lifeness and stuff.

jtotheizzoe:

In 2009, Cambridge undergraduates created special lines of E. coli that could change color in response to environmental stimulus. They did this by inserting standardized pieces of DNA called “BioBricks” into the bacteria, each coding for a gene that would produce a pigment (like orange, or red). Then, by controlling how the pigment gene is turned on (say, in response to arsenic pollution in water), the bacteria become a living, color-changing sensor.

It’s a remarkable feat of synthetic biology. Its name? E. chromi.

The possible uses of a smartbug like this are almost infinite, from cheap pollution sensors to cloud-borne carbon dioxide detectors. But my favorite idea? Check out the video to see what the team wants to do with disease-detecting probiotic yogurt. It’s … umm, colorful.

It’s nice to know that when some of their cousins are trying to kill Northern Europeans that these E. coli just wanna have fun.

(via E.chromi)

I want to be a part of this type of science one day! I can’t wait to be on the iGem team at Davis.

(via jtotheizzoe)