• mad science

    Now Your DNA Can Be Used For Machine Parts

    We're closer than ever to turning our bodies into computers. A study published this week in Science demonstrates how to turn DNA into a simple counter. That means your DNA could eventually be reprogrammed with a shut down command. More »
    06/05/09
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    Comment by atomic1fire: The problem with genetically engineering humans is that once you start, what ethics are still available, when is it okay to... 4 Responses | Other threads

  • ask a biogeek

    iGEM, or How to Build a Biological Organism in a Single Summer

    The International Genetically Engineered Machine competition brings undergraduates from around the world to MIT's campus to share the results of a summer's worth of synthetic biology research. Each team tries to create the best synthetic organism. Here you can see the iGEM participants (photo courtesy of David Appleyard and iGEM). I'm one of the folks in black up in front. (No, the other one.) Find out what these students cooked up over the summer, and who won. More »

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    11/20/08
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  • mad biology

    Engineer Your Body Functions with Programmable RNA

    This week, scientists at Caltech released the first ever multi-input, "plug-and-play" synthetic RNA devices. You may have heard of Boolean logic gates in computer science, but now synthetic biologists are taking them one step further, creating organic computer programs that control the activity inside your cells. Maung Nyan Win and Christina D. Smolke have formed and tested in vivo one such system — and they say it's ready to work in mammals. More »
    10/18/08
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    Comment by Michael Bauser: Next time, skip the scientific gobblety-gook and answer the important questions: Can this give me superpowers? And if so, what... 1 Responses | Other threads

  • contest

    Final Reminder! Build a Lifeform and We'll Send You to Hong Kong or Give You $1000

    You've got until midnight tonight to enter io9's mad science contest to build a new lifeform. 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 tonight, Aug. 25, at midnight to hand in your contest entry. More »
    08/25/08
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    Comment by GodzillaDad: @rwald: The future is directed evolution through synthetic biology ;) Also - you never know who has what cooking out there,... more » | Other threads

  • 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 »
    08/21/08
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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

  • contest

    Mad Science Contest: 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. 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 below. More »
    07/07/08
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    Comment by zenpoet: Now to see if I can draft up a reason to have a 4-assed monkey, I should have this in... more » | Other threads

  • ask a biogeek

    Where Are My Bioengineered Ecologies?

    It's another installment of Ask a Biogeek, a column where UC Berkeley biology researcher Terry Johnson answers all your questions — especially the weird ones. More »

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    06/05/08
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  • hacking life

    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. People using these new open-source biohacking tools are trying create helpful life forms, like insulin-producing bacteria or drought-tolerant crops. Here's a quick introduction to the biohacking tools everybody will be using tomorrow. More »
    02/29/08
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    Comment by CarolynG: Thanks for this post Annalee! I just spent the past hour poking around these websites. Even if I never become a... more » | Other threads

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