark data and analysis of new CycloneSEQ using novel nanopore sequencing technology demonstrates the ability to sequence complete bacterial genomes.
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NewsScientists develop eco-friendly, nylon-like plastic using microorganisms
Scientists have developed microbial strains through systems metabolic engineering to produce various eco-friendly, bio-based poly(ester amide)s from glucose derived from biomass sources such as waste wood and weeds.
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NewsResearchers achieve de novo biosynthesis of plant lignans using synthetic yeast consortia
Researchers have achieved the biosynthesis of the antiviral ingredient lignan glycoside in yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. By mimicking the spatial and temporal regulation of plant biosynthesis, they designed a system with obligated mutualism, enabling metabolic division of labor among different yeast strains.
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NewsRice research team creates universal RNA barcoding system for tracking gene transfer in bacteria
An interdisciplinary group of researchers at Rice University has developed an innovative RNA “barcoding” method to track gene transfer in microbial communities, providing new insights into how genes move across species.
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NewsResearchers reveal key mechanism behind bacterial cancer therapy
A research team has elucidated the mechanism behind bacterial cancer therapy using a genetically engineered bacterial strain.
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NewsSynthetic microbiome therapy suppresses bacterial infection without antibiotics
A synthetic microbiome therapy, tested in mice, protects against severe symptoms of a gut infection that is notoriously difficult-to-treat and potentially life threatening in humans. Clostridioides difficile is a bacterium that can cause severe diarrhea, abdominal pain and colon inflammation.
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NewsNo more antibiotics? Scientists pioneer a safer way to protect cultured meat
A new study explores the use of Random Antimicrobial Peptide Mixtures (RPMs) as a safe and effective alternative to antibiotics in cultured meat production. These synthetic peptide cocktails eliminate bacterial contamination without harming stem cell viability or contributing to antibiotic resistance.
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NewsResearchers engineer biological reaction crucibles to rapidly produce proteins
Biomedical engineers have demonstrated a new synthetic approach that turbocharges bacteria into producing more of a specific protein, even proteins that would normally destroy them, such as antibiotics.
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NewsScientists recode the genome for programmable synthetic proteins
Synthetic biologists were able to re-write the genetic code of an organism — a novel genomically recoded organism (GRO) with one stop codon — using a cellular platform that they developed enabling the production of new classes of synthetic proteins.
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NewsResearchers discover new way to customize living materials for tissue engineering, drug delivery and 3D printing
Researchers have revealed novel sequence-structure-property relationships for customizing engineered living materials (ELMs), enabling more precise control over their structure and how they respond to deformation forces like stretching or compression.
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NewsScientists develop groundbreaking biosensor for rare earth element detection
A prototype for an innovative biosensor can detect rare earth elements and be modified for a range of applications. Synthetic scientists engineered proteins to create molecular nanomachines that generate easily detectable signals when they selectively bind to Lns.
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NewsFinal synthetic yeast chromosome unlocks new era in biotechnology
A team of researchers has successfully synthesised the very first yeast chromosome using specialised genome-editing technique that provides insights for synthetic biology and biomanufacturing fields.
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NewsScientists synthesize a promising mushroom-derived compound
Researchers have successfully developed the first method to synthesize inaoside A, a compound derived from the edible mushroom Laetiporus cremeiporus.