News - Synthetic Cell

Researchers open up a potential new route for designing synthetic cells

26 / 09 / 2023

Essential for the construction of synthetic cells, cell-free expression (CFE) systems use the transcription and translation machinery of living cells to produce proteins in vitro. Wilhelm Huck’s research team, in collaboration with the Adamala Lab and the Craig Venter Institute, have developed a CFE system based on a minimal ...

Electricity Driving Life

18 / 09 / 2023

Source: press release from the Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, August 16, 2023 When nature performs chemical reactions to create energy-rich compounds from simple molecules, it requires energy. So far, it has not been possible to use man-made electricity to drive these biochemical processes. Researchers at the Max Planck ...

SynCell2024 - Save the date

31 / 08 / 2023

The international conference on the engineering of synthetic cells and organelles, SynCell2024, will take place next year from 17 to 19 April in Toulouse, France. Further information will follow shortly.

SIGSYNCELL, a European project for synthetic cells

21 / 08 / 2023

Source: Press Release from the CNRS, July 18, 2023 What are synthetic cells? © Jean-Christophe Baret Jean-Christophe Baret: Researchers are trying to reproduce or invent small-scale systems that resemble biological systems. A synthetic cell, which measures between 1-100 microns, consists of microcompartments that enable it to fulfil the basic functions of life, ...

The Danelon lab proposes new methods to help construct synthetic cells through evolution

27 / 07 / 2023

Imaging Flow Cytometry for High-Throughput Phenotyping. Cover of ACS Synthetic Biology, Volume 12, Issue 7. Image credit: Ana Restrepo Sierra. The team led by Christophe Danelon has published two methods designed to accelerate the construction of synthetic cells. The methods, which could be used more widely for in vitro evolutionary ...

Lab exchanges: PhD student Martin Holub shares his experience

13 / 07 / 2023

Whether it’s to further our understanding of how life works, or to develop more sustainable technologies, many researchers around the world are taking up the challenge of building cells from scratch. This field of research, known as synthetic cell research or bottom-up synthetic biology, requires a wide range of ...

Five SYNBEE activities for the SynBio community

13 / 07 / 2023

Alexandra Chukas, head of non-dilutive financing at eureKARE and SYNBEE coordinator Synthetic Biology (SynBio) and its applications promise new approaches to transforming industries and meeting the global challenges facing our societies. To give this field a boost, the new European SYNBEE consortium is supporting young professionals working across Europe in the field ...

eurekAWARDS 2023 – for researchers or entrepreneurs with disruptive solutions

04 / 07 / 2023

The contest seeks innovative synthetic biology solutions to global challenges, from climate change to health and sustainable manufacturing. We are pleased to announce that our partner eureKARE is organizing the second edition of the eurekAWARDS, a unique opportunity for researchers and entrepreneurs to compete for expert advice, in-kind start-up support, ...

Meet the Community - Michael Booth

08 / 06 / 2023

Michael Booth was determined to find his way in synthetic biology and synthetic cell research. After a PhD in nucleic acid chemistry* at Cambridge, during which Michael invented new DNA sequencing techniques, he took a career turn and joined Professor Hagan Bayley’s group at Oxford. There, he used his ...

A promising DNA-origami tool for the design of synthetic cells

01 / 06 / 2023

Scientists from the UK and Belgium recently teamed up to design DOLAs. These structures made of DNA have been coupled to synthetic membranes, giving membranes the ability to control the organization of their lipids. Thanks to DOLAs, these now-active membranes have great potential, as they could help researchers reproduce ...