It’s a dogma taught in every introductory biology class: Proteins are composed of combinations of 20 different amino acids, arranged into diverse sequences like words. But researchers trying to engineer […]
synbio
![Coupled bilayer nanopore concept for physical guiding, tracking and sizing of single molecules a, Fabrication schematic including EBL, etching, 2D materials transfer and AC-STEM sculpting. SiN nanopores constitute a GURU platform. Pore thicknesses are tSiN and t2D, diameters are dSiN and d2D and the total thickness is tGURU. Device configurations are denoted as [N, M] for N SiN pores and M 2D pores. σSiN and σ2D denote surface charge densities of SiN and 2D pores, respectively. The interlayer separation, L, can be experimentally controlled by the duration of RIE. -- Nature](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Tricorder-Tech-Novel-Coupled-Nanopore.png?resize=1200%2C719&ssl=1)
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Nanotechnology & SynBio, Press Release, Tricorders & Sensors
Tricorder Tech: Novel Coupled Nanopore Platform Offers Greater Precision For Detecting Molecules
Editor’s note: As we begin to expand our search for life to other worlds we are going to need to be economical interms of the equipment we send and how […]
Posted inAI - Data - Apps - Cybernetics, Commercial & Private Sector, Intelligence & Language, Nanotechnology & SynBio, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
Hydrogel Material Shows Unexpected Learning Abilities: It Learned To Play ‘Pong’
In a study published today (22 August) in Cell Reports Physical Science, a team led by Dr Yoshikatsu Hayashi demonstrated that a simple hydrogel – a type of soft, flexible […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Commercial & Private Sector, Interstellar, Nanotechnology & SynBio, Press Release
Extraterrestrial Chemistry With Earthbound Possibilities
Who are we? Why are we here? As the Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young song suggests, we are stardust, the result of chemistry occurring throughout vast clouds of interstellar gas […]
Posted inAstropharmacy / Biotechnology, Commercial & Private Sector, Exploration Gear & Tech, Life Support Systems, Mars, Nanotechnology & SynBio, Status Report
Resource-efficiency Of Cyanobacterium Production On Mars: Assessment And Paths Forward
Space agencies and private companies strive for a permanent human presence on the Moon and ultimately on Mars. Bioprocesses have been advocated as key enablers due to their ability to […]
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Commercial & Private Sector, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Microbiology & Virology, Nanotechnology & SynBio, Status Report
Extremophiles In A Changing World
Our understanding of the cellular adaptations to extreme conditions (such as acid, temperature, pressure and more), of the mechanisms underpinning the stability of macromolecules, and of the subtleties, complexities and […]
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Nanotechnology & SynBio, Status Report
Genetic Encoding and Expression of RNA Origami Cytoskeletons in Synthetic Cells
The central dogma at the core of molecular biology states that information flows from DNA to RNA and then to protein. Our research seeks to introduce a conceptually novel approach […]
![The logic of self-replicating living “machines”. Cells reproduce through a complex process that uses DNA as a set of instructions but requires also DNA to be replicated. In von Neumann’s theory (a), a formal machine capable of copying itself would require a set of instructions to guide the construction of a new machine under some controlled states such that instructions also get replicated. In biology, one crucial component of the cellular translation machinery is the ribosome (b), made of two subunits (RibLU and RibSU) that “read” RNA strings to synthesise proteins, playing the role of the Constructor. In a molecular, embodied implementation of cell reproduction, self-organised interactions between a compartment, metabolism and information must interact. An example of a simple implementation is shown in (c) for a synthetic cell involving a compartment coupled to double-stranded polymers and a minimal metabolism (adapted from [127]). Here, a precursor pL is transformed into lipids (L) that allow membrane growth until some instability triggers division. -- preprints.org](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Fundamental-Constraints-To-The-Logic-Of-Living-Systems.png?resize=1200%2C720&ssl=1)
Posted inBiophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Nanotechnology & SynBio, Status Report
Fundamental Constraints To The Logic Of Living Systems
It has been argued that the historical nature of evolution makes it a highly path-dependent process. Under this view, the outcome of evolutionary dynamics could have resulted in organisms with […]
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Nanotechnology & SynBio, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
Nanosized Blocks Spontaneously Assemble In Water To Create Tiny Floating Checkerboards
Researchers have engineered nanosized cubes that spontaneously form a two-dimensional checkerboard pattern when dropped on the surface of water. The work, published in Nature Communications, presents a simple approach to […]
Posted inBiophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Commercial & Private Sector, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Nanotechnology & SynBio, Status Report
Polyextremophile Engineering: A Review Of Organisms That Push The Limits Of Life
Nature exhibits an enormous diversity of organisms that thrive in extreme environments. From snow algae that reproduce at sub-zero temperatures to radiotrophic fungi that thrive in nuclear radiation at Chernobyl, […]