Articles

Video: What is Synthetic Biology?

Submitted by Dru Oja Jay on Wed, 2014-10-29 11:15

Engineering Life and Livelihoods

To see this video in french, spanish, portuguese, german or haitian creole, please click here.

Delta & Pine Land brochure about Terminator technology

Submitted by Dru Oja Jay on Thu, 2014-08-28 11:45

Read more about Delta & Pine Land brochure about Terminator technology

Case Study: Patchouli and Synthetic Biology

Submitted by Dru Oja Jay on Thu, 2014-07-03 14:20

The unique scent of the patchouli plant is used in many fragrances and scented products. It is mostly grown in Malaysia, China, India and Singapore. One synthetic biology company is aiming to use synthetically modified microbes to produce a patchouli oil substitute, which could have negative effects on farmers.

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Case Study: Cocoa Butter and Synthetic Biology

Submitted by Dru Oja Jay on Thu, 2014-07-03 14:05

Cocoa butter, the main ingredient in chocolate, is produced by 30 tropical countries, and is sold for an estimated $6 billion annually. One synthetic biology company has engineered synthetically modified microbes to produce a cocoa butter substitute, which could threaten the livelihoods of millions of farmers.

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Open Letter to Ecover / Method

Submitted by Dru Oja Jay on Sun, 2014-06-01 23:01

re: decision to use ingredients derived from Synthetically Modified Organisms

02 June 2014

Philip Malmberg, CEO

Ecover

Industrieweg 3

Malle, 2390 Belgium

Adam Lowry, Co-Founder

Method Home

637 Commercial Street, Suite 300

San Francisco, CA 9411

USA

Dear Philip Malmberg and Adam Lowry,

RE: Ecover and Method’s decision to use ingredients derived from Synthetically Modified Organisms (SMOs) in its products

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Case Studies in the Impact of Synthetic Biology: Coconut oil, palm kernel oil and babassu

Submitted by Dru Oja Jay on Wed, 2014-04-09 14:18

Click on the links below to download the case studies.

“Synthetic biologists” apply computer-aided design and engineering to living organisms. The aim is to redesign existing biological organisms and even to create entirely new ones. Synthetic biology is “extreme genetic engineering” and its goal is to derive commercially-valuable compounds from novel living organisms rather than from conventional sources (e.g., crops, petroleum).

Read more about Case Studies in the Impact of Synthetic Biology: Coconut oil, palm kernel oil and babassu

That Was The Year – Unlucky 13

Submitted by Joëlle Deschambault on Tue, 2014-01-07 13:14

Rio+20’s Year of Postpartum Digressions

Unlucky 13: Our 2012 year-end review, “193 Shades of Gray,” stumbled into the surreal, post-Rio+20 “Hunger Games” as FAO admitted that it has been underestimating the number of hungry people and overestimating future food requirements and, in a cowardly act of conspicuous consumption, the UN Committee on World Food Security failed to condemn biofuels; Warsaw withered the way of every climate conference since Kyoto; the USA, UK, China and Russia significantly underestimated GHG emissions while the UK, Japan, New Zealand and Australia concluded that they just don’t give a dam

Let's Stop the Glowing Plant Release Project! - Only 10 days left to contribute to ETC Group's campaign

Submitted by ETC Staff on Wed, 2013-07-10 00:00

ETC Group needs your support to stop US biohackers and private biotech firm, Genome Compiler Corporation, from carrying out the first ever, intentional release of organisms created through synthetic biology.

Only 10 days left to make a contribution to ETC Group's fundraising campaign to stop the release of synbiotech seeds ! Huge thanks to those who have already contributed.