Synthetic Biology: A New Approach to Science

Growing in a petri dish in the above picture, the Arabidopsis (A-ra-bi-dóp-sis, rockcress) is a small flowering plant related to cabbage and mustard. This flower is of great interest to the Synthetic Biology scientists since it was the first plant to have its entire genome sequenced.

This goat is named Freckles. She is part of the first generation of transgenic-goats. Before she was born, she had spider genes added to her genome which caused her to produce spider silk protein in her milk. That protein can now be extracted and spun into silk in the laboratory. Spider silk is desirable for it's incredible strength but has long been unavailable as a commodity because of the difficultly of collecting it in large quantities. (PHOTO: FIELD TEST FILM CORPS)

Using Synthetic Biology as a means to producing energy, or fuel, scientists can grow green algae at a very large scale, while not occupying the acres of land that would be needed to grow crops. Compared with crops normally used to produce vegetable oil, such as soybeans or palm, algae can generate from 10 to 50 times the
amount of oil per acre. The above picture shows algae cultures that are being grown at a lab at UC San Diego. (PHOTO: JIM GOLDEN, SAN DIEGO CENTER
FOR ALGAE BIOTECHNOLOGY, UCSD)

Fernan Federici, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Cambridge, studies how cells grow and develop into complex shapes and structures. Using Synthetic Biology to tag fluorescent cyan and yellow proteins to bacteria, Federici can study the complex patterns that are formed during cell growth. (PHOTO: FERNAN FEDERICI)

At the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, researchers are using the tools of Synthetic Biology to engineer new microbes as an alternative to yeast that can quickly and efficiently form complex sugars into advanced biofuels. (PHOTO: LAWRENCE BERKELEY NAT'L LAB - ROY KALTSCHMIDT)

The above plates contain colonies of E. coli that were designed to work as photo reactive film. The E. coli were designed to respond to red light by changing their color. Images projected onto the colonies would become fixed creating a "photograph in E. coli." The two images reproduced here are a classic portrait of Albert Einstein and a "self-portrait" of E. coli in motion. (PHOTO: FIELD TEST FILM CORPS.)

The 2009 Cambridge International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) Team designed standardised sequences of DNA, known as BioBricks, and inserted them into E. coli bacteria. Each BioBrick part contained genes selected from existing organisms spanning the living kingdoms, enabling the bacteria to produce a color: red, yellow, green, blue, brown or violet. These bacteria could then be programmed to turn a specific color to communicate a message, such as indicate whether drinking water is safe.
(PHOTO: E. CHROMI - UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE iGEM TEAM 2009)

As uses for Synthetic Biology grow, more and more industries will feel the impact of this new science. Here an artist learns how to load a gel into a culture.
(PHOTO: MEALNIE JACKSON/ SYNTHESIS WORKSHOP)

The uses for Synthetic Biology are starting to be explored in the field of architecture. By manipulating biological systems, scientists are beginning to examine how Synthetic Biology can be used to render 3D exoskeleton solutions for architectural modeling. The above example shows the cellular structure of one of these models.
(PHOTO: FERNAN FEDERICI)

Synthetic Biology extends to the garden as scientists are starting to genetically modify household plants. The flower in this photo was an experimental organism produced by the 2012 Harvard International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) Team. The team created a kit that would allow gardeners to genetically modify plants at home and to change the pigmentation and taste of the flower. (PHOTO: FIELD TEST FILM CORPS.)