April Newsreel (a lot late)

As long as I’m posting the May links, the April links should go up too. Enjoy!

–Isaac

Research articles:

1. Synthetic mammalian gene circuits
2. Expanding DNA Polymerase function
3. Synthetic biochemistry module produces valuable chemicals from glucose
4. Programming IPSC differentiation with a genetic circuit
5. Cellular device for liver protection
6. Rapid and efficient incorporation of long DNA fragments into E. coli genomes
7. A step towards rational dynamic control of gene expression
8. Research Highlight: A minimal synthetic cell.
9. Research highlight: Automated genetic circuit design.

Non-research stuff

1. ComSciCon is awesome! Chicago meeting’s in August, come to the keynote.
2. The Foundry (DNA factory) Opens in the UK
3. Perspective article on biosafety in DIY bio communities
4. Oxford Nanopore responds to Illumina lawsuit
5. Tech Museum Synthetic Biology Exhibit
6. GM Mushroom escapes US Regulations
7. Sean Parker starts $250 million cancer immunotherapy institute

May Newsreel (a little late)

Here are all the links from the May meeting’s newsreel. Enjoy!

—Isaac

Non-research articles:

1. Gen9 and Arzeda sign DNA synthesis deal. In related news, Twist Bioscience partners with Microsoft on DNA data storage. But how big is the synthetic DNA market? Rob Carlson’s perspective.

2. Synthetic biology tackles the antivenin shortage.

3. DIY bio lab in Brooklyn gets a profile in The Guardian.

Research articles:

4. Modeling competition between genes for expression machinery.

5. De novo design of protein structures which associate via hydrogen bond networks (as opposed to hydrophobic effects).

6. DNA nanostructures encoded and self-assembled in living bacteria.

7. Computationally designed protein enables biomineralization of cadmium chloride nanocrystal.

8. Moss assembles DNA in vivo (like yeast!).

9. Targeted isolation and cloning of 100 kb microbe genome fragments through Cas9-assisted technique.

10. DNA-guided genome editing with Natronobacter gregoryi Argonaute (NgAgo)—comparable in vitro editing to Cas9, but uses guide DNA rather than RNA, and doesn’t require a PAM sequence!

Human Genome Project: Write

On May 10th, a group of scientists led by George Church met in a closed-door, invitation only session to discuss the possibility of synthesizing the human genome. The intent was to publish a proposal outlining the need for human genome synthesis. That perspective piece was recently published in Science, and now has its own website. Among the goals and applications for human genome synthesis are:

 

• To drive demand for large-scale DNA synthesis, and thus lower costs
• To understand basic biology by re-creating noncoding DNA regions
• To construct specific genotypes to study disease
• To construct artificial chromosomes with all-included developmental pathways (minimal human cells, anyone?)
• For gene therapy applications: improve safety by removing viral and cancer susceptibility, etc.
• To recoding human cells for safety and biocontainment in manufacturing
• To create a homozygous “pan-human” reference genome for drug testing

Drew Endy was invited but chose not to attend, instead exposing the meeting to the public and co-authoring an opinion piece on the ethics of human genome synthesis with our own Laurie Zoloth. Concerns raised in their piece include:

• The secrecy and lack of public dialog severely damage public trust
• The individuals involved have a financial conflict of interest
• A non-human model organism genome synthesis project can provide the same demand to fuel low-cost DNA synthesis
• No ethical analysis has been undertaken
• A large potential for unintended consequences, especially on funding for the entire field of synthetic biology

What do you think? Join the discussion below!