Bacteria make computers look like pocket calculators

Bacteria make computers look like pocket calculators

• Ashby’s Law trumps Moore’s Law. Not much more to say.

Harvard Team Makes 10 Disease-Bearing Stem Cell Lines

Rob Waters reports on a new development in stem cell research — Harvard University scientists have made lines of stem cells, able to turn into any other cell in the body, from bits of skin or blood of 10 patients with genetic diseases including muscular dystrophy and juvenile diabetes, using Yamanaka’s technique for creating what Yamanaka calls “induced pluripotent stem cells, or IPS cells”. This is a favored technique for two key reasons: it is relatively easy and inexpensive to perform and it doesn’t require the use of human embryos or unfertilized eggs. Because human embryos aren’t used or harmed to create the IPS cells, the method sidesteps current ethical concerns.

Safety and Ethical Aspects of Synthetic Biology

Safety and Ethical Aspects of Synthetic Biology

• We’d better locate an exit or two before we decide to dance with the Devil.

Synthetic Biology

Synthetic Biology — upcoming events in their conference section. “Making life better, one part at a time”.

What’s New in Bio IT

For the very latest on cutting edge biotech, www.bio-itworld.com is the website to read. For anything genomic, or anything relating informatics with medical science, this is the place. Most interesting to me from the June, 2008 issue of the magazine version was the article on the www.23andMe.com company’s “Gene Journal”. Health 2.0 is here (along with 21st century Anthro 101!)

Tycoon’s team finds fewest number of genes needed for life

Tycoon’s team finds fewest number of genes needed for life

• Hey, this’ll be great just as soon as they find a way to prevent the synthetic bugs from mutating into something uncontrollable.