Synthetic Biology in Cambridge

kings100b Research activities and studentship opportunities at the University of Cambridge. There is an index of research groups engaged in Synthetic Biology related work, with funding news and resources for people considering work in Cambridge. See a collection of web sites with extensive local information.

www.synbio.org.uk

Synbio news:

2 Apr 2010

Ginkgo BioWorks sells kit to connect pieces of DNA

The founders of Boston-based Ginkgo BioWorks think assembling synthetic biological systems should not be for experienced researchers only. So they have put together a kit — “scissors and glue for putting together pieces of DNA,’’ cofounder Reshma Shetty says.

Biologists build biological systems and organisms for functions such as producing everything from fuel to drugs to consumer products. The Ginkgo kit builds on a publicly available standard for connecting pieces of DNA, developed in 2003 by another Ginkgo cofounder, MIT senior research scientist Tom Knight. Called the BioBrick standard, it facilitates the assembly of multigene systems and allows parts to be more easily shared within the synthetic biology community.

The BioBrick Assembly Kit includes reagents for constructing BioBrick parts, which are nucleic acid sequences that encode a specific biological function and adhere to the BioBrick assembly standard. The kit, which includes the instructions for putting those parts together, sells for $235 at New England BioLabs, of Ipswich.

Shetty did not release sales figures, but said the kit’s users include students, researchers, and industrial companies. The kit was also intended to be used in the International Genetically Engineered Machine competition in Cambridge. The undergraduate contest challenges student teams to use biological parts to build systems and operate them in living cells.

The assembly kit is the first product from Ginkgo, which was started in 2008 by Shetty, Knight, and three other MIT PhDs. The company is also working on rolling out a consulting-style service for more elaborate DNA construction. It plans to work with other companies to determine how they can design biological systems to fit their business functions.

“We think of ourselves as a biological design firm,’’ says Shetty.

In September 2009, Ginkgo got a $150,000 loan from LifeTech Boston, a city initiative to help the life sciences industry grow. Ginkgo was selected that month to be part of an initiative in Scotland to improve synthetic DNA assembly.

Erin Kutz

From: http://www.boston.com/business/healthcare/articles/2010/03/22/ginkgo_bioworks_sells_kit_to_connect_pieces_of_dna/

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