Rice researchers have revealed novel sequence-structure-property relationships for customizing engineered living materials (ELMs), enabling more precise control over their structure and how they respond to deformation forces like stretching or compression.
Major breakthrough for ‘smart cell’ design
Rice bioengineers have developed a new construction kit for building custom sense-and-respond circuits in human cells. The research is a major breakthrough that could revolutionize therapies for complex conditions like autoimmune disease and cancer.
Baylor and Rice researchers target bone metastases in breast cancer with $2.3M grant
Researchers are developing a novel antibody therapy to treat bone metastases in estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer.
Rice study identifies protein responsible for gas vesicle clustering in bacteria
Rice University bioengineers and colleagues at Washington University in Saint Louis and Duke University identified a protein nanostructure that plays a role in the cellular structure of certain microorganisms, paving the way to more efficient biotechnological and biomedical applications.
Rice breakthrough could make automated dosing systems universal
Automated insulin dosing systems combine low-cost blood-glucose monitors with insulin pumps that use precision dosing to continuously regulate blood-sugar and hold it steady. Rice synthetic biologists have found a way to piggyback on the technology and make it universally applicable for the precision dosing of virtually any drug.
Rice University’s 2024 biennial De Lange Conference featured an array of distinguished speakers, artists and researchers who engaged in thought-provoking discussions regarding timely technological and environmental topics Feb. 9-10 at the Baker Institute for Public Policy.
Weaker transcription factors are better when they work together
Rice bioengineer Caleb Bashor and colleagues have developed a generalizable method to address “off-target” gene activation, a significant problem in the field of synthetic biology. Taking a cue from nature, the researchers showed they could all but eliminate the activation of off-target genes by designing weak transcription factors that cooperatively assemble.
Rice researchers earn prestigious Defense Department grants
Rice professors Qimiao Si and Jeffrey Tabor are recipients of prestigious 2023 Vannevar Bush Faculty Fellowships from the Department of Defense.
Reporters broadcast live, on-the-scene, inside living cells
Synthetic biologists from Rice University and Princeton University have demonstrated “live reporter” technology that can reveal the workings of signaling networks in living cells with far greater precision than current methods. The first-of-its-kind reporting tool can show how quickly signaling networks respond and how responses vary from cell to cell in time and space.
Rice U. bioengineering Ph.D. named Schmidt Science Fellow
Rice U. doctoral alum Joshua Chen has won a prestigious Schmidt Science Fellowship that will support his goal of building new technologies to address pressing health care challenges by drawing on his interdisciplinary skill set in bioelectronics and synthetic biology.
James Chappell wins NSF CAREER Award
Rice bioscientist James Chappell has won a National Science Foundation CAREER Award to develop RNA programming methods that can improve human health and the environment.
Rice labs seek RNA programming for ‘smart’ antibiotics
Rice University synthetic biologists are working to make “genetically encoded antibiotics” that kill only disease-causing bacteria.
Rice scientists reengineer cancer drugs to be more versatile
Rice University scientists enlist widely used cancer therapy systems to control gene expression in mammalian cells, a feat of synthetic biology that could change how diseases are treated.
Pathogenic sensor’s surprising capabilities revealed
Rice synthetic biologists have uncovered new capabilities of a genetically encoded sensor that allows salmonella, E. coli and other pathogens to sicken millions of people each year.
Rice facility is ‘one-stop shop’ for customizing DNA to fight cancer
Rice bioengineers, synthetic biologists and cancer researchers celebrated the opening of Rice’s first CPRIT Core Facility, the Genetic Design and Engineering Center, or GDEC, Nov. 10 at the BRC.
