This website is just one of many dedicated to synthetic biology and genetic engineering. If you are interested in learning more this page will hopefully give you some places to look. This list is by no means comprehensive, but I’m going to try and include as many resources on it as I can. Never forget the power of a Google search though!
Websites
SyntheticBiology.org & OpenWetware are websites dedicated to sharing information between researchers and other interested parties about Synthetic Biology. These are great websites to use to find out exactly what different groups of scientists and engineers are currently doing, or to find more useful resources.
BioBricks Foundation – The Biobricks Foundation is a public benefit organisation founded to ensure that the engineering of biology is conducted in an open an ethical manner to benefit all people and the planet. They are involved in the organisation of a large number of events and conferences about Synthetic Biology.
The Synthetic Biology Project – This website has a similar purpose to The Synthetic Bestiary – to help inform the public about these new technologies. The site is run as an initiative of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. This website is a hub of great articles about Synthetic Biology.
SynBERC – the Synthetic Biology Engineering Research Center is a multi-institution research effort to lay foundations for the field of Synthetic Biology.
The Hastings Center (Synthetic Biology), is a non-partisan research instituten dedicated to bioethics. They have a large number of useful resources and essays on the ethics of synthetic biology.
Synbiosafe, is a scientific project to research the safety and ethical aspects of synthetic biology.
Institutions & Companies
- Synthetic Biology Institute @UC Berkeley
- Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering @Harvard
- Department of Biological Engineering @MIT
- Bioengineering @Caltech
- Synbio.org.uk @Cambridge
- Centre for Synthetic Biology and Innovation @ Imperial College London
- SymbioticA @ The University of Western Australia
- NASA Synbio Initiative
- J. Craig Venter Institute & Synthetic Genomics
- Ginkgo Bioworks
Do-It-Yourself-Biology Groups
DIYBIO, is an organisation all about making biological engineering accessible to the public. This website acts as a central point for the DIYBiology community. The list of groups below is a shortlist chosen on the basis of general accessibility of their website. If you are looking to join a group check out the DIYBIO list/map.
A Selection of DIY Groups
- BossLab – Boston MA
- Genspace – New York City NY
- BioCurious – Mountain View CA
- LA Biohackers – Los Angeles CA
- DIYBio San Diego – San Diego CA
- Biospace – Victoria BC
- DIYBIO_MCR – Manchester UK
- BiologiGaragen – Compenhagen DK
- Dutch DIY Bio Group – The Hague NL
- La Paillasse – Paris FR
- Hackteria – Switzerland/Slovenia CH
- DIYBIOSINGAPORE – Singapore
Events
SyntheticBiology.org maintains a list of past and upcoming events (primarily conferences) in the field.
iGEM, the International Genetically Engineered Machine Foundation runs a competition for undergraduate students each year in the field of Synthetic Biology. This competition has been (and continues to be) a major driving force behind the field. Many of the most exciting organisms and applications developed to date have come out of iGEM projects.
Biofiction – Science, Art & Film Festival was an event which happened in May 2011 showcasing art and fiction linked to Synthetic Biology. Biofiction has since travelled around the world as an exhibition.
GenoCon, is the International Rational-Genome-Design Competition held by RIKEN in Japan.
Resources & Education
There has been a recent trend for many universities to offer their course content online for free. Now everyone has access to high quality lectures from a huge array of topics, including synthetic biology. Some notable sites offering these services include edX (a Harvard & MIT initiative) and Coursera (a Princeton, Stanford, University of Michigan and University of Pennsylvania initiative). But there are plenty of others too!
BioBuilder, is a resource for hands on activities and informative animations on synthetic biology. They have a number of useful educational resources.
RiAus PDplus – Synthetic Biology for Teachers, is an Australian organisation dedicated to increasing public awareness of cutting edge science and technology. They ran a special event on teaching Synthetic Biology to children in middle school. Their teacher notes / exercises [PDF] are particularly useful and well made. They also hosted a more general event on Synthetic Biology.
iBioSeminars – a general biology education resource with lots of free seminars on different areas of biology.
