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Ian Paulsen: Jobs for rural Australia in synthetic biology revolution

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Economic opportunities: Paulsen says Australia should ideally be part of a $1.1 trillion industry. Image credit: The Lighthouse @ Macquarie University

Synthetic biology underpins an international market worth $355 billion a year, climbing to $1.1 trillion in five years. The market is in pharmaceuticals, engine fuels, plastics and more, all made using genetically engineered microbes. Macquarie University’s Distinguished Professor Ian Paulsen wants Australia to have a slice of this high-tech, job-creating, transformational industry.

Read the full story at The Lighthouse, Macquarie University

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Synthetic biology solutions for Mars colonization

by Jestin George

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Image by Llorente et al 2018 (CC-BY 4.0)

Even though plans to colonise Mars are progressing rapidly, it is very hard to actually comprehend what a permanent life out there would be like. One can’t help but imagine it to be pretty Earth-centric; we will need to design spaces and resource solutions that provide what we need and use down here, out there. Food will definitely be an issue; Continue reading → Synthetic biology solutions for Mars colonization

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Synbio profile interview – Michele Fabris

Michele-Fabris.jpg.pngDr Michele Fabris is a CSIRO Synthetic Biology FPS Fellow, working on a diverse group of microalgae called diatoms. He is a core member of the Algal Biosystems and Biotechnology group led by Prof. Peter Ralph in Climate Change Cluster, of the University of Technology Sydney (C3:UTS), and a CSIRO Visiting Scientist in the group of A/Prof. Claudia Vickers. Michele completed his Ph.D. in 2013, where he worked on the reconstruction of diatom metabolic networks, and characterised novel aspects of diatom metabolism. Twitter handle: @fabrismichele

Continue reading → Synbio profile interview – Michele Fabris

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Synbio profile interview – Dominic Logel

Dominic Logel is a PhD Candidate in Department of Molecular Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney. He was recently awarded the CSIRO Future Science Platform PhD Top Up Scholarship. Dominic began his journey into synthetic biology research in 2013 as a member of Macquarie University iGEM team. Dominic hopes to use his research to further the design of organisms to provide useful benefits to humanity, be that in food production or medical applications. Twitter handle: @DominicLogel

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Synbio profile interview – Alison McLennan

 

McLennan1.jpgDr Alison McLennan is an Assistant Professor at Faculty of Business, Government and Law, University of Canberra. Alison is particularly interested in the challenges posed to regulation by emerging technologies, especially biotechnologies. Her PhD investigated regulation of synthetic biology and was awarded in 2014. In 2017, she presented the legal issues relating to synthetic biology at the SBA conference held in Sydney. She has continued to publish work on SynBio regulation and patent law, including for general audiences via The Conversation, and has a new book about synthetic biology law and policy issues coming out in 2018. Alison is interested in how we can not only manage the risks of new technologies, but also maximise their potential benefits. Twitter handle: @asmclennan

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Synbio profile interview – Karen Weynberg

Karen WeynbergWe are excited to present synthetic biologist, Dr Karen Weynberg, who is the ECR representative of SBA Executive Board. Karen is a CSIRO Future Science Research Fellow based at University of Queensland.

She completed her PhD in the UK in 2009, uncovering new viruses that infect marine phytoplankton. Her first fellowship, the ARC Super Science Research Fellowship, investigated the role of viruses in coral reefs. Her current fellowship uses synthetic biology to develop phage therapy for addressing bacterial biofilms and antibiotic resistance. Suffice to say that  Karen is something of a virus aficionado, and has even given a TedX talk and media interviews to  BBC News and ABC News. Twitter handle: @ReefViruses

Continue reading → Synbio profile interview – Karen Weynberg

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CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing: from Cancer Treatment to Agriculture

by Jestin George

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CRISPR-Cas9 editing of the genome from NIH image gallery (Creative Commons CC2.0 from Flickr)

In 2012 the first evidence of CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing was published and since then, almost 4000 CRISPR-Cas9 articles have followed. From fundamental research to applications in biotechnology, agriculture, health care, pest control, and synthetic biology, there is no doubt that CRISPR systems will revolutionise both biological research and indeed, technology, as we know it. Continue reading → CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing: from Cancer Treatment to Agriculture