io9
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mad science contest
Announcing the Winners of the io9 Mad Science Contest
Politicians may be worried about the dangers of scientists "playing god" with genetic experimentation, but we want biology to be brazen. We're rooting for mad scientists with homebrew closet labs, grassroots geneticists, and garage genome hackers — because they're the researchers most likely to change the world. And so, almost three months ago, io9 announced the world's first "mad science" contest, named after the kind of hero who keeps pursuing scientific innovation against all odds. Our contestants were asked to build a real lifeform using MIT's registry of standard biological parts known as "biobricks," or by using other scientifically plausible materials. And now, without further ado, we bring you the winners. More »
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Comment by Penchinon: Now, for these mad scientists to experiment on me. Make me a superhero, ladies and gentlemen. 4 Responses | Other threads
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mad science contest
Ketonalizer
One of the runners-up for the biobricks lifeform category of our Mad Science Contest was Jonathan Cline, who described what he calls a "ketonalizer." This would be a bacteria-based system for analyzing the metabolic state of "ketosis" in a person's body — this is the state where the body starts burning fat and turning it into energy. Ketosis is induced by the Atkins diet as well as caloric restriction. Cline proposes to make a system that you could breathe on, and measure your current state of ketosis. Here is his paper. More » -
mad science contest
Software Controlled Organisms
One of the runners-up in the "general synthetic lifeform" category of our Mad Science Contest was Rizgar Mella, who wrote a paper discussing the possibility of software-controlled organisms. Mella studies theoretical physics at the Royal Holloway University of London. Here is Mella's paper. More »
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Comment by rizgarmella: I know, its actually quite embarrassing. I only had time to work on it at night. Lack of sleep +... more » | Other threads
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mad science contest
The Splinterphage
One of the runners-up for the "general synthetic lifeform" was Noar Livne, who charmed us by asserting at the end of his contest entry that he is not insane. Drew Endy, one of our judges, named Livne's lifeform "Splinterphage." Here is how Livne described it: More »
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Comment by Illogic: I kinda wonder what happens if a male and a female would end up in the same creature? At first I... more » | Other threads
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mad science contest
Making A Biological Counter
Katherine Aull was our runner-up for the biobricks lifeform. She explained her entry like this: More »
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Comment by Illogic: I need to get me a lab in the closet as well. Or some other sort of lab really. And... 1 Responses | Other threads
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mad science contest
Re-engineering Rhizobium
Our winner in the biobricks lifeform category for our Mad Science Contest is Vijaykumar S. Meli. A graduate student at the National Institute for Plant Genome Research at the JNU Campus in New Delhi, Meli has imagined a way to use a rhizobial bacteria to make growing rice much cheaper. One of the big expenses for farmers growing rice is the artificial, nitrogen-rich fertilizer they need to feed their crops — not only is the fertilizer expensive, but it also causes pollution via the runoff from the fertilizer. Meli proposes a way to fix this by re-engineering a common rhizobial bacteria. More »
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Comment by Kronocide: And what is mad about this again? It looks more like something from a master's thesis. Serious and useful. (Or... 2 Responses | Other threads
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mad science contest
The Blue Forest
Elliott Gresswell is the winner of our "general synthetic lifeform" category for the Mad Science contest. His entry, about a lifeform called the "Blue Forest," is a fictional lab notebook written by a scientist working on a team that invents a form of plant life that lives on a kind of aquatic nano-goo. As the plant merges with the goo, it becomes a kind of multi-colored, floating forest that eats fish and (perhaps) other animals. More » -
mad science contest
Deadline Approaches! Build a Lifeform and We'll Send You to Hong Kong or Give You $1000
io9 wants to encourage mad scientists in every field, but especially in the area of synthetic biology. That's because synthetic biologists are the people who are going to build new life forms, like ligers and unicorns and people with claws and glowing eyes. OK, they might build bacteria that can clean up oil spills and repair damaged kidneys too. The point is, building new lifeforms is the science of the future and therefore you can never have too many garage laboratories and mad scientists devoted to it. That's why io9 is sponsoring a contest to find two of the best synthetic life forms you can design for us. You've had almost two months to build that lifeform, and now the contest deadline looms! You've got until Monday, Aug. 25, at midnight to hand in your contest entry. All the details are below. More »
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Comment by Aimbet: That is a pretty cool idea to have people make a life form. If I had the time and money... more » | Other threads
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mad science contest
Reminder: Build A Lifeform and We'll Send You to Hong Kong or Give You $1000!
You still have 12 days to enter io9's mad science contest to build a lifeform. Synthetic biology is the science of the future! You can never have too many garage laboratories and mad scientists devoted to it. That's why io9 is sponsoring a contest to find two of the best synthetic life forms you can design for us. The winners in our two categories will get either an all-expenses-paid trip to the kickass Synthetic Biology Conference in Hong Kong this October, or $1000 and a chance to have their creature drawn by a cool comic book artist. Find out more by checking out our official contest announcement. Deadline is August 25th!
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Comment by djlotu5: While I didn't design my own lifeform for this contest, I did write a long blog post wondering why more... more » | Other threads
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