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"Synthetic Biology promises low-cost, exponentially scalable products and global health solutions in the form of self-replicating organisms, or "living devices." As these promises are realized, proof-of-concept systems will gradually migrate from tightly regulated laboratory or industrial environments into private spaces as, for instance, probiotic health products, food, and even do-it-yourself bioengineered systems. What additional steps, if any, should be taken before releasing engineered self-replicating organisms into a broader user space? In this review, we explain how studies of genetically modified organisms lay groundwork for the future landscape of biosafety."

An open-source online learning platform that will feature teaching designed specifically for the web. Features will include: self-paced learning, online discussion groups, wiki-based collaborative learning, assessment of learning as a student progresses through a course, and online laboratories. The platform will also serve as a ..

MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory

""We wondered how individuals assess the credibility of other people in simple social interactions," said Read Montague, director of the Human Neuroimaging Laboratory and the Computational Psychiatry Unit at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute, who led the study. "We found a strong correlation between the amygdala and a baseline level of distrust, which may be based on a person's beliefs about the trustworthiness of other people in general, his or her emotional state, and the situation at hand"

"Forschung: Sean D. Twiss und Ross Culloch, School of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Durham University, und Patrick P. Pomeroy, Sea Mammal Research Unit, Gatty Marine Laboratory, University of St Andrews Veröffentlichung Marine Mammal Science, DOI 10.1111/j.1748-7692.2011.00523.x"

Linked Data Research Centre (LiDRC) Laboratory The LiDRC Lab is a collection of tools and demos we are working on in the Linked Data Research Centre, DERI at NUI Galway. Experimental Tools & Services In the table below you'll find tools and services we are experimenting with. They are likely not stable and are subject to (rapid) change.

MITx will offer a portfolio of MIT courses for free to a virtual community of learners around the world. It will also enhance the educational experience of its on-campus students, offering them online tools that supplement and enrich their classroom and laboratory experiences.

OCLC ResearchWorks, OCLC's research laboratory. ResearchWorks demonstrates a few of our ideas for applying new technologies to organize information. In some cases, they serve as examples of things you can develop or incorporate into your own systems.

"4. Genspace and BioCurious For letting the everyman explore the hidden corners of science. Community laboratories like Genspace, based in Brooklyn, New York, and BioCurious, based in Sunnyvale, California, are attracting biotech hackers interested in bridging the gulf that separates synthetic biology researchers from, well, everyone else"

"Evolution likes to keep what works best. The rest falls by the wayside. In theory, this means that the most "fit" variations, say, a color that looks poisonous or one particularly attractive to the ladies, would become the most common. By this logic, the many colors of the guppy should have conformed to a single common pattern long ago. But they haven't. Instead, the male guppies continue to show not only bright colors but also a high diversity of colors. What keeps the variety going? The rare-male effect. Female guppies prefer the males that are rare, no matter what their color pattern actually is. This effect has been documented in the laboratory in guppies and in other species like fruit flies."

"Medical Museion is hosting an open biology (or "biohacking") laboratory and a series of hands-on public events from January-March 2013. The events are part of the European network, Studiolab, that provides a platform for creative projects that bridge divides between science, art and design"

"I am a Neuroscientist working at the Centre for Integrative Neuroscience (CIN), University of Tübingen, Germany. In My Research I use a combination of 2-photon imaging, electrophysiology and computational modelling to unravel principles of synaptic and network computations in the vertebrate early visual system. Outside my regular work I am also co-founder of a not-for-profit organisation TReND in Africa, dedicated to foster Neuroscience Education and Research on the African continent. Moreover I am contributor to Open Labware, the design and building of open source laboratory equipment based on off-the-shelf electronics and simple mechanics as made possible by 3D printing"

"The aim of the project is to get acquainted with usually inaccessible laboratory procedures - extraction of various organic substances and study them further, growing bacteria on agar plates, DNA extraction and sequencing, explant cultures, various behavioral studies (see BrmRat ) and even heredity experiments. A lot of this may be simple stuff you do not need a well-equipped lab for - once we understand the principles, we can make our way forward. Goals The goal of this project is mainly to enable access to experimental biology for everyone interested in it"

By working with the simplest amino acids and elementary RNAs, physicists led by Rockefeller University's Albert J. Libchaber, head of the Laboratory of Experimental Condensed Matter Physics, have now generated the first theoretical model that shows how a coded genetic system can emerge from an ancestral broth of simple molecules.

Scientists with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have designed an electrical link to living cells engineered to shuttle electrons across a cell's membrane to an external acceptor along a well-defined path. This direct channel could yield cells that can read and respond to electronic signals, electronics capable of self-replication and repair, or efficiently transfer sunlight into electricity.

By working with the simplest amino acids and elementary RNAs, physicists led by Rockefeller University's Albert J. Libchaber, head of the Laboratory of Experimental Condensed Matter Physics, have now generated the first theoretical model that shows how a coded genetic system can emerge from an ancestral broth of simple molecules.

Purpose of review: Autism is a biologically based disorder of brain development. Genetic factors - mutations, deletions, and copy number variants - are clearly implicated in causation of autism. However, they account for only a small fraction of cases, and do not easily explain key clinical and epidemiological features. This suggests that early environmental exposures also contribute. This review explores this hypothesis. Recent findings: Indirect evidence for an environmental contribution to autism comes from studies demonstrating the sensitivity of the developing brain to external exposures such as lead, ethyl alcohol and methyl mercury. But the most powerful proof-of-concept evidence derives from studies specifically linking autism to exposures in early pregnancy - thalidomide, misoprostol, and valproic acid; maternal rubella infection; and the organophosphate insecticide, chlorpyrifos. There is no credible evidence that vaccines cause autism. Summary: Expanded research is needed into environmental causation of autism. Children today are surrounded by thousands of synthetic chemicals. Two hundred of them are neurotoxic in adult humans, and 1000 more in laboratory models. Yet fewer than 20% of high-volume chemicals have been tested for neurodevelopmental toxicity. I propose a targeted discovery strategy focused on suspect chemicals, which combines expanded toxicological screening, neurobiological research and prospective epidemiological studies.

A chemistry professor at Harvard University is trying to shrink a medical laboratory onto a piece of paper that's the size of a fingerprint and costs about a penny.

Extensive radar mapping of the middle-latitude region of northern Mars shows that thick masses of buried ice are quite common beneath protective coverings of rubble.

ScienceDaily (Feb. 28, 2011) - A brain imaging study at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory reveals a subtle difference between ordinary obese subjects and those who compulsively overeat, or binge: In binge eaters but not ordinary obese subjects, the mere sight or smell of favorite foods triggers a spike in dopamine -- a brain chemical linked to reward and motivation.