A couple of guys in a garage changed computer technology. Will someone in a basement one day transform biology just as radically? We explore the tantalizing — and maybe terrifying — frontier of synthetic biology and do-it-yourself life science.

For 15 years, J. Craig Venter has chased a dream: to build a genome from scratch and use it to make synthetic life. Now, he and his team at the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI) in Rockville, Maryland, and San Diego, California, say they have realized that dream.

Looking at safety as a priority, the feds reach out to members of a new movement that takes science into neighborhoods. This video features an interview with Synthetic Biology Project Director David Rejeski.

The Pink Army Cooperative is selling $20 shares in a journey toward a personalized cure for breast cancer. This Canadian organization has set out to lower the cost of cancer treatments while also making them more effective by embracing a new wave of synthetic biology technology.

Darpa, in a move that means to use bioweapons for good, has announced the investment of $6 million into a project that will create "synthetic organisms" that never die but can be killed with the flick of a molecular switch.

As researchers discover more agents that alter mental states, the Chemical Weapons Convention needs modification to help ensure that the life sciences are not used for hostile purposes, says Malcolm Dando.

Scientific opportunities must be balanced with ethical debate, says report. Three leading German research organizations have outlined how they believe the country could play a major role

It's field trip day, and I'm at the Synthetic Biology Workshop at the University of California Berkeley co-sponsored by Innovation Center Denmark.

Biologists have created a living computer from E. coli bacteria that can solve complex mathematical problems

It's field trip day, and I'm at the Synthetic Biology Workshop at the University of California Berkeley co-sponsored by Innovation Center Denmark.

Energy Secretary Chu and Agriculture Secretary Vilsack announced the joint selection of awards of up to $6.3 million towards fundamental genomics-enabled research leading to the improved use of plant feedstocks for biofuel production.

ExxonMobil is teaming up with the biotech research company run by genomics pioneer Craig Venter to produce algae-based biofuels.

Researchers from Edinburgh University have discovered a way to redesign the process by which cells divide.

This development could lead to treatments of genetic disorders at some point in the future.