Promising everything from algae-derived petroleum to personalized medicine to drought-resistant crops, synthetic biology - or synbio - is rapidly sprouting disruptive new technologies in energy, healthcare, specialty chemicals, and agriculture…

BIOTECHNOLOGY:THE TIME is coming when if a new drug, cheap fuels or novel materials are needed, synthetic biology will deliver them. However, with the possibility of building “artificial” organisms comes the risk of unintentional harm should they escape…

If mankind creates a microbial life form are we playing God? And, if we are, is that wrong?...

An ugly, toxic, tough-skinned weed has made a bit of a splash in recent weeks as a renewable energy source that wields a unique distinction: a decent shot at commercial viability…

Some life scientists are changing the way they do business because of security concerns, according to a U.S. survey released this week…

Solazyme, Inc., a renewable oil production company and leading algal synthetic biology company, will feature a Jeep Liverty fueled by the world’s first algal-based renewable diesel, SoladieselRD™, at CALSTART Target 2030…

It’s green, slimy and one of the simplest organisms on the planet, but it could hold the key to the impending global fuel crisis…

After years of rapid growth, venture capital investments in green technology started shrinking in the fourth quarter of 2008 as the financial crisis took its toll, two new reports show…

What would our forebears have made of test-tube basies, microwave ovens, organ transplants, CCTV and iPhones?...

Katherine Aull’s laboratory in Cambridge, Massachusetts, lacks a few mod cons…

Student participants in the 2008 International Genetically Engineered Machine Competition crafted biological "machines," or living organisms, using original combinations of DNA and other organic material to help tackle environmental and health problems.

Allegedly, thousands of Americans are "biohacking" to genetically engineer organisms in their living rooms or garages. One such experimenter is attempting to "rewire the DNA of yogurt bacteria so that they will glow green to signal the presence of melamine"...

Barack Obama recently pledged to establish a $150 billion "Apollo project" for energy independence…