Nauhardt/Thinkstock Sure, the U.S. military has deployed the power of biology and nature before. For instance, the Navy trains dolphins to detect underwater mines. The Army Research Office studies life sciences to find new ways to better soldier protection and performance. And during the Vietnam War, the military experimented with weather manipulation. In recent years, however, the militarymostly under the umbrella of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agencyhas created a new suite of programs that take a very different approach to harnessing the power of nature: synthetic biology. Among other initiatives, researchers at DARPA are attempting to engineer insects to deliver protective genes to plants; to transform bacteria and yeast into factories to produce on-demand chemicals and fuels; and to develop methods to reverse any threats posed by gene drives. (Gene drives are a mechanism, both natural and human-induced, that drives genetic traits through a population, in some instances to suppress a population.) Your Cheat-Sheet Guide to Synthetic Biology What Exactly Is Synthetic Biology? Its Complicated. Can You Patent an Organism? The Synthetic Biology Community Is Divided. The U.S. Regulations for Biotechnology Are Woefully Out of Date Synthetic Biology and Queer Theory Are Cutting Down the Tree of Life You … Continue reading →

From 2008 to 2014 the United States investedaround $820 million in synthetic biology research. About 0.07% as much money went to synthetic biology projects through crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter, Indiegogo, or Experiment.com. Of those crowdfunded projects, the Kickstarter campaign called Glowing Plants was by far the most well-funded. Glowing Plants, like its name suggests, aimed to genetically engineer plants that could light up using the genes from fireflies. After a tenuous four years of alternative funding and backup plans, the goal of making a brightly glowing plant is officially shelved.The question is whether Glowing Plants will continue to be the high mark for crowding funding of synthetic biology or whether there are future successes out there. In 2013, Antony Evans got well overseven times his $65,000crowdfunding goal to engineer plants that light up. The pitchlaid out an ambitious plan for howthis fun glowing plant fit into the promise of synthetic biology. It was nothing like a technical grant proposal that a synthetic biology researcher usually submits for funding. It was selling the idea of a synthetic biology product that you could put on your desk. A fun novelty item thats more play than work. Unfortunately, technical hurdles exist even for … Continue reading →

Magic Mushrooms Mushrooms are our favorite fungi. From savory dishes to surprising video game power-ups we cant seem to get enough of the little things. Whats more interesting, however, is the fact that mushrooms can be far more relevant to our own progress as a society than we imagined. The Neonothopanus gardneri and Neonothopanus nambiare two distinct species of glow-in-the-dark mushroom found in Brazil and Vietnam respectively, that have reshaped our perspective on bioluminescence permanently. While we have a soundunderstanding of insects, sea creatures, and even frogs weve been bemused by bioluminescent fungi until now. Researchers from Russia, Japan, and Brazil have finally pinned down the reason forthe elusive phenomena that are glowing mushrooms. They published their discovery inScience Advances. As most luminousspeciesin our lovely ecosystem, the estimated 80 of about 100,000 mushroom species that produce their own light do so to attract insects that can spread their spores toother places in hopes of colonizing new territories. So now that we know the why, what about the how? Theanswer lies in the aptly named molecule,luciferin, a compound commonin bioluminescent reactions. When this compound reacts with oxygen, the reaction produces oxyluciferin, a light-emitting substance. This electrically charged substance then returns to … Continue reading →

Dr. Les Reed, president of Centra Medial Group, with Katie Ferguson17 and her researchadvisor, Linda Fink of Sweet Briars biology department. Katherine Katie Ferguson 17 has been named the inaugural recipient of a research prize created last year by Centra Health Systems Centra Medical Group through a partnership with Sweet Briar College. Ferguson, a biology major and chemistry minor from Hampstead, N.C., won the 2016 Centra Award for Excellence in Student Scientific Research and Collaborative Innovation for her project Mapping the Density and Distribution of Hydrilla verticillata in Sweet Briar Colleges Lower Lake. Her work was selected by the Colleges Honors Committee, which evaluated proposals submitted by students. Dr. Les Reed, president of Centra Medical Group, presented the $500 prize to Ferguson on campus Wednesday, May 3. President Phil Stone of Sweet Briar officiated the brief ceremony. Centra established the annual award in August 2016 to reward a student researcher from Sweet Briar for a completed project in the areas of science and technology or science and medicine. The company, based in Lynchburg, is a regional health care system serving more than 380,000 people throughout Central and southern Virginia. The prize, according to its mission statement, is part of an … Continue reading →