People in the synthetic biology community have been excited for some time now about the potential of microfluidics to enable and advance their research agendas. Recently, a group composed of researchers from Harvard’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) and international collaborators demonstrated a new microfluidic sorting device, smaller than an iPod Nano, that [...]
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Jon Mooalem has a VERY well written story on synthetic biology and iGem in this week’s New York Times Magazine, focusing on the underdog team from City College of San Francisco. (Mooalem also had a great segment on This American Life recently, about the self-storage industry.) Mooalem explains the science reasonably and concisely, and definitely [...]
Wired Science and several other outlets have picked up a story about DARPA research with the apparent aim of alarming without truly informing. Apparently, as part of an announced budget for next year, DARPA — the far-out research wing of the U.S. military — is investing $6 million into a project called BioDesign, whose aim is [...]
‘Cleaner’ from MORPHOLOGIC on Vimeo.
A Periclimenes yucatanicus shrimp cleans itself upon its symbiotic host, a Condylactis gigantea anemone, in a gorgeous aquarium installation by Miami-based Morphologic Studios.
From their website:
Morphologic is a scientific art endeavor led by marine biologist Colin Foord and designer Jared McKay. With the aquarium as our primary medium, we explore the artistic [...]
Cool short video with an enthusiastic Mac Cowell, “DNA hack.” (Sorry, can’t figure out how to embed.) Can’t wait for the “DNA Deck” of cards!
Thoughtware.TV - Fascinated with Synthetic Biology
Know what the DIYbio crew is really good at? PR and marketing. This event today and tomorrow at UCLA — “Public Participation in the Age of Big Bio” — has the makings of historic significance, though.
*This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Carl Zimmer, author of The Tangled Bank: An Introduction to Evolution and Microcosm, gives a wide-ranging talk riffing on the theme of viruses, touching on synthetic biology and the role of viruses in human evolution.
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Tuesday, January 26, 2010
When presented with oat flakes arranged in the pattern of Japanese cities around Tokyo, single-cell slime molds constructed networks of nutrient-channeling tubes that are quite similar to the layout of the Japanese rail system, with a larger number of strong, resilient tunnels connecting centrally located oats. Researchers from Japan and England reported their finding in [...]
The hot synthetic biology video of the moment. Putting together molecular timekeeping and quorum sensing. Beautiful.
Plus, bonus video for the obscure title reference of this blog post. Morrissey forever!