3D Printing and Your Liver

Take a moment and imagine this scenario: a terrible accident happens to your close friend and his liver is severely damaged. He'll need a new one but the waiting list for a liver donation is so long that it's unlikely he'll get one in time.

What to do?

Tissue engineering to the rescue. Recent research has blended synthetic biology, 3D printing, and a spoonful of sugar to build you a new liver from scratch.

Mutants Among Us! Can Humans Evolve?

In the TV show Heroes, hundreds of people discover that they have superhuman powers.  My favorite power from the show is Hiro's ability to master time and space.  This is the only power in all of science fiction that I would prefer to Nightcrawler's poof (from X-men).  Just like X-Men, Heroes explains that these special individuals are a more evolved form of human.  Is this how evolution happens?  Is it possible to wake up with a genetic mutation that gives you added powers?  Do mutants usually wear black?

Tyler DeWitt, Bill Nye, and BioBeans

Have you ever wondered why anyone goes into science? Does it seem boring, dry, uninteresting, uncool, unlikeable and not-your-style? Or maybe, you sometimes secretly wish that you were "smart enough" to be a science geek but you just don't get it? 

If so, we're here to tell you that science isn't the problem. Science is anything but boring, uninteresting and uncool. You're not the problem either. You are definitely smart enough. What needs fixing is the middle man. The teachers. So what can you do to be a better science learner or teacher? Read on ...

Knome and Personalized Medicine

On February 2nd, the New York Times ran an article featuring an up-and-coming company, Knome. Knome provides a combined hardware-software platform for interpreting human genetic information. Soooooo... what do they provide? What does this mean for personalized medicine in the 21st century?

Fecal Matter Transplants to Stool Bank Donations

Meet Clostridium difficile; a common bacteria found in the gut of many perfectly healthy people. It is generally only one of hundreds of bacterial species happily tucked away in the warm confines of your and my tummies. However, C. diff, as it is affectionately known, is a lot like ivy growing in the garden. If someone regularly prunes it, if other plants crowd it a bit, it can be a beautiful member of the garden community. But, if something happens so that the gardener and the other plants don't keep it in check, the ivy will overgrow the house and tear up the walls.

What is *cough* the Flu Shot Anyway?

Last week my wife and I both got sick.  We both passed the opportunity to get flu shots.  Would it help?  What magic elixir can keep someone from being sick?  How does it all work?

The flu, or influenza, is a virus, which Matt described very well in his post Viruses - A Vector to Remember. This particular virus is one bad hombre.  What makes this virus so bad is that the DNA that it carries makes people sick, sometimes very sick.  In fact, during World War I a flu epidemic known as the Spanish Flu infected half a billion people and may have killed as much as 3% of the world's population.

The Spanish Flu was not the first virus to leave a big wake of destruction.  Toward the end of the 1700s, smallpox killed nearly half a billion people in Europe alone.  While you are likely to catch the flu in your life, you will not get smallpox, thanks to the smallpox vaccine.

PCR for the Masses

Admittedly, molecular biology and synthetic biology have historically been hobbies for the well-off and well-to-do. At least, that is, if a researcher wanted quality equipment. A recent Do It Yourself (DIY) revolution (a.k.a. the Maker revolution, which is closely allied with the Open Source revolution) is attempting to change all that. Here we present to you one example of how clever people are working to bring the tools of biotechnology to your garage or bedroom laboratory. Meet OpenPCR.

iGEM - SynBio for Self Starters

If you find yourself wanting to learn more, and do more with synthetic biology and bioengineering, there is no need to wait until you have a Ph.D. You can start engineering cells immediately through a competition called iGEM.

The International Genetically Engineered Machine competition is the world's premier synthetic biology competition, initially for university students, but now available for high school students as well. Student-led teams design their own projects, work over the course of a summer to build their bug, then they head off to regional, and then the world, competition to see how they measure up.

Synthetic Life - Cookin' Up a Cell from Scratch

Science fiction authors have long predicted the day when rogue researchers would create synthetic life. From ancient Greek mythology's Prometheus who created men from clay, to Mary Shelley's Dr. Frankenstein who brought dead flesh back to life in 1818, to modern stories such as Flubber. Humanity has always been in awe of the intricacy of living things, and desired the power to bestow life.

Well, we've arrived. Mostly. In May, 2010, the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI) announced that they had successfully assembled the first synthetic life form. What exactly did they mean by that?

Zombie Enzymes

Biomimetics is a field of engineering that seeks to learn new engineering design principles and technologies from nature. As an engineer or scientist, suppose you wanted to move on in your career, become a MAD scientist (generally self-employed, better pay, more time at home ...), and take over the world with a zombie army?

The technology isn't in use yet (by humans), but never fear. Nature is here. Biomimetics can serve you, be you mad scientist, disgruntled university student, or Halloween prankster. It's all in the enzymes.

A recent article in the New York Times Science section reviewed the current issue of the Journal of Experimental Biology. The whole issue is dedicated to parasites in nature that turn their hosts into zombies and force them into subservience.