WEEK TWELVE (April 2 - 6)
Discuss what we have learned so far and start thinking about project for this summer.
What can be done in small pilot projects to generate preliminary data? Remember that we do not have to complete the project in one summer.
Journals due at Friday meeting, 3:00 p.m.
Meet in Think Tank at 3:00. Video conference with MWSU 3:30 - 4:30 eastern.
Be prepared to answer questions from MWSU and have questions to ask them.
Discuss this paper about data sheets for standardized parts.
Relevant PRESENTATIONS
This PPT file contains all the slides from student presentations addressing the idea proposed by MWSU.
Media:Reports_on_Circuits.pptx
This PPT contains slides summarizing some of the best and most complicated papers.
Media:Week_11.pptx
Bibliography of all the papers that we've read collectively so far:
The Allure of Synthetic Biology
Author(s): Valda Vinson and Elizabeth Pennisi
Synthetic biology is a newly emerging field that promises to revolutionize our knowledge of life. From modifying the genetic code, through do-it-yourself labs, or studying and rewriting cellular circuitry, bioengineering should enable us to design biological systems to serve our own needs.
The Life Hacker
Author(s): John Bohannon
George Church, a biologist working for Harvard University, has built a device for multiplex automated genome engineering (MAGE) that can prove to be of great use in humanity’s attempt to reinvent the genetic code. Just one of the ambitious options that lie ahead of this new technology is modifying a cell’s DNA to make the organism impervious to viruses. If that is possible, who’s to say what isn’t?
Algae’s Second Try
Author(s): Robert F. Service
Synthetic biology has revitalized the attempt to produce algal fuels as an alternative industrial source of energy. The rapid progress of the field in the last 15 years has enabled technology to catch up with science, and with the development of new bioengineering tools it has become a lot easier to manipulate algae. Innovative solutions to algal fueling systems are now produced every day, and it would hardly surprise anyone when green technologies soon become far more efficient than regular oil.
A Lab of Their Own
Author(s): Sam Kean
A community of do-it-yourself bioengineers has sprout up in the heart of New York City, combining science, learning, and fun in a way that attracts more and more people every day. The phenomenon is beginning to spread across the United States and outside as well. By making cutting-edge synthetic biology research accessible to people with limited scientific knowledge coming from various backgrounds, such undertakings can truly revolutionize our approach to technological progress.
Visions of Synthetic Biology
Author(s): Sara Reardon
The world’s first art exhibition dedicated to biological engineering sends a controversial message to its audience. The artists behind the Bio:Fiction film festival and its sister art show, Synth-ethic, represented in Vienna’s Museum of Natural History, have drawn inspiration from the progress of field. Nevertheless, it is evident from the ridicule in their works that they remain skeptical to the audacious promises of synthetic biology.
Talking the Talk
Author(s): Colin Mcilswain
Loss of public trust in genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in Europe has caused the progress of synthetic biology to come to a halt. Increased public awareness of the speculative risks implicit to bioengineering research has made people reluctant to further their support for the field. It has thus become necessary that the science should be regulated by a form of active public involvement, and it is up to the countries’ governments to make that change happen.
DNA and the Brain
Author(s): Anne Condon
One of the long-existing goals of biological engineering has been to design a neural network based on molecular components. Qian et al. have pushed forward the progress in the area by creating a system made up of four DNA-comprised neurons capable of recognizing writing. The fact that the artificial system has been made capable of memory through complex chemical interactions and adjustments makes the research an important stepping stone for the development of “biochemical systems that can learn.”
Scientific Link-Up Yields ‘Control Panel’ for Networks
Author(s): Adrian Cho
Scientists Yiu et al. have developed an algorithm to calculate the minimum number of nodes that need to be controlled in a network so that it can be fully-manipulated. The researchers have demonstrated that their approach is applicable to a wide range of fields, amongst which synthetic biological systems, and have thus developed a powerful tool for evaluating chaos levels in any network.
Word selection affects perceptions of synthetic biology
Author(s): Brianna Pearson, Sam Snell, Kyri Bye-Nagel, Scott Tonidandel, Laurie J Heyer and A. Malcolm Campbell
Word selection has proven to be immensely important in communicating synthetic biology research to the open public. In order to improve the perception of the field in people’s eyes, it might be better to avoid using words such as “create” that commonly carry a pejorative connotation.
BglBrick vectors and datasheets: A syntheticbiology platform for gene expression
Author(s): Taek Soon Lee, Rachel A Krupa, Fuzhong Zhang, Meghdad Hajimorad, William J Holtz, Nilu Prasad, Sung Kuk Lee and Jay D Keasling
Increasing complexity of synthetically designed genetic systems has necessitated the creation of a library of compatible vectors to enable simultaneous expression of operons from different plasmids on the same host cell. To solve this issue, Lee et al. have designed and characterized a standardized collection of 96 Bgl-Brick-compatible plasmids that opens the door to a faster and easier construction of multi-gene networks.
