Systems Synthetic and Physical Biology

Researchers at Rice University and Baylor College of Medicine have developed a platform, SPOTlight, that speeds the sorting of cells while making the process more versatile. As a proof-of-concept, they created the most photostable yellow fluorescent protein yet. (Credit: Illustration by Jihwan Lee/Rice University)

SPOTlight supercharges cell studies

October 23, 2020

Researchers develop a new method to isolate specific cells, and in the process find a more robust fluorescent protein.

Diagram illustrating how a C-worthy technique that dramatically enhances the accuracy of gene editing.

‘Bystander’ Cs meet their match in gene-editing technique

July 15, 2020

Biomolecular engineers at Rice have developed new tools to increase the accuracy of CRISPR single-base editing to treat genetic diseases.

Rice University scientists are analyzing the role of ferredoxin proteins produced when viral phages alter electron transfer in ocean-dwelling, photosynthetic bacteria that produce oxygen and store carbon. When the virus (pink) infects the bacteria, it produces a ferredoxin protein that hooks into the bacteria’s existing electrical structure and alters its metabolism. (Credit: Illustration by Ian Campbell/Rice University)

Ocean virus hijacks carbon-storing bacteria

May 26, 2020

Rice scientists are analyzing the role of ferredoxin proteins produced when viral phages alter electron transfer in ocean-dwelling bacteria that produce oxygen and store carbon.

Illustration by Ilenne Del Valle/Rice University

Ordering in? Plants are way ahead of you

January 29, 2020

Dissolved carbon in soil can quench plants' ability to communicate with soil microbes, allowing plants to fine-tune their relationships with symbionts. Experiments show how synthetic biology tools developed at Rice University can help understand environmental controls on agricultural productivity.

Caroline Ajo-Franklin joined Rice University as a professor of biosciences with funding from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas. (Credit: Jeff Fitlow/Rice University)

CPRIT grant bolsters Rice biosciences

January 22, 2020

Rice University recruits synthetic biologist Caroline Ajo-Franklin with a $6 million grant from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas to bolster the university’s cutting-edge Systems, Synthetic and Physical Biology program.