The 4th Domain

This summer the University of Exeter is seeking to enter a team of students into the prestigious International Genetically Engineered Machines (iGEM) competition.

There was plenty of controversy generated at the end of 2010 by the suggestion that a particular Halophilic bacteria (GFA-J1) could incorporate arsenic into DNA in place of phosphorous. But perhaps the most interesting outcome was not the research itself, but the online response.

Drew Endy from 2008, discussing what he wants to do with synthetic biology and why. In it he touches on perhaps the most important aspect of synthetic biology to biologists: learning by building.

Christina Agapakis is a postdoctoral research fellow at UCLA in the lab. of James C. Liao. She writes the rather excellent synthetic biology blog Oscillator. Previous posts can still be found at her earlier Scienceblogs residence. A good place to start is her post from December on cyborg yeast (Fig. 1) …

There have been a number of reviews and special issues dedicated to the developing field of synthetic biology. These, I am sure, will be getting a mention as time goes on. As a first offering though I will draw attention to a special issue of Science from last autumn (2nd September 2011).

Welcome to the 4th Domain. This blog is intended to introduce students (and maybe even some staff) at the University of Exeter to current topics in synthetic biology and biotechnology. It is hoped that it may also prove to be a useful tool to showcase some of the exciting developments in modern biology