As my recent Technology Feature made clear, the technology to synthesize large genomes is advancing at a remarkable pace. So too are technologies for wiring genetic circuits to endow those genomes with novel properties. In the 3 August issue of Nature, researchers at Arizona State University in Tempe describe a new technology to do just that. Read more
My most recent Technology Feature, on the technology of genome synthesis, describes advances in the field of large-scale genome hacking. Researchers are rewriting the genomes of organisms from E. coli to yeast, with millions of bases written from scratch. Now, through projects like Genome Project-write, they are turning their attention to even more complex organisms, with concomitantly larger genomes. Read more
With an alphabet comprising just four letters, DNA sequence isn’t much to look at. So, when sequence analysis tools want to highlight key elements, they typically do so using colour, font, or by overlaying other types of information. In the not-too-distant future, there may be another option: Audio. Read more
Julia Stewart Lowndes, a marine data scientist at the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) at the University of California at Santa Barbara, published a paper this week laying out the challenges her team faces as they try to share and reuse data on the world’s oceans. Here, some key lessons. Read more
In the 4 May Nature technology feature, I explore the growing use of smartphones to drive scientific research. Today’s phones are so full-featured, they’re often ready for use out-of-the-box. Sometimes, though, a custom app is required, and that can be a sticking point, as programming a mobile app isn’t easy. Read more
Have you ever stumbled across a tool you never knew existed, then wondered how you ever lived without it? Happened to me the other day. The tool in question? CSL Editor, a search tool and editor for bibliographic styles. Read more
The 6 April issue of Nature included a Toolbox feature on the growing use of DIY electronics in scientific research. Read more
Lorena Barba, a mechanical and aerospace engineer at George Washington University in Washington, DC, has long championed research reproducibility. In January, she traveled to Chile to run a weeklong course on reproducible research computing; the month before, she was awarded a 2016 Leamer-Rosenthal Prize, which celebrates those “working to forward the values of openness and transparency in research.” Here, she talks about flying snakes, “repro-packs,” and copyright. Read more
The currency of science is–duh!–publication. You do the work, you write a paper. Acceptance advances a researcher’s career in every way that counts: tenure, promotion, reputation, and funding. Read more
