Open-Source Lab Promises Free DNA Parts for Bioengineers

Popular Science (popsci.com)
By Jeremy Hsu
Posted 01.25.2010 at 10:15 am

Dr. Frankenstein wept (in envy)

Poor Dr. Frankenstein had to steal corpses for his mad experiments, but modern-day bioengineers need not resort to such dubious methods for raw materials. The new Biofab laboratory plans to churn out thousands of free standard DNA parts that academic and private biotech labs can use to create new designer microbes that can make everything from new drugs to fuel.

This could give a significant boost for research efforts, considering that a single designer microbe may cost years and tens of millions of dollars. One University of California-Berkeley effort to engineer microbes that could synthesize an anti-malarial drug took a decade and $25 million to reach small-scale production.

Read the full story