Tag: synthetic biology

My current research project in clinical diagnostics

November 15, 2023

Since June 2021, I have been working on a small synthetic biology project, and a bigger clinical diagnostic project in Professor Lim Chwee Teck’s lab at Department of Biomedical Engineering at the National University of Singapore. The synthetic biology project was on using microfluidic chip to enhance bacterial transformation efficiency for uptake of plasmids in … More My current research project in clinical diagnostics

Opportune moment to redirect synthetic biology’s focus towards bioseparation

August 28, 2023

Much of the past 20 years has seen significant progress in strain engineering and genetic engineering for increasing production titer in metabolic engineering research. But, production titer remain low compared to conventional synthetic organic chemistry synthesis routes. Hence, price of synthetic biology products remains high, and largely uncompetitive compared to products manufactured via conventional methods … More Opportune moment to redirect synthetic biology’s focus towards bioseparation

Synthetic biology research and education is typically hosted by chemical engineering departments

August 21, 2023

Synthetic biology concerns the use of engineering tools such as process engineering and genetic engineering to reprogram microbial cells to produce biofuels, drugs, and speciality chemicals. In the course of doing so, many facets of enzymology such as protein engineering, modulation of gene expression, strain engineering, and biochemical engineering needs to come together holistically to … More Synthetic biology research and education is typically hosted by chemical engineering departments

Introducing different sub-specialities in the field of synthetic biology

July 6, 2023

Synthetic biology is the broad term used to describe a collection of genetic engineering enabled research fields. These sub-specialities include protein engineering, DNA assembly, metabolic engineering, synthetic metabolism, synthetic pathways, substrate utilisation, and pathway engineering. Future blog posts will describe the nature and utility of these synthetic biology sub-specialities. Category: biochemistry, biotechnology, synthetic biology, molecular … More Introducing different sub-specialities in the field of synthetic biology

Genetic engineering benefits from the ability to mix and match gene regulatory elements and gene cassette in a combinatorial fashion for tuning gene expression levels

October 28, 2020

Modern synthetic biology and molecular cloning tools have afforded the ability to use different gene regulatory elements for controlling expression of a particular gene. Use of such gene regulatory elements do not need to be restricted to the gene to which it originally controlled. For example, a promoter from gene A could also be used … More Genetic engineering benefits from the ability to mix and match gene regulatory elements and gene cassette in a combinatorial fashion for tuning gene expression levels

Cell free transcription/translation system provides a clean genetic background for testing genetic circuits in synthetic biology

August 12, 2019

Whole cells have been workhorses in biocatalysis, particularly in providing a conducive environment for enzyme function as well as providing for cofactor regeneration. However, heterologous overexpression of genes within an endogenous genetic context may encounter problems associated with cross-talks between the heterologous and endogenous systems. The problem is not significant if the goal is in … More Cell free transcription/translation system provides a clean genetic background for testing genetic circuits in synthetic biology

Remaking photosynthesis for increasing crop yield

April 29, 2019

Feature article in Nature, Vol. 544, Issue 7651, pp. S11-S13, “Solar upgrade”   Summary of article: Crop production could be severely impacted by rising carbon dioxide concentration in the air as well as global warming. Thus, a slew of efforts is underway in major researcher centres around the world focussing on enhancing photosynthesis for increasing … More Remaking photosynthesis for increasing crop yield

Bottom-up biology illuminating the secrets of life

November 12, 2018

Biological research is typically pursued using the top-down approach where scientists seek to understand the fundamental underpinnings of life by dissecting the various components of cells using increasingly refined techniques and instruments. However, there is a recent trend of studying the principles that govern cellular processes using bottom-up approaches.   Specifically, in what is known … More Bottom-up biology illuminating the secrets of life

Remaking photosynthesis for increasing crop yield

July 17, 2017

Feature article in Nature, Vol. 544, Issue 7651, pp. S11-S13, “Solar upgrade”   Summary of article: Crop production could be severely impacted by rising carbon dioxide concentration in the air as well as global warming. Thus, a slew of efforts is underway in major researcher centres around the world, focusing on enhancing photosynthesis for increasing … More Remaking photosynthesis for increasing crop yield