Jamboree

The University of Illinois International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) team recently endeavored to create an innovative promoter library that sought to provide researchers greater control of gene expression while liberating them from some of the constraint associated with the current categories of promoters. The Illinois team’s unique promoter library received a bronze medal at the annual iGEM Giant Jamboree this September.

Digital memory versus analog: it’s a question that’s plagued music lovers for years. In biology, however, the focus is overwhelmingly digital: 0 or 1, on or off, genes expressed or not expressed. But what would analog memory look like in a cell, and how might it be useful?