Barry Canton, a 28-year-old biological engineer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has posted raw scientific data, his thesis proposal, and original research ideas on an online website for all to see…

Scientists are advancing slowly toward one of the most audacious goals humans have ever set for themselves: creating artificial life…

Synthetic biology and microbial insights will soon allow scientists to custom-build bacteria capable of surviving on other planets, says extremophile expert John Baross.

Designer enzymes are big business as the need to produce viable biofuels grows - but can they offer a long-term alternative?

David Deamer, an artificial-life scientist at UC Santa Cruz, spoke with NEWSWEEK's Jeneen Interlandi about his research.

In the future there will be no more human beings. This is not something we should worry about…

Taking a significant step toward the creation of synthetic forms of life, researchers reported Thursday that they had manufactured the entire genome of a bacterium by stitching together its chemical components…

Synthetic biologists say their technology could tackle climate change and feed the hungry, but its dangers are terrifying

Forget genetic engineering. The new idea is synthetic biology, an effort to rewire the genetic circuitry of living organisms. (Subscription Required)

George Church, director of Harvard's Center for Medical Genetics and a synthetic biology policy wonk, feels that synthetic biologists ought to be under government surveillance -- and if they don't like it, they should pick another field.

Synthetic biology -- the emerging science of creating genomes, cellular components and even whole cellular organisms from scratch -- confronts regulators with some tricky problems.

A genome firm says it changed one bacterium species into another by transferring DNA 'software.'