Need a gene promoter? You may soon be able to order one from a catalog. California synthetic biologists are launching a linkurl:production facility;http://www.biofab.org/ that will provide free, standardized DNA parts for scientists around the world.
The project, called BIOFAB: International Open Facility Advancing Biotechnology -- or just BIOFAB for short -- aims to boost the ease of bioengineering with "biological parts" that are shared resources, standardized and reliable enough that they can be switched in and out of a genome like electronic parts in a radio. If BIOFAB's vision is realized, researchers will be able to access an online registry and simply order what they need. The project is funded by a two-year $1.4 million grant from the National Science Foundation, as well as support from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the linkurl:BioBricks Foundation;http://bbf.openwetware.org/...
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by the UT Austin / UCSF team, iGEM 2004 Image: Wikipedia |
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