Featured series 
Tag: George Church
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Nation & World
Enzymatic DNA synthesis sees the light
Controlling a DNA-synthesizing enzyme with photolithographic methods from the computer chip industry facilitates multiplexed writing and storage of digital data in DNA.
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Nation & World
Recognition for some risky research
The Star-Friedman Challenge is helping Harvard scientists during a time of great global uncertainty by boosting high-risk, high-impact research.
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Nation & World
A multipronged attack against a shared enemy
As the pandemic intensifies, Harvard scientists work to find a treatment.
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Nation & World
Combination gene therapy treats age-related diseases
Wyss Institute, Harvard Medical School study offers hope for single genetic treatment for multiple age-related ills.
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Nation & World
Study finds performance-enhancing bacteria in human microbiome
A single microbe accumulating in the microbiome of elite athletes can enhance exercise performance in mice, paving the way to highly validated performance-enhancing probiotics.
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Nation & World
The science, business of aging
A half-day conference at Harvard Business School examined the growing promise of research on aging and the potential of now-experimental interventions to one day ease the burdens of infirmity.
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Nation & World
Perspectives on gene editing
Harvard researchers, others share their views on key issues in the field
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Nation & World
Genetic barcodes trace cells back to single-cell origin
Harvard researchers have found that by using evolving genetic barcodes, the process of cell division in developing mice can be recorded, enabling the lineage of every cell to be traced back to its single-cell origin.
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Nation & World
Pig organs for human patients: A challenge fit for CRISPR
To help develop safe and effective cells, tissues, and organs for medical transplant into human patients, Harvard’s Office of Technology Development has granted a technology license to the Cambridge biotech startup eGenesis.
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Nation & World
Keeping the genetic code clean
Researchers have taken the first step toward removing unwanted cells by converting the CRISPR/Cas9 genome-engineering system into a genome-surveillance tool that removes newly occurring disease-associated mutations.
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Nation & World
New CRISPR technology takes cells to the movies
CRISPR system-based technology enables the chronological recording of digital information, turning living cells into a biological hard drive that can record information.
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Nation & World
Brain-training app creators join in the genetics game
The Wyss Institute and Harvard Medical School’s Personal Genome Project are collaborating with Lumos Labs, the makers of Lumosity, to investigate the relationship between genetics and memory, attention, and reaction speed.
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Nation & World
Updating embryo research guidelines
Scientists and ethicists gathered at Harvard Law School to discuss the ethics of human embryo experimentation and whether a two-week developmental time limit on their use is appropriate any longer.
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Nation & World
Finding biological barcodes
Two recent studies have shown that cells early in development can be marked with a genetic barcode that later can be used to reconstruct their lineage.
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Nation & World
‘If you’re not failing, you’re probably not trying as hard as you could be’
Interview with geneticist George Church as part of the Experience series.
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Nation & World
Plants with biosensors may light the way
A team of researchers from the Wyss Institute and Harvard Medical School has developed a new method for engineering a broad range of biosensors to detect and signal virtually any desired molecule using living eukaryotic cells. Its applications could range from detecting hormones to benefiting agriculture.
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Nation & World
How new biosensors turn E. coli into something valuable
New biosensors developed by Wyss Institute core faculty member George Church enable complex genetic reprogramming of common bacteria like E. coli and could be leveraged for sustainable biomanufacturing, using the metabolic processes of bacterial cells to generate valuable chemicals and fuels.
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Nation & World
Changing the way genomes work
In the Wyss Institute’s inaugural podcast “Disruptive,” host Terrence McNally spoke with Pamela Silver and George Church about today’s breakthroughs in technology and modifications to an organism’s genome that can be conducted more cheaply, efficiently, and effectively than ever before.
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Nation & World
Bacteria ‘factories’ churn out valuable chemicals
A team of researchers led by Harvard geneticist George Church at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering and Harvard Medical School has made big strides toward a future in which the predominant chemical factories of the world are colonies of genetically engineered bacteria.
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Nation & World
Behold the mammoth (maybe)
Harvard geneticist George Church discussed the future of genetic engineering, including possible technological applications allowing new treatment techniques. He saw the potential to improve human health, revolutionize pest management, and perhaps even bring back the mammoth and other extinct species.
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Nation & World
‘Heart disease-on-a-chip’
Harvard scientists have merged stem cell and “organ-on-a-chip” technologies to grow, for the first time, functioning human heart tissue carrying an inherited cardiovascular disease. The research appears to be a big step forward for personalized medicine, because it is working proof that a chunk of tissue containing a patient’s specific genetic disorder can be replicated…
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Nation & World
Genes without patents
The ACLU’s lead attorney and other participants in the Supreme Court case that overturned the common practice of patenting human genes discussed the ramifications in an event at the Science Center.
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Nation & World
Programming genetic code can lead to better designer genes
The key to programming bacteria to follow orders has been found in its protein production. Researchers have learned that by using more rare words, or codons, near the start of a gene, they can remove roadblocks to protein production. The knowledge may mean new drugs and biofuels.
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Nation & World
Sending DNA robot to do the job
Researchers at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University have developed a robotic device made from DNA that could potentially seek out specific cell targets within a complex mixture of cell types and deliver important molecular instructions, such as telling cancer cells to self-destruct or programming immune responses.
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Nation & World
Wyss Institute project targets sepsis
The Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard has been awarded a $12.3 million, four-year grant from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to develop a treatment for sepsis, a commonly fatal bloodstream infection.
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Nation & World
Editing the genome
Treating the chromosome as both an editable and an evolvable template, researchers have demonstrated methods to rewrite a cell’s genome through powerful new tools for biotechnology, energy, and agriculture.
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Nation & World
Ethics and genetics in the digital age
Two panel discussions, organized by the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, examined the “promise and perils” of creating digital repositories of genetic records and considered the policy implications of an individual’s right to access, control, and interpret his or her own genetic data.
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Nation & World
Bjork named Marshall Scholar
Harvard senior Samuel Bjork has won a prestigious Marshall Scholarship, allowing him to study for two years in the United Kingdom at the university of his choice.
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Nation & World
Taking a stride toward synthetic life
Harvard scientists have cleared a key hurdle in the creation of synthetic life, assembling a cell’s critical protein-making machinery in an advance with both practical, industrial applications and that advances…