News Digest #238 – DNA data storage, SynBioBeta’s annual synthetic biology investment report, and more (sponsored by Data Collective)

Hi all,If we stored all the world’s data in flash memory, we would run out of the raw materials in 25 years, yet all the world's data could theoretically be stored in a teaspoonful of DNA material. This week, SynBioBeta’s contributing editor Embriette Hyde explores some key players in the DNA data storage and synthesis space, such as The Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA), the Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC), and Twist Bioscience. Victor Zhirnov, Director & Chief Scientist of the SRC and head of the SemiSynBio initiative will be speaking at SynBioBeta next month with something big to announce there. I hope you can join us.This week we also take a look at a new technology being developed by CATALOG, which promises to rapidly lower the time and cost needed for storing data in DNA.

Both Hyunjun Park and Ryan Bethencourt will also be speaking at SynBioBeta this year (but on different topics!).DNA data storage would be impossible without the synthesis of high-quality DNA, a fundamental enabling technology of synthetic biology. Tim Brears, CEO of Cambridge-based Evonetix, believes that in order to realize the full potential of synthetic biology, we need to drastically improve current synthesis technologies. Evonetix’s silicon chip-based technology is enabling DNA synthesis at unprecedented scale, while Molecular Assemblies is developing a state-of-the-art enzymatic catalysis technology to achieve longer, higher fidelity DNA -- at drastically reduced costs and without the toxic byproducts that accompany chemical catalysis methods. The field of enzymatic DNA synthesis is really heating up, with DNA Script,Nuclera Nucleics and Base6 Bio all in hot pursuit.Don’t miss our sessions on “The Future of DNA Synthesis” and on “DNA Data Storage” at SynBioBeta 2018: our panelists will share the latest breakthroughs, and share a vision for how DNA could become your failsafe, lossless backup.SynBioBeta’s Annual Synthetic Biology Investment Report with Silicon Valley Bank In other news... check out our upcoming synthetic biology industry strategy reports, with Mark Bünger. You can register to receive them here and watch our live webinars:

• “What's your Bio Strategy for Biopharma and Healthcare?” Wednesday, September 19, 10am Pacific

• Green Growth: Venture Investment in Synthetic Biology: Thursday, September 20, at 9am Pacific

If you love podcasts, you’ll enjoy listening to TechNation where Moira Gunn interviewed Jake Glanville of Distributed Bio about his universal flu vaccine. Distributed Bio is supporting a session all about immunotherapy at SynBioBeta this year.If you want to know how startups collaborate with corporations, learn more about industry trends, how collaborations really occur, and how you too can transform an idea into a disruptive business, join us at the Digital Garage for a free satellite event as part of Synthetic Biology Week on October 1 @ 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm.Thanks to DCVC (Data Collective) for sponsoring this awesome edition of the SynBioBeta newsletter. In full disclosure, I am part of a seed fund with DCVC, and DCVC has invested in Catalog, Evonetix, Molecular Assemblies, and many other companies. If you would like to sponsor a digest on another great topic of interest to the SynBioBeta community, please drop me a note as we are about to announce our 2019 editorial calendar.I know it’s Sunday, so no matter if you are starting or finishing your week today, I wish you a good one.Cheers,John

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