Doors opening for Synthetic Biology -Presidential commission report on bioethical issues encourages the new science.
iXpressGenes leader applauds recommendations for synthetic biology oversight
DATE: Monday, December 20, 2010
Huntsville, Ala -- Dr. Joe Ng, president of Huntsville-based iXpressGenes, has given thumbs up to a recently released report by the Presidential Commission for the study of Bioethical Issues as they relate to the new discipline of Synthetic Biology. The report further validates the focus of the local company, stating, “…synthetic biology offers extraordinary promise to create new products for clean energy, pollution control, and medicine, to revolutionize chemical production and manufacturing and to create new economic opportunities.” Synthetic biology, or “synbio” is the engineering of new biological functionality from components found in genes. Says Ng, “ Synbio is today where robotics was in the 70s – we know there is a better way to have machines perform work – in our case it’s the molecular work of biology and chemistry – and we are building the early versions and prototypes.”
The focus of research at iXpressGenes is to develop “bioparts” that will provide the components for engineered biosystems. Synthetic biology is used today in areas such as biofuels and drug manufacture." Our company will build a library of ‘parts’ that can be used by other researchers as they develop new products " said Ng. The company is located at the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology.
The commission report makes several recommendations including a call for coordinated federal oversight of scientists, and a “factcheck.org” type of service for the public that would verify the truthfulness of claims. The report also recommends that scientists provide self regulation and collaborative monitoring. Additional reviews will take place over the next 18 months.
“I think this is the right approach for the commission to take at this time,” said Ng. “They understand that the promise of synthetic biology will require collaboration and openness. They have come to the conclusion that it does not make sense to limit or tightly control this science. At this early stage, it is best if those of us in this new field provide peer monitoring and publish our results. ”
iXpressGenes is also pursuing bioremediation research using enzymes it has purified from bacteria that thrive in deep ocean vents. “We are looking for ways to engineer biological parts that could be used to help clear oil-polluted seas,” added Lance Larka, CTO at iXpressGenes. “We also see many opportunities to support work being explored by the Defense Dept and DARPA.”
Ng, who is also a professor at UAHuntsville, is teaching a class on synthetic biology next semester. “It is a cutting-edge field that includes biology, engineering, chemistry, computer science, ethics and genetics,” said Ng.
“There is such a great interest in synthetic biology that the principal lectures of Dr. Ng’s class will be video-casted this spring by UAH and the Hudson Alpha Institute for Biotechnology. The UAHuntsville synthetic biology class will be taught at HudsonAlpha to take advantage of the researchers and labs at the institute. A schedule of web-archived classes will be published in the spring.
iXpressGenes leader applauds recommendations for synthetic biology oversight
DATE: Monday, December 20, 2010
Huntsville, Ala -- Dr. Joe Ng, president of Huntsville-based iXpressGenes, has given thumbs up to a recently released report by the Presidential Commission for the study of Bioethical Issues as they relate to the new discipline of Synthetic Biology. The report further validates the focus of the local company, stating, “…synthetic biology offers extraordinary promise to create new products for clean energy, pollution control, and medicine, to revolutionize chemical production and manufacturing and to create new economic opportunities.” Synthetic biology, or “synbio” is the engineering of new biological functionality from components found in genes. Says Ng, “ Synbio is today where robotics was in the 70s – we know there is a better way to have machines perform work – in our case it’s the molecular work of biology and chemistry – and we are building the early versions and prototypes.”
The focus of research at iXpressGenes is to develop “bioparts” that will provide the components for engineered biosystems. Synthetic biology is used today in areas such as biofuels and drug manufacture." Our company will build a library of ‘parts’ that can be used by other researchers as they develop new products " said Ng. The company is located at the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology.
The commission report makes several recommendations including a call for coordinated federal oversight of scientists, and a “factcheck.org” type of service for the public that would verify the truthfulness of claims. The report also recommends that scientists provide self regulation and collaborative monitoring. Additional reviews will take place over the next 18 months.
“I think this is the right approach for the commission to take at this time,” said Ng. “They understand that the promise of synthetic biology will require collaboration and openness. They have come to the conclusion that it does not make sense to limit or tightly control this science. At this early stage, it is best if those of us in this new field provide peer monitoring and publish our results. ”
iXpressGenes is also pursuing bioremediation research using enzymes it has purified from bacteria that thrive in deep ocean vents. “We are looking for ways to engineer biological parts that could be used to help clear oil-polluted seas,” added Lance Larka, CTO at iXpressGenes. “We also see many opportunities to support work being explored by the Defense Dept and DARPA.”
Ng, who is also a professor at UAHuntsville, is teaching a class on synthetic biology next semester. “It is a cutting-edge field that includes biology, engineering, chemistry, computer science, ethics and genetics,” said Ng.
“There is such a great interest in synthetic biology that the principal lectures of Dr. Ng’s class will be video-casted this spring by UAH and the Hudson Alpha Institute for Biotechnology. The UAHuntsville synthetic biology class will be taught at HudsonAlpha to take advantage of the researchers and labs at the institute. A schedule of web-archived classes will be published in the spring.