Hi ,
We hope this finds you well.
While we face serious challenges in Ukraine, rising energy costs, and the economy on the whole, the Built With Biology team find ourselves encouraged by the ongoing progress we see in the biotech sector… especially among our valued partners. Just this week, LanzaTech announced they plan to go public at an implied $1.8B valuation, Solugen was ranked #2 on Fast Company’s list of "Most Innovative Companies of 2022," and Sherlock Biosciences closed an $80MM Series B funding round.
In our opinion, these exciting, non-hyperbole based announcements herald increasing
investor confidence in the people and companies using biology to make the planet a better place. We therefore think it important to applaud the game-changing founders and investors who have acted with both vision and purpose in marching forward.
If you’d like to meet some of these visionaries firsthand to hear how and why they’ve achieved such success, please plan to join us at our live Built With Biology Conference (April 12-14 in Oakland,
CA).
Thank you for reading and we hope to see you in April!
Larry
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Larry Upton
Editor in Chief
larry.upton@builtwithbiology.com
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Only six weeks away… sign up now!
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Built With Biology Insights |
Biology Beyond Categories
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Biology continuously challenges our understanding of the natural world. Take cells for example. They’re pretty small, right? Except we know from first hand experience that a single cell can be an exceptional source of nutrition for a full size human. We cook billions of these single cells, with their rich, nutritious cytoplasms known as yolks, into omelettes, breakfast sandwiches, and eggs benedict every year.
The experts do debate whether or not the nutrient-rich yolk is really "alive" the way a smaller cell might be. However despite the nuances of that discussion, it’s clear that the ‘static’ elements of the cell are crucially important to the survival of the chicken embryo. Without them, the elements of the egg cell that are in flux and growing would not have the resources to do either.
A recent investigation into a large, threadlike organism found in a mangrove suggests that our intuitive
understanding of range in the cellular world might be extremely relevant. A single cell, 2 centimeters long, was isolated from a mangrove in the Caribbean. It has a large internal sac that presses the ‘active’ elements of the cell up against the outer edge of the cell body, facilitating diffusion and transfer of material. Without this ‘static’ element, the cell would not be able
to function.
Our desire to categorize pieces of systems into easily defined parts might be misleading us when we think about biology. Biological systems are systems first and foremost. Dissect them into relevant and irrelevant pieces, and we alter their function, sometimes to the point where they stop functioning altogether. We do these systems a disservice when we describe ‘small’ systems as simple, or ‘large’ systems as complex.
The E. coli microbe, with 4000 genes, has been intensively studied by scientists across the globe for more than fifty years, and we still have not experimentally verified what ⅓ of its genes do. What’s more, we know these genes are essential, because we cannot build a minimal synthetic organism without them. Can you imagine an electrical engineer describing a widget with 400 components (much less 4000!), that is fully ⅓ components we do not understand either the construction of or any of their resulting interactions, as "simple"?
Assuming simplicity - or limits on size, function, or mechanism of action - in biological systems speaks to a lack of imagination on our part. Biological systems, whether they are individual cells, a consortium of organisms, or a complex interaction between a living network and its environment, deserve to be acknowledged as integrated systems with complexities that inspire us to design better, more elegant ways of making
and building. Built with Biology is excited to tell these stories with you to a world hungry for the solutions that make an abundant future possible.
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Spotlight on: Paradromics |
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The brain is the body's data center: It’s where all the information for seeing, feeling, and interacting with our environment is gathered, processed, and relayed. But what happens when this data can’t be transmitted to and from other parts of the body—as when people suffer paralysis, blindness, or serious neurological conditions? Meet Paradromics, a neurotechnology company with a goal to translate this data into speech and action. Using tiny microelectrode arrays implanted into the surface of the brain, Paradromics gathers neural signals to be translated into the user's intended outcome. Learn more about neuroscience, neuroethics, and the business of neurotech with leaders in the field on the Paradromics-produced Neurotech Pub podcast.
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Spotlight on: Yourgene Health |
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Identifying genetic disease can be extremely challenging. There are fragments of cell-free DNA (cfDNA) in samples taken to detect and monitor cancer, as well as for non-invasive prenatal testing. These fragments can contain information about genetic abnormalities or other genetic risk factors. Because the amount of cfDNA is so small, it can be difficult to get accurate results. Meet Yourgene Health, a molecular diagnostics company with a new suite of tools for enabling accurate collection of essential information from cfDNA. Known as Ranger Technology, these tools enable labs to more efficiently and accurately analyse cfDNA within automated liquid biopsy testing – a key step in advancing personalized diagnostics and medicine. Learn more about Yourgene Health’s work in meeting the demand for more accurate, efficient and accessible genetic diagnostics!
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Algae… nature’s cost-effective, sustainable biofactories |
Imagine flying on a plane powered by algae biofuel, sitting in a seat constructed from algae-based polymers, while wearing sandals made from algae and eating a meal enhanced with algae-based ingredients.
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Keep Reading »
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Ingenza collaborates with Johnson Matthey for efficient industrial enzyme synthesis |
Together, the companies have developed new, efficient approaches for the production of industrially-relevant enzymes – including cytochrome P450 – through judicious selection of suitable microbial hosts.
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Keep Reading »
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Understanding genomes, piece by piece |
Genomes are made up of thousands of individual pieces – genes – which are expressed at different levels. Researchers at EMBL have shed light on how the placement of a gene affects its expression, as well as that of its neighbours.
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Keep Reading »
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Lanzatech, a market-leading innovator in carbon capture & transformation, to go public through business combination with AMCI Acquisition Corp. II |
LanzaTech is merging with a special-purpose acquisition company to go public in a deal that values the carbon capture and transformation company at about $1.8 billion
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Keep Reading »
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Sherlock Biosciences unearths $80M to bring CRISPR-based tests into the home
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Keep Reading »
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SNIPR BIOME announces opening of new BSL2/GMO2-classified laboratory in Copenhagen, Denmark
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Keep Reading »
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Finless Foods bringing plant-based tuna to the masses, ramping up cell-cultured plans with $34 million in Series B funding
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Keep Reading »
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Researchers grow bricks out of fungus and bacteria that can self-heal, sense and respond to each other
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Berkeley Lights releases upgrade to its software suite for Beacon® and Lightning™ platforms
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Keep Reading »
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Scientists engineered bacteria to eat carbon dioxide and spit out clean chemicals
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Keep Reading »
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Allegra V-15R benchtop centrifuge launched by Beckman Coulter Life Sciences during Diamond Year Celebration
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Keep Reading »
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Beckman Coulter Life Sciences launches CellMek SPS, a fully automated sample preparation system for clinical flow cytometry
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Keep Reading »
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Sherlock Biosciences solves C-suite mystery, tapping Myriad Genetics' Dechairo as CEO
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Keep Reading »
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Communications Director, Calyxt, US-based
Director/Senior Director, Mammalian Cell Biology, Inscripta, Boulder, CO
Field Service Engineer/ Senior Field Service Engineer, Inscripta, San Francisco, CA or Boulder, CO
Business Development Director, Calyxt, US-based
Downstream Process Engineer/
Head of Downstream Processing, Industrial Microbes, Alameda, CA
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