The UK Synthetic Biology Roadmap aims to build on the foundations and the progress of the field of synthetic biology in the UK. The report seeks to identify and stimulate initiatives to help companies develop new products and services that will have a clear public benefit, generate economic growth, and create jobs.

The Synthetic Biology Leadership Accelerator Program is looking for ideas about how to best advance this emerging technology for the public good with an October workshop.

Washington Lawyer magazine takes a look at the "Do-It-Yourself" biology movement and the issues surrounding these growing scientific communities, including input from the Synthetic Biology Project's Todd Kuiken.

A new advertising campaign from Fidelity Investments focuses on the possible benefits and investment potential of synthetic biology, in what could be the first example of an investment firm using the emerging technology in its advertising material.

The Obama Administration has released its National Bioeconomy Blueprint, which calls for regulatory reform to realize the potential benefits of synthetic biology, but also says a "robust framework" is needed to address risks from emerging technologies.

Researchers in the United Kingdom have found a way to make mass copies of the synthetic genetic material XNA, which they say can store genetic information and evolve much like RNA and DNA, according to a new article in Science magazine.

A new technique developed by researchers at the Department of Energy's Joint BioEnergy Institute is leading to a boost in the production of biodiesel fuel.

The Synthetic Biology Newsletter is an initiative of LIS Consult and the Synthetic Biology Project of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. The newsletter is financially supported by the Commission on Genetic Modification and the Rathenau Institute, both in the Netherlands.

An alliance of top researchers has formed the UC Berkeley Synthetic Biology Institute, advancing efforts to engineer biological systems in ways that promise to transform health and medicine, energy, the environment, new materials, and more.

The 21st century is widely heralded as the century of biology. Building on the fundamental understanding achieved in the second half of the last century, revolutionary advances are expected to improve many aspects of our lives, from clean energy and targeted, safer medicines to new industries.

In its Thursday-issued report, the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues has given the go-ahead to research in the field of synthetic biology – technology which involves the creation of new organisms via the synthesis and manipulation of DNA.

A presidential commission has concluded there is no need to impose new regulations or to create new regulatory agencies for the controversial new field known as synthetic biology, The New York Times reports.

Scientists have yet to actually create synthetic life, but the burgeoning field of synthetic biology already requires firm federal oversight, according to advisers convened by President Obama.