Scribe Therapeutics raises $100 million, how algae could help India’s air pollution crisis

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This week, we bring you an in-depth look on how algae could help India’s air pollution crisis, the latest from Scribe Therapeutics, Jennifer Doudna’s latest CRISPR company, Synthetic Biology Clubhouse breaking news, your last chance for Biopharma early-bird tickets and more:

Join us TODAY at 8 am PST for the Synthetic Biology Breaking News conversation on Clubhouse. Speakers include:
Benjamin Oakes, co-founder and CEO of Scribe Therapeutics, who will be speaking about the company’s just-announced $100 million Series B.
Dan Widmaier, CEO of Bolt Threads, who will be speaking about Stella McCartney’s first garments made of Mylo, the leather alternative grown from mushrooms.
Dr. Raymond Scott Turner, Director of the Memory Disorders Program at Georgetown University, who will be discussing exciting developments in using monoclonal antibodies to treat and potentially cure Alzheimer’s disease.
Andrew Noyes, Head of Global Communications at Eat Just, who will be speaking about the company’s latest funding round of $200 million to advance the production of sustainable alternative proteins.

Science News

How microorganisms can help us get to net negative emissions: Scientists have combined biology and electrochemistry to produce complex molecules, all powered by renewable energy. The system has potential to remove heat-trapping gases from the atmosphere.
Scientists used gene editing to make super corn. In a recent study published in Nature Plants, researchers used CRISPR to increase the number of kernels on ears of corn.
Meissa’s nasal COVID-19 vaccine uses codon deoptimization for stronger responses. Meissa Vaccines’ intranasal live attenuated chimeric virus-based vaccine for SARS-CoV-2 was recently cleared for Phase I trials, which will start at the end of March.
Supercharged soil could pull carbon right out of the air: Meet Soil Carbon Co, an Australian agritech startup specializing in microbe-mediated carbon sequestration – a method of removing carbon from the atmosphere via microbial fungi and bacteria.
Orbillion Bio, a new Y Combinator startup, is looking to take lab-grown meats from the supermarket to high-end, bespoke butcher shops.
Five years ago, scientists announced a single-celled synthetic organism that, with only 473 genes, was the simplest living cell ever known. However, this bacteria-like organism produced cells with different shapes and sizes. Now, scientists have identified seven genes that can cause them to neatly divide into uniform orbs.

Dutch cultured meat startup Meatable has raised a $47 million Series A round of funding. Their technology allows it to grow meat from a single cell quickly, without the need for the controversial fetal bovine serum.
Amfora, a biotechnology company that is using gene editing to increase the protein density of soybean and other crops, announced that Leaps by Bayer and Spruce Capital Partners invested $6 million in its Series B financing round.
PILI, a company developing renewable colors, will start the industrialization of the first bio-based pigments for paints and inks with a new $4.7 million financing round.
AlgiKnit, the company behind the seaweed based yarn, has raised $2.4 million to create functional, cost-competitive textiles.