The engineering of biological systems is anticipated to provide effective solutions to
challenges that include energy and food production, environmental quality, and health and
medicine. Our ability to transmit information to and from living systems, and to process and …

Many applications of synthetic biology require the balanced expression of multiple genes.
Although operons facilitate coordinated expression of multiple genes in prokaryotes and
eukaryotes, coordinating the many post-transcriptional processes that determine the relative …

Recent studies have demonstrated the importance of noncoding RNA elements in regulating
gene expression networks 1, 2. We describe the design of a class of small trans-acting
RNAs that directly regulate gene expression in a ligand-dependent manner. These allosteric …

Engineered biological systems hold promise in addressing pressing human needs in
chemical processing, energy production, materials construction, and maintenance and
enhancement of human health and the environment. However, significant advancements in …

The benzylisoquinoline alkaloids (BIAs) are a diverse class of metabolites that exhibit a
broad range of pharmacological activities and are synthesized through plant biosynthetic
pathways comprised of complex enzyme activities and regulatory strategies. We have …

Synthetic genetic devices that interface with native cellular pathways can be used to change
natural networks to implement new forms of control and behavior. The engineering of gene
networks has been limited by an inability to interface with native components. We describe a …

Opioids are the primary drugs used in Western medicine for pain management and palliative
care. Farming of opium poppies remains the sole source of these essential medicines,
despite diverse market demands and uncertainty in crop yields due to weather, climate …

RNA molecules perform diverse regulatory functions in natural biological systems, and
numerous synthetic RNA-based control devices that integrate sensing and gene-regulatory
functions have been demonstrated, predominantly in bacteria and yeast. Despite potential …

RNA molecules play diverse functional roles in natural biological systems. There has been
growing interest in designing synthetic RNA counterparts for programming biological
function. The design of synthetic RNA molecules that exhibit diverse activities, including …

Synthetic biology, despite still being in its infancy, is increasingly providing valuable
information for applications in the clinic, the biotechnology industry and in basic molecular
research. Both its unique potential and the challenges it presents have brought together the …