Biobuilder

"[P]rovides open-access, modular, hands-on lessons in synthetic biology for secondary and post-secondary classrooms and laboratories"--Page [4] of book cover.

A Harvard biologist and master inventor explores how new biotechnologies will enable us to bring species back from the dead, unlock vast supplies of renewable energy, and extend human life. In Regenesis, George Church and science writer Ed Regis explore the possibilities of the emerging field of synthetic biology. Synthetic biology, in which living organisms are selectively altered by modifying substantial portions of their genomes, allows for the creation of entirely new species of organisms. These technologies-far from the out-of-control nightmare depicted in science fiction-have the power to improve human and animal health, increase our intelligence, enhance our memory, and even extend our life span. A breathtaking look at the potential of this world-changing technology, Regenesis is nothing less than a guide to the future of life.

Synthetic Biology: A Lab Manual is the first manual for laboratory work in the new and rapidly expanding field of synthetic biology. Aimed at non-specialists, it details protocols central to synthetic biology in both education and research. In addition, it provides all the information that teachers and students from high schools and tertiary institutions need for a colorful lab course in bacterial synthetic biology using chromoproteins and designer antisense RNAs. As a bonus, practical material is provided for students of the annual international Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) competition. The manual is based upon a highly successful course at Sweden's Uppsala University and is coauthored by one of the pioneers of synthetic biology and two bioengineering postgraduate students.An inspiring foreword is written by another pioneer in the field, Harvard's George Church: “Synthetic biology is to early recombinant DNA as a genome is to a gene. Is there anything that SynBio will not impact? There was no doubt that the field of SynBio needed ‘A Lab Manual’ such as the one that you now hold in your hands.”

A guide to SQL covers such topics as retrieving records, metadata queries, working with strings, data arithmetic, date manipulation, reporting and warehousing, and hierarchical queries.

Today’s synthetic biologists are in the early stages of engineering living cells to help treat diseases, sense toxic compounds in the environment, and produce valuable drugs. With this manual, you can be part of it. Based on the BioBuilder curriculum, this valuable book provides open-access, modular, hands-on lessons in synthetic biology for secondary and post-secondary classrooms and laboratories. It also serves as an introduction to the field for science and engineering enthusiasts. Developed at MIT in collaboration with award-winning high school teachers, BioBuilder teaches the foundational ideas of the emerging synthetic biology field, as well as key aspects of biological engineering that researchers are exploring in labs throughout the world. These lessons will empower teachers and students to explore and be part of solving persistent real-world challenges. Learn the fundamentals of biodesign and DNA engineering Explore important ethical issues raised by examples of synthetic biology Investigate the BioBuilder labs that probe the design-build-test cycle Test synthetic living systems designed and built by engineers Measure several variants of an enzyme-generating genetic circuit Model "bacterial photography" that changes a strain’s light sensitivity Build living systems to produce purple or green pigment Optimize baker’s yeast to produce ?-carotene

Synthetic Biology — A Primer (Revised Edition) presents an updated overview of the field of synthetic biology and the foundational concepts on which it is built. This revised edition includes new literature references, working and updated URL links, plus some new figures and text where progress in the field has been made. The book introduces readers to fundamental concepts in molecular biology and engineering and then explores the two major themes for synthetic biology, namely 'bottom-up' and 'top-down' engineering approaches. 'Top-down' engineering uses a conceptual framework of systematic design and engineering principles focused around the Design-Build-Test cycle and mathematical modelling. The 'bottom-up' approach involves the design and building of synthetic protocells using basic chemical and biochemical building blocks from scratch exploring the fundamental basis of living systems. Examples of cutting-edge applications designed using synthetic biology principles are presented, including: the production of novel, microbial synthesis of pharmaceuticals and fine chemicalsthe design and implementation of biosensors to detect infections and environmental waste. The book also describes the Internationally Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) competition, which brings together students and young researchers from around the world to carry out summer projects in synthetic biology. Finally, the primer includes a chapter on the ethical, legal and societal issues surrounding synthetic biology, illustrating the integration of social sciences into synthetic biology research. Final year undergraduates, postgraduates and established researchers interested in learning about the interdisciplinary field of synthetic biology will benefit from this up-to-date primer on synthetic biology. Contents:List of ContributorsPrefaceIntroduction to BiologyBasic Concepts in Engineering BiologyFoundational TechnologiesMinimal Cells and Synthetic LifeParts, Devices and SystemsModelling Synthetic Biology SystemsApplications of Designed Biological SystemsiGEMThe Societal Impact of Synthetic BiologyAppendices:Proforma of Common Laboratory TechniquesGlossaryIndex Readership: Students, professionals, researchers in biotechnology and bioengineering. Keywords:Synthetic Biology;Engineering Principles;Biosociety;Biological Engineering;BiotechnologyKey Features:The book is written in a way that is accessible to students and researchers from different disciplinesThe authors are part of the internationally recognised Centre for Synthetic Biology and Innovation and are among the leaders in this field

A comprehensive presentation of essential topics for biological engineers, focusing on the development and application of dynamic models of biomolecular and cellular phenomena. This book describes the fundamental molecular and cellular events responsible for biological function, develops models to study biomolecular and cellular phenomena, and shows, with examples, how models are applied in the design and interpretation of experiments on biological systems. Integrating molecular cell biology with quantitative engineering analysis and design, it is the first textbook to offer a comprehensive presentation of these essential topics for chemical and biological engineering. The book systematically develops the concepts necessary to understand and study complex biological phenomena, moving from the simplest elements at the smallest scale and progressively adding complexity at the cellular organizational level, focusing on experimental testing of mechanistic hypotheses. After introducing the motivations for formulation of mathematical rate process models in biology, the text goes on to cover such topics as noncovalent binding interactions; quantitative descriptions of the transient, steady state, and equilibrium interactions of proteins and their ligands; enzyme kinetics; gene expression and protein trafficking; network dynamics; quantitative descriptions of growth dynamics; coupled transport and reaction; and discrete stochastic processes. The textbook is intended for advanced undergraduate and graduate courses in chemical engineering and bioengineering, and has been developed by the authors for classes they teach at MIT and the University of Minnesota.

With its highly developed capacity to detect patterns in data, Perl has become one of the most popular languages for biological data analysis. But if you're a biologist with little or no programming experience, starting out in Perl can be a challenge. Many biologists have a difficult time learning how to apply the language to bioinformatics. The most popular Perl programming books are often too theoretical and too focused on computer science for a non-programming biologist who needs to solve very specific problems.Beginning Perl for Bioinformatics is designed to get you quickly over the Perl language barrier by approaching programming as an important new laboratory skill, revealing Perl programs and techniques that are immediately useful in the lab. Each chapter focuses on solving a particular bioinformatics problem or class of problems, starting with the simplest and increasing in complexity as the book progresses. Each chapter includes programming exercises and teaches bioinformatics by showing and modifying programs that deal with various kinds of practical biological problems. By the end of the book you'll have a solid understanding of Perl basics, a collection of programs for such tasks as parsing BLAST and GenBank, and the skills to take on more advanced bioinformatics programming. Some of the later chapters focus in greater detail on specific bioinformatics topics. This book is suitable for use as a classroom textbook, for self-study, and as a reference.The book covers: Programming basics and working with DNA sequences and strings Debugging your code Simulating gene mutations using random number generators Regular expressions and finding motifs in data Arrays, hashes, and relational databases Regular expressions and restriction maps Using Perl to parse PDB records, annotations in GenBank, and BLAST output