SynBioWatch

Category: Bioethics

  • Biohacking: The next great wave of innovation

    NOTE: in this post, another observer thrilled by the apparently limitless horizons of synthetic biology makes the point that the DIY biohacker ‘revolution’ is where the real innovations will happen, beyond the corporate sphere of influence. Of course, the computer revolution spearheaded by guys in garages in the 1970’s would never have taken off if […]

  • Build a Mars base with a box of engineered bugs

    By  Andy Coghlan, cross-posted from New Scientist THE next time humans set foot on an alien world, they may not travel alone. Small, lightweight “bug boxes” packed full of engineered microbes could make life on hostile planets a lot more liveable. Pioneering settlers on a distant world will require food, fuel and shelter if they […]

  • The Sweet Smell Of Microbes

    NOTE: Well, all you patchouli lovers out there — your synthetic ship is coming in! Synthetic fragrances coming your way. Just what the world needs…  — ed. Flavor and fragrance molecules made by fermentation promise abundance regardless of the weather By Melody M. Bomgardner, from Chemical & Engineering News ORANGE YOU SMART Richard Burlingame of Allylix […]

  • Weird Science: The Promise and Peril of Synthetic Biology

    By Jeff Conant, from Earth Island Journal, Autumn, 2012 In 1971, a microbiologist named Ananda Chakrabarty patented a bacteria genetically engineered to degrade and destroy crude oil. The next year scientists created the first synthesized gene, a bit of yeast RNA ushered into existence virtually from scratch. These discoveries, among others, raised the curtain on the science of […]