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£17k Nerve KickStart challenge for startup stars Innovative global startups are being invited to tilt at a £17k prize package in the Nerve KickStart competition, run in conjunction with the Nerve conference on disruptive technology in Cambridge from June 25-27. KickStart is strictly for 'killers' - entrepreneurs whose fledgling ventures deal only in game-changing technology.
Entries are...
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At a public lecture in Pittsburgh in 1934, four hundred lucky students were privy to a lecture by Albert Einstein, in which the great man mathematically derived his famous mass-energy equivalence equation: E=mc2. What you see above is a photo from that lecture, and what is thought to be the only surviving photo that shows Einstein working on that derivation.
The photo was pulled from a...
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Following the announcement of £600M capital investment for Research Councils in the autumn 2012 statement, BBSRC and EPSRC will shortly announce a joint call for proposals for multidisciplinary Synthetic Biology Research Centres (anticipated early June). The full call is preceded by this 'Expression of Interest' (EoI) stage where interested parties are strongly encouraged to submit a short...
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Over at Fast Company, our pal Chris Arkenberg wrote about how advances in synthetic biology and biomimicry could someday transform how we build our built environments:
Innovations emerging across the disciplines of additive manufacturing, synthetic biology, swarm robotics, and architecture suggest a future scenario when buildings may be designed using libraries of biological templates and...
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A new survey of in-house lawyers is adding some heft to the claim that patent attacks, especially by so-called 'trolls,' are hurting the economy. Professor Colleen Chien of Santa Clara University revealed the results of her survey of 116 in-house lawyers today, and it shows that patent trolls—or companies that exist simply to litigate patents—are more prevalent than one might think.
Chien...
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If you love mad science, you are about to be ecstatic. In these amazing historic images of laboratories — many over a century old — you can see the crazy, brilliant scientific instruments of another age.
French scientist Jollivet Castelot in his laboratory, 1880
Pictured above.
(via Henry Guttmann/Getty Images)
The Alchemist by David Teniers The Younger, mid-1600s
(via Histohotels)...
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IBM Research
IBM has made a stop-motion film—A Boy and His Atom—using individual molecules as pixels, in what Guinness has acknowledged is the world's smallest movie.
The movie's plot line depicts a character called Atom who befriends a single atom and goes on a 'playful journey.' This journey involves dancing, jumping on a trampoline, and playing catch. It's unlikely to win any...
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By using Darwin’s principle of natural selection, researchers from Cornell University’s Creative Machines Lab got these virtual robots to evolve into proficient (albeit goofy) walking machines.
Read more...
Watch as these adorable robots evolve the ability to walk: (Via io9.)
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Fractals aren't just something you learn about in math class. They are also a gorgeous part of the natural world. Here are some of the most stunning examples of these repeating patterns that look the same no matter how far you zoom in or out.
Romanesco Broccoli or Roman Cauliflower
SEXPAND
SEXPAND
(via kcocco, Wikimedia Commons/Richard Bartz and bunyos30/Shutterstock)
Bacteria fractals...
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San Diego-based bioprinting company Organovo has successfully created functional 3D-printed livers—albeit very, very tiny ones. At half a millimeter deep by four millimeters wide, the livers will likely be used for medical tests, but Organovo hopes that they will soon produce full-sized livers that could do away with agonizing waits on long transplant lists.
Read the rest of Organovo...
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Publication Date: 2013 Mar 28 PMID: 23539178 Authors: Bonnet, J. - Yin, P. - Ortiz, M. E. - Subsoontorn, P. - Endy, D. Journal: Science Organisms must process information encoded via developmental and environmental signals to survive and reproduce. Researchers have also engineered synthetic genetic logic to realize simpler, independent control of biological processes. We developed a...
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Publication Date: 2013 Apr 5 PMID: 23559243 Authors: Villar, G. - Graham, A. D. - Bayley, H. Journal: Science Living cells communicate and cooperate to produce the emergent properties of tissues. Synthetic mimics of cells, such as liposomes, are typically incapable of cooperation and therefore cannot readily display sophisticated collective behavior. We printed tens of thousands of picoliter...
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Sea hares are known for the colorful, sticky ink they let loose when knocked around by hungry predators (or mean humans). Scientists already knew a few ways this defense helped these squishy creatures escape the dinner plate. But new research reveals another purpose to the defensive ink, and it's unlike anything else seen in the animal kingdom.
At first glance, the sea hare (Aplysia) looks...
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Publication Date: 2013 Mar 25 PMID: 23537815 Authors: Van Dien, S. Journal: Curr Opin Biotechnol Fermentation of carbohydrate substrates by microorganisms represents an attractive route for the manufacture of industrial chemicals from renewable resources. The technology to manipulate metabolism of bacteria and yeast, including the introduction of heterologous chemical pathways, has accelerated...
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Inside MIT’s Hobby Shop: "It’s remarkable how the MIT Hobby Shop presages aspects of the hackerspace movement… In the 1937-38 academic year, Vannevar Bush, then Vice President of MIT, granted a group of 16 MIT students permission to use a room in the basement of building 2. With equipment they found around the Institute [...]
Read the full article on MAKE
(Via MAKE Magazine.)
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A team of scientists at Oxford University has used a custom 3D printer to successfully create synthetic tissue that mimics properties of living tissue. Unlike projects underway by Organovo, the Oxford University team did not culture cells from existing, living tissue and expand upon them, but instead utilized water and oil to create a network of ‘programmable’ droplets that, held within...
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Petri Painting Artist Klari Reis has been creating an abstract painting every day in 2013. The twist? The paintings are all in petri dishes. If only actual bacterial cultures came out this beautiful. Klari Reis via Colossal
Plus a 'Space Invader' spotted by NASA, the latest Lamborghini, futuristic Soviet art, and more!
Click to enter the gallery
A Stunning Painting Done In A Petri Dish...
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MIT
In recent years, researchers in the messy world of biology have been able to build systems that function like the clean, binary switches on computer chips—and we've covered a number of reports in this area. Unfortunately, most of these share a significant limitation: they rely on proteins from bacteria that act as switches to turn genes on and off under specific conditions. We...
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Sometimes, science follows science fiction. Take, for example, the case of 'living crystals,' which sounds like a race of alien beings. But thanks to science, theyre now real.
Physicists Jérémie Palacci and Paul Chaikin of New York University had created microscopic cubes of hematite - a compound consisting of iron and oxygen, sheathed in a spherical polymer coat with one corner exposed -...
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Novozymes A/S, the world’s biggest maker of enzymes used in laundry soap, may get 90 percent of its revenue from biofuel makers by 2030 if more governments start promoting renewable energy, the company’s next CEO said.
Novozymes Says Biofuel May Supply 90% of Its Revenue by 2030
(Via Bioenergy News - RenewableEnergyAccess.com.)
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image credit: Seabrook Leckie cc They look almost manufactured. Many tortoise beetles have transparent cuticles, the tough but flexible outer covering which gives the insect family its name protects the delicate creature within. The living tissue is often metallic in color and can in some species even change color. The combination is as diverse as it is extraordinary - many look like tiny...
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When it comes to harnessing the power of the sun, nothing can quite compare to leaves. Using chlorophyll to convert light into usable chemical energy, photosynthesis has long been a source of inspiration for those looking to generate efficient renewable energy. With fossil fuels dwindling and polluting our environment, scientists are turning to the biological processes of nature to create clean...
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By Paul RinconScience editor, BBC News website
Living organisms may use bioluminescence for a variety of reasons, such as communication and display
Continue reading the main story
Related Stories
Bioluminescence: nature lights up
Bioluminescence describes the light that some living creatures such as fireflies and jellyfish emit from their cells. Harnessing these reactions has...
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If you have a fear of spiders, you might not want to click through. But if you have a love for bright, colorful objects, then go right ahead! More »
(Via Gizmodo.)
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Because holy crap, just look at that headgear. Everyone, meet Bocydium globulare. Better known as the Brazilian treehopper, B. globulare excels at living a solitary life, hanging out on the leaves of glory bushes, and head-sphering its way into your nightmares. More »
(Via io9.)
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New challenges and opportunities for industrial biotechnology.
Related Articles
New challenges and opportunities for industrial biotechnology.
Microb Cell Fact. 2012 Aug 20;11(1):111
Authors: Chen GQ
Abstract ABSTRACT: Industrial biotechnology has not developed as fast as expected due to some challenges including the emergences of alternative energy sources, especially shale gas,...
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The PLOS ONE Synthetic Biology Collection: Six Years and Counting.
Related Articles
The PLOS ONE Synthetic Biology Collection: Six Years and Counting.
PLoS One. 2012;7(8):e43231
Authors: Peccoud J, Isalan M
Abstract Since it was launched in 2006, PLOS ONE has published over fifty articles illustrating the many facets of the emerging field of synthetic biology. This article reviews...
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The Scientist’s 5th installment of its annual competition attracted submissions from across the life science spectrum. Here are the best and brightest products of the year.
By The Scientist Staff | December 1, 2012
© PAUL EDMONDSON/CORBIS
Innovation has been a buzzword since at least the early 1990s. A Wall Street Journal article published earlier this year bemoaned the more...
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Design, implementation and practice of JBEI-ICE: an open source biological part registry platform and tools.
Nucleic Acids Res. 2012 Jun 19;
Authors: Ham TS, Dmytriv Z, Plahar H, Chen J, Hillson NJ, Keasling JD
Abstract The Joint BioEnergy Institute Inventory of Composable Elements (JBEI-ICEs) is an open source registry platform for managing information about biological parts. It is capable...
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We were recently shocked to learn that Starbucks’ strawberry drinks are colored with ‘carmine’ – a dye made from crushed parasitic beetles. Those of us on an insect-free diet can now breathe a sigh of relief, as Starbucks just announced that their products from now on will get that extra splash of red from the vegan-friendly Tomat-O-Red dye. The all-natural color is produced by...
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Publication Date: 2012 Mar 27 PMID: 22454498 Authors: Callura, J. M. - Cantor, C. R. - Collins, J. J. Journal: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A A key next step in synthetic biology is to combine simple circuits into higher-order systems. In this work, we expanded our synthetic riboregulation platform into a genetic switchboard that independently controls the expression of multiple genes in parallel....
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Lego Mindstorms in the Lab
Researchers at Cambridge University are building artificial bone in the lab, and they're doing so with what might be considered an unorthodox partner: Lego. The tedious process of building up a sample of artificial bone requires a lot of repetitive dipping of samples into various substances, rinsing, and repeating. So to automate sample creation, the...
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A battle that has raged for over a decade between advocates of open science and publishers of traditional scientific journals is coming to a head.
From the Fields is a periodic Wired Science op-ed series presenting leading scientists’ reflections on their work, society and culture.
Michael Eisen
Michael Eisen is a molecular biologist at UC Berkeley and an Investigator of...
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The State of the 2012 Advanced Biofuels Industry: " Intrigued by the prospects for advanced biofuels, but lack the time to wade through a 200-page industry forecast? Our 15-Minute "state of the industry primer" presented this week at World Biofuels Markets, may be just the right size."
(Via Bioenergy News - RenewableEnergyAccess.com.)
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The Firefly Squid (Watasenia scintillans) inhabits the Western Pacific and is famously found in Toyama Bay, Japan. The 3-inch long creatures employ bioluminescent glands in each tentacle to attract and hunt prey. Surprisingly, this is the only species of of cephalopod that is suspected of having color vision. [Sparkling Enope Wiki via Buzzfeed - Composite Image (clockwise from left):...
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As an adult, Alan Turing proved to be a genius. Among other accomplishments, he was a pioneer in computer science. But when he was a teenager, Turing was less impressive. Here’s what his English instructor said about his work:
Without being lazy, he seems to do his work rather perfunctorily. I should like to see rather more life in him.
And his math teacher:
Works well. He is still...
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Are you working for the fastest shrinking industry in the United States? You are, if you're working for a newspaper according to this study by LinkedIn and the Council of Economic Advisors.
The fastest-growing industries include renewables (+49.2%), internet (+24.6%), online publishing (+24.3%), and e-learning (+15.9%). Fastest-shrinking industries were...
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Crowdfunding site Kickstarter has now successfully helped more than one project earn over $1 million, turning the traditional model of media production on its ear. What if we could do the same thing for science? With government spending for the sciences on the decline, entrepreneur Matt Salzberg saw an opportunity. He'd create a crowdfunding site for scientists, where researchers could get...
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The flavors and fragrance (F&F) market seem to be benefiting from renewable chemicals developments from players such as Amyris, Allylix and Blue Marble Biomaterials...and chemical firms also supplying the F&F market are taking notice.
BASF announced on Monday that its venture capital business has invested $13.5m in Allylix, which BASF said allows them to leverage their aroma chemicals,...
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Signaling pathways lie at the heart of cellular responses to environmental cues. The ability to reconstruct specific signaling modules ex vivo allows us to study their inherent properties in an isolated environment, which in turn enables us to elucidate fundamental design principles for such motifs. This synthetic biology approach for analyzing natural, well-defined signaling modules will help to...
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Depletion of oil reserves and the associated effects on climate change have prompted a re-examination of the use of plant biomass as a sustainable source of organic carbon for the large-scale production of chemicals and materials. While initial emphasis has been placed on biofuel production from edible plant sugars, the drive to reduce the competition between crop usage for food and non-food...
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By Mark Brown, Wired UK
After 20 years of drilling, a team of Russian researchers is close to breaching the prehistoric Lake Vostok, which has been trapped deep beneath Antarctica for the last 14 million years.
Vostok is the largest in a sub-glacial web of more than 200 lakes that are hidden 4 km beneath the ice. Some of the lakes formed when the continent was much warmer and still connected...
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Attention student designers: The 2012 James Dyson Award is now open for entry, seeking solutions from design or engineering students from Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Japan, Malaysia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, UK and the US.
If you students were to enter most world-class design competitions, you'd undoubtedly...
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"North America is at an inflection point in managing organic materials. Just as paper, metal and plastics were the darlings of the recycling industry a couple decades ago, our society is defining a new relationship with organic materials: one that harnesses the full carbon, energy and nutrient potential of organics. In order to help shape that new relationship, industry leaders are cultivating...
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The promises of modern biotechnology hinge upon the hope that we can understand microscopic cellular complexity and in doing so create novel function. In this regard, the fields of systems and synthetic biology are important for accelerating both our understanding of biological systems and our ability to quantitatively engineer cells. At the nexus of these two fields is a unique synergy that can...
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KLARI REIS SCI ART BY ROBERT T. GONZALEZ
Psychedelic Petri dishes turn lab work into a freakout session Can you guess the subject of this photograph? It's a bloodshot alien eyeball! Just kidding, although all that red totally resembles vasculature don't you think?
Don't worry, the real answer is just as awesome: believe it or not, this is actually a Petri dish, created by artist Klari...
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The United States has long been recognized as one of the most scientifically productive countries on Earth. But when you're discussing progress, where you've been is not nearly as important as
a) where you are today, and b) where you stand to go from there
What this presentation from astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson makes abundantly clear is that America's scientific future is shaping up...
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It looks like a good start for 2012 with several companies closing some good funding this month.
New Zealand-based LanzaTech announced this week that it has bagged a total of US $55.8m in its series C round of financing led by the Malaysian Life Sciences Capital Fund. New investors include PETRONAS Technology Ventures Sdn Bhd and Dialog Group. Existing investors such as Khosla Ventures, Qiming...
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Synthetic biosystems for the production of high-value plant metabolites.: "Publication Date: 2011 Dec 29 PMID: 22209518 Authors: Facchini, P. J. - Bohlmann, J. - Covello, P. S. - De Luca, V. - Mahadevan, R. - Page, J. E. - Ro, D. K. - Sensen, C. W. - Storms, R. - Martin, V. J. Journal: Trends Biotechnol Plants display an immense diversity of specialized metabolites, many of which have been...
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Production of amorphadiene in yeast, and its conversion to dihydroartemisinic acid, precursor to the antimalarial agent artemisinin [Applied Biological Sciences]: "Malaria, caused by Plasmodium sp, results in almost one million deaths and over 200 million new infections annually. The World Health Organization has recommended that artemisinin-based combination therapies be used for treatment of...
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