synthetic-biology

Nature Communications, Published online: 12 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-77633-7 Developing NMN⁺ as an orthogonal redox cofactor could help biomanufacturing approach theoretical maximum yields. Here, the authors show that engineering the Rossmann fold can convert NAD(P)-dependent enzymes to selectively use the noncanonical cofactor NMN(H).

Nature Communications, Published online: 12 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-77557-2 Protein language models are powerful tools for generative protein design, but because they are trained solely on natural sequences, they often struggle to generate proteins with enhanced or non-natural functions. This work a general framework that aligns generative protein language models with experimentall…

Living yeast yurts on Mars! The post Genetically Engineered Yeast Could Transform Martian Soil into Living Building Materials appeared first on Nautilus .

Nature Communications, Published online: 11 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-77655-1 The authors combine computer simulation and experimental fabrication to co-design living muscle and its scaffold, optimizing the range of motion of bioactuators to power biohybrid robots that can jump, swim, walk and grip.

Nature Communications, Published online: 11 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-77620-y Alternative splicing is regulated by RNA-binding proteins, but measuring their regulatory activity remains challenging. Here, the authors develop RAISE, a computational framework that integrates multimodal data to construct splicing regulatory networks and quantify activity from transcriptomic data.

Synthetic biological forms provide an unusually clear setting for studying how new collective capacities arise from components whose histories extend far beyond the bodies they now compose. Xenobots and Anthrobots bring familiar cells into unfamiliar collective arrangements and express coordinated motility, repair, morphogenesis, sensory responsiveness, and other body-level behaviors. Their colle…

Nature Biomedical Engineering, Published online: 09 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41551-026-01790-9 A generative protein design workflow addresses important challenges with de novo protein engineering of chimaeric antigen receptors (CARs) to improve targeting of proteins important in cancer and create more effective CAR T therapies.

Nature Biomedical Engineering, Published online: 09 September 2026; doi:10.1038/s41551-026-01792-7 Generative artificial intelligence (AI) has revolutionized protein engineering and has enabled de novo design of protein binders against dozens of target antigens. Our study combines AI-assisted binder design, binder integration into chimaeric antigen receptor (CAR) constructs and scalable in vitro …

[Cell Biomaterials] The authors summarize recent advances in recapitulating the ECM in organ-on-chip systems and argue that the next generation of organ-on-chip platforms will be defined not by increasing structural complexity alone but by their ability to integrate biologically instructive ECMs with manufacturable biomaterial systems.

Join us for a Bioengineering Department Special Seminar!  Dr. Jennifer Brophy Professor of Bioengineering, Stanford University BS Alumna, UC Berkeley Bioengineering Wednesday, September 23 12:00 – 1:00pm Hearst Mining Building, Room 290 “Genetic code expansion and synthetic genetic circuits that can count for precision control of plant and microbial gene expression” Abstract: Precision engineerin…

Join us for our next Bioengineering Department Seminar : Wednesday, September 16, 12noon – 1:00pm, Hearst Mining Building, Room 290   “Single Cells in Context: A Dyad View that Bridges Single-Cell and Spatial Biology”      Dr. Dino Di Carlo, BS and PhD alumnus, Berkeley Bioengineering Armond and Elena Hairapetian Professor and Chair of Bioengineering, UCLA Abstract: Single-cell…

As wet-lab validation becomes increasingly important to support artificial intelligence-enhanced science, research science points out that human-relevant cell models provide an important foundation for testing and confirming AI-generated insights. The post Revvity Signs Agreement to Acquire Human Cell Design appeared first on GEN - Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News .

Co-led by Cristin Millett, professor of art in the College of Arts and Architecture’s School of Visual Arts, the "Ex-Utero" project has brought together collaborators from the College of Arts and Architecture, Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, the College of Engineering and the University of Western Australia’s School of Human Sciencesto open an artistic and scientific inquiry into the future…

[q-bio.BM] The last five-plus years have seen many protein engineering disciplines transformed by advances in machine learning (ML), but the same cannot be said for directed evolution. Reflecting on a […] The post Advances in Machine Learning for Directed Evolution: A Five-Year Retrospective appeared first on Astrobiology .

We started b.next as a few academics looking to solve the problem of interoperability and integration in synthetic cell research, and help our community realize the potential of synthetic cells. Over the last few years, we've been hard at work on this with Nucleus. But that alone isn't enough: synthetic cells can only go so far without a dedicated physical supply chain. We took on the challenge a…

Jordan Bench is a third-year graduate student who comes to the Department of Chemistry from Westchester, New York. As a member of Professor Brad Pentelute’s lab, Jordan works to develop new methods for synthesizing peptides composed entirely of non-natural amino acids. To improve the potency and biological stability of peptide-based therapeutics, he and his fellow […]

Bryan Witherbee recalls the state of Agragene in late 2021 as precarious. The St. Louis-based startup, which had developed a gene-editing technique to produce sterile flies as a chemical-free pest control method, was running short on runway despite p