Endowing cells with new abilities
PhD student Fahim Farzadfard engineers cells to record “memories” of past events.
Bacteria with multicolor vision
Red, green, and blue light can be used to control gene expression in engineered E. coli.
Living sensors at your fingertips
Cell-infused gloves and bandages light up when in contact with certain chemicals.
Microbial manufacturing
Engineered bacteria produce rare and commercially useful compounds in large quantities.
“Google Docs” for life sciences accelerates discovery
Cloud-based platform assists in managing, sharing data facilitates research.
Researchers create synthetic cells to isolate genetic circuits
Encapsulating molecular components in artificial membranes offers more flexibility in designing circuits.
To produce biopharmaceuticals on demand, just add water
Freeze-dried cellular components can be rehydrated to churn out useful proteins.
Hacking microbes
Startup’s engineered yeast helps clients produce fragrances and flavors more efficiently.
Recording analog memories in human cells
Engineers program human cells to store complex histories in their DNA.
Scientists program cells to remember and respond to series of stimuli
New approach to biological circuit design enables scientists to track cell histories.
Biobarrier explorer and dark matter theorist win MIT’s prestigious junior faculty award
Katharina Ribbeck and Jesse Thaler named recipients of the Harold E. Edgerton Award.
An ace on the court and in the lab
EECS senior Ava Soleimany talks about leadership, her research in synthetic biology, and her tenure as captain of the women’s tennis team.
A programming language for living cells
New language lets researchers design novel biological circuits.
Scaling up synthetic-biology innovation
MIT professor’s startup makes synthesizing genes many times more cost effective.