Programmable Paper Wyss Advances in Synthetic Biology Wyss Institute scientists discuss the collaborative environment and team effort that led to two breakthroughs in synthetic biology that can either stand alone as distinct advances or combine... By: Wyss Institute … Continue reading →

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 23-Oct-2014 Contact: Kat J. McAlpine katherine.mcalpine@wyss.harvard.edu 617-432-8266 Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard @wyssinstitute BOSTON - New achievements in synthetic biology announced today by researchers at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, which will allow complex cellular recognition reactions to proceed outside of living cells, will dare scientists to dream big: there could one day be inexpensive, shippable and accurate test kits that use saliva or a drop of blood to identify specific disease or infection a feat that could be accomplished anywhere in the world, within minutes and without laboratory support, just by using a pocketsized paper diagnostic tool. That once farfetched idea seems within closer reach as a result of two new studies describing the advances, published today in Cell, accomplished through extensive crossteam collaboration between two teams at the Wyss Institute headed by Wyss Core Faculty Members James Collins, Ph.D., and Peng Yin, Ph.D.. "In the last fifteen years, there have been exciting advances in synthetic biology," said Collins, who is also Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Medicine at Boston University, and CoDirector and CoFounder of the Center of Synthetic Biology. "But until now, researchers have been limited in their progress … Continue reading →