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THE CREATION OF LIFE FROM INFORMATION. "Venter had been the first person in history to make a functioning creature from information. Looking at the strings of letters representing the DNA sequence for a virus called phi X174, which infects bacteria, he thought to himself, "I can assemble real DNA based on that computer information." And so he did, creating a virus based on the phi X174 genomic code." https://lnkd.in/dyGvsfW View in LinkedIn

BIRTH OF SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY. "Between Chakrabarty’s oil-eating microbe and the birth of Venter’s Synthia, a wave of gene therapies, pharmaceuticals, genetically engineered crops, and manufactured biofuels have transformed science, medicine, industry, and quite possibly, global ecology." http://www.geneticsandsociety.org/article.php?id=6382 View in LinkedIn

GAME CHANGER. "In 2010, biologist Craig Venter, already known as a key figure behind the mapping of the human genome, announced his creation of a microbe that earned the name Synthia: “the first self-replicating species on the planet whose parent was a computer.” https://lnkd.in/eFMx6_S View in LinkedIn

SYNTHESIS OF LIFE. J Craig Venter used a bacteriophage (phi X 174) as a proof-of-concept to make the first synthetic life. This was the first "accurate synthesis of large DNA molecule based only on its published genetic code," capable of reproduction and infectivity. https://lnkd.in/eHptBaV View in LinkedIn

THE CREATION OF LIFE by J Craig Venter's group from four inert bottles of chemicals and a disabled shell of a cell is something that still has not fully permeated the scientific community. I shall present a series of key quotations from his book on the subject, and from the literature. It is perhaps one of the single most important steps forward in decades, and has given birth to Synthetic Biology. View in LinkedIn

CLAYTRONICS MEETS SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY is today just a dream, and at present there are no big, nor small initiatives to marry programmable matter with programmable life. As with all confluences of major groundbreaking disciplines, the outcomes will be unpredictable, but assuredly important. We will start with highlights of the very recent birth of synthetic biology. View in LinkedIn

SMART INSULIN. "We prepared a derivative of insulin with a molecular switch to provide glucose-mediated activation of the insulin molecule, toward the generation of more autonomous therapy with improved blood glucose control. This modified insulin, when administered in a diabetic mouse model, restores blood glucose levels following a glucose challenge (i.e., a simulated meal) faster than both standard insulin and a clinically used long-lasting insulin derivative." http://www.pnas.org/content/112/8/2401.abstract View in LinkedIn

FRAGMENT IN NATURE this weekend focuses on the molecular biology of taste. Last weekend taste factoids were presented from the human experience of taste. The field of taste has accumulated more knowledge in the past 15 years than the past 100, on account of powerful molecular and genetic studies, and continues to surprise and excite us. View in LinkedIn

DNA NANOBOT FOR DRUG DELIVERY "suitable for targeting cancer cells in the body have been developed at prototype level. Composed of a hinged barrel, capable of containing a drug payload, triggered by specific cell surface receptors. This is the new generation of smart drugs that will eventually be used in medicine." https://lnkd.in/exK_uDt View in LinkedIn

DEATH OF VITALISM. "I believed that with the creation of synthetic life from chemicals, we had finally put to rest any remaining notions of vitalism once and for all." https://lnkd.in/eyZU783 View in LinkedIn