The dawn of biological computers is at hand. In a major first for synthetic biology, Stanford engineers have used genetic material to create a biological transistor. Called the "transcriptor," the creation is the final, missing component necessary for the creation of a biological computer that could enable researchers to …
Could your next hard drive be made with DNA?
Okay, so maybe not your next one, but in a few year's time? Maybe your storage will be writ across DNA itself. Researchers at Stanford have developed a method to store binary code on DNA. Dubbed the "recombinase addressable data (RAD) module," the method controls the synthesis and degradation of two proteins, integrase…
This Weekend, Start Building a New Life Form
In a few years, your weekend hacking project will involve bits of DNA and a PCR machine instead of a soldering iron or glue. With the help of the Open Wetware Project, and the Registry of Standard Biological Parts Wiki, you too can become an amateur synthetic biologist. But this isn't about evil mad scientist stuff.…
Grow Your Own Genetically-Engineered Bacteria
Want to make the goo in a petri dish spell out the words "Hello World"? Now you can. Biopunk provocateur Quinn Norton is writing a five-part series for O'Reilly Radar about how you can start hacking yourself and your friends for fun (and, occasionally, profit). If her excellent introduction to biohacking isn't enough…
The Dos and Don'ts of Hacking Your DNA
Yes, there are biology hackers. They're scientists with wet labs who are reverse-engineering the genomes of fruit flies, mice, chimps, and (sometimes) humans. But pretty soon, the neighbor kid is going to be whipping up little half-human, half-possum creatures in her EZ Bake tissue engineering oven. That's why you…
