News Digest #221 – Live demo with Amyris & Labcyte, off-the-shelf biocontainment, AbSci $12M round

Hi all,Want to build more strains AND reduce your consumables? Amyris’ Chance Elliott will show you how to build a faster, cheaper, and more eco-friendly automation pipeline using the Labcyte Echo Liquid Handler, a lab automation platform that uses acoustic energy to perform precision, non-contact liquid handling. Join Chance, Labcyte’s Jefferson Lai, and I for a live demonstration, the first-ever SynBioBeta Deep Dive, on Wednesday June 27 at 8-9am Pacific.This week we interview Gabriel Lopez, co-founder of Synvivia, about how they are using ON-OFF switches to build the first commercially available genetically encoded biocontainment system. It keeps engineered organisms under control, allowing synthetic biology to be used outside of the laboratory. Learn more about it at SynBioBeta 2018!

Ejaj Intisar from the University College London won a free ticket to SynBioBeta for asking the best question during our SynBioBetaLive! with Riffyn. If you missed it then you can watch it again here: “From Lab Data to Machine Learning in 30 seconds”

Can genome engineering solve the shortage of transplant organs? Harvard has licensed technology to eGenesis, the Cambridge biotech startup co-founded by George Church and Luhan Yang, covering a powerful set of CRISPR gene editing technologies.

Luhan Yang, Co-founder of eGenesis, developed a CRISPR/Cas9 platform to deliver human transplantable cells, tissues and organs to patients.

Congratulations to Dror Berman and the Innovation Endeavors team for closing a new $333-million fund for technologists accelerating a super evolution of industry. In other news, Biomanufacturing company AbSci raised a $12M Series C round to scale their synthetic biology platform for protein expression, and gene editing company Recombinetics has formed an alliance with Semex to implement a precision breeding program that improves animal well-being by producing dairy calves that are born hornless, eliminating the need to dehorn calves.BARDA (Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority) today launched DRIVe, a $25M health security program on early disease detection and solving sepsis. DRIVe includes several opportunities for investors, entrepreneurs, and innovators, including the formation of new private-public partnerships.Atomwise, a company using artificial intelligence for drug screening and design, has announced that it will invite academic researchers to apply for a new round of AIMS Awards that support a wide variety of fields, from human and animal health to crop protection.Finally, SynbiCITE's first Synthetic Biology Industrial Translation Showcase took place yesterday in London. Here I am with Tim Fell from Synthace, Prince Philip, Andrew Phillips from Microsoft Research, and Paul Freemont from SynbiCITE:

Regards,John

Open Cell launches shipping container labs to accelerate biotech start-up businesses

Biohackers are about open-access to science, not DIY pandemics

How artificial intelligence is changing drug discovery

A genetically modified organism could end malaria and save millions of lives

Microbes in space: bioengineered bugs could help colonize new planets

The world’s largest GMO study was launched by Russians in 2014 - then it disappeared

Catastrophic risk to ecosystems puts biotechnology fixes on the table

Designer microbes could replace the chemical fertilizers that contribute to climate change

Synthetic ‘tissues’ build themselves: cells self-organize into 3D-structures

All the News

FDA halts one of the first human CRISPR studies before it begins (MIT Tech Review)GRO Biosciences co-founders Ross Thyer and Andrew Ellington demonstrate a method to make therapeutic proteins more stable (The University of Texas at Austin)Synthego launches engineered cells product portfolio as next step in delivering genome engineering access to all scientists (Press release)Senti Biosciences announces Curt Herberts as new Chief Financial Officer and Chief Business Officer (Press release)Working with Green Biologics, Kreussler is making biobased dry cleaning solvent from corn grown by family-owned farms (Bio-Based World