Visualization of printing synthetic DNA

Synthetic biology transforms cells into custom DNA foundries

At companies like Ginkgo Bioworks, researchers are reprogramming cells to act as workshops that can create custom molecules, such as medicines and fertilizers, by stitching together DNA sequences—often in novel combinations—before inserting them into an organism's genome.

In 2025, researchers in the UK began working on developing artificial DNA

The Synthetic Human Genome Project aims to one day construct human DNA, molecule by molecule, in the hopes of creating disease-resistant cells and synthetic chromosomes for study. However, critics warn it may be misused to create enhanced or modified humans.

Glowing chemicals allow scientists to read DNA like a barcode

The process of determining the order of nitrogenous bases in DNA involves first cutting the DNA into fragments, which are duplicated multiple times using bacteria. Fluorescently labeled terminator bases are added to fragments, which are sorted by length and read via laser to reconstruct the sequence.

Visualize how CRISPR works at the molecular level

CRISPR is a revolutionary gene-editing technology already making a real-world impact in helping to treat several diseases and conditions. This simulation provides a microscopic view to help easily visualize the complex science.

Visualize how CRISPR-Cas9—a type of immune system used by single-celled organisms to attack invasive viruses—targets and makes precise changes to a gene's DNA.

DNA computing allows for storage and processing of massive amounts of data

Although costly and less efficient for simpler tasks, as of 2025, DNA could hold 455 exabytes of data with near limitless parallel computation potential in small data centers. Every movie ever made would fit inside the volume of a single sugar cube.

How do you sequence a genome?

If the genome is made up of microscopic chromosomes, how do scientists actually sequence it? Here's a 5-minute video explaining one of the most common processes.

A fascinating look at how our DNA is built and replicated

This easy-to-understand 13-minute video dives into the wondrous molecule deoxyribonucleic acid – also known as DNA – and explains how it replicates itself in our cells.

Challenges for synthetic biology

Can engineering approaches tame the complexity and unpredictability of living systems? An exploration of five challenges for the field and how they might be resolved.

See the history of DNA sequencing

DNA sequencing evolved from manual methods to automated, high-throughput technologies. The Human Genome Project was possible in the first generation of gene sequencing technology with the "chain termination method," which won developer Fredrick Sanger a Nobel Prize.

Why don't we synthesize blood?

We're trying. Scientists are currently working on creating viable synthetic blood, an alternative to the presently relied-upon donations that manage to fall short of demand. More than half of the world's nations struggle to meet their population's need for blood. This article details current and historical efforts to develop synthetic blood, a venture that started more than 400 years ago.

Watch how proteins are created from DNA

When a DNA sequence—a gene—is activated, a copy of the activated portion is created in the form of RNA, a single-stranded version of DNA, in a process known as transcription. This RNA, called messenger RNA, leaves the nucleus and travels to a ribosome, a structure within a cell, which uses it to build a chain of organic compounds that fold into a protein.

How synthetic meat is made

The future of meat is cheaper, faster, and more environmentally friendly—it will also be grown in a lab. This three-minute video breaks down how exactly lab-grown meat is made.

The new phenomenon of 15-minute lab-grown diamonds

In 2024, scientists developed a groundbreaking method to create diamonds at normal room temperature and pressure. This efficient and simple process contrasts with the traditional high-pressure, high-temperature method. While limitations still exist, such as minuscule sizes, this discovery moves us toward an exciting new era in diamond synthesis. Check out the article for further information about how diamonds are made.

Around 5 million of our 3 billion DNA letters differ between individuals

Genetic testing examines gene variants to help explain disease symptoms. It explores how genetic differences between individuals can be used to understand risks of developing diseases like Huntington's Disease or passing variants linked to disease onto offspring.

All publicly available DNA sequences are available at GenBank

The National Institutes of Health's database stores comprehensive, annotated DNA sequences as part of the International Nucleotide Sequence Database Collaboration. It encourages unrestricted data access within the scientific community while allowing submitters to retain intellectual property rights over their data.

Meet six commercially available synbio products

An article exploring the science behind synbio products currently on the market, and projecting the products that can be expected over the next 10 years.

View a collection of historical documents about molecular biology's history

The collection features materials related to those involved in the discovery of DNA and provides historical context for the discoveries of RNA, various viruses, and important bioproteins. The items include photographs, business correspondence, manuscripts, and scientific instruments.

Chip-based 3D printers can be pocket-sized and involve no moving parts

Researchers have demonstrated a proof-of-concept version of a chip-based 3D printer that emits visible light onto light-sensitive resin to construct solid shapes. The technology may provide a portable, low-cost solution for future, small-scale fabrication needs.

Nature simultaneously published three papers on DNA—only the first made history

Papers by Watson and Crick, Wilkins, and Franklin were fast-tracked without peer review, and their order was arranged between lab heads and editors. Franklin's appeared last, making her paper read as though supporting Watson and Crick—because they'd already incorporated her data before it was published.

Watch a tour of an integrated circuit fabrication plant

Explore the protocols in place to ensure clean rooms have no dust to jeopardize the integrity of silicon wafers as they are transformed into working microchips. Layering, photolithography, etching, and chemical vapor deposition are shown alongside digital visualizations.

Explore a 3D model of the experimental setup Rosalind Franklin used to take Photo 51

To capture the X-ray diffraction image of DNA from the thymus of a calf, Franklin built a humidity-controlling camera to isolate the B form of DNA. The exposure lasted 60 hours and produced a cross pattern, indicating a helical structure.

Create professional-quality spoken audio from text

Generative AI now makes it possible to create everything from computer-generated written content to beautiful imagery and hyper-realistic videos in seconds from a user’s simple text prompt. Add to that list: High-quality spoken audio, which the AI software company ElevenLabs specializes in. Its natural-sounding speech synthesis and text-to-speech tech can produce human-like speech that mimics a variety of different tones, styles, and accents.

Where do genes come from?

There are many more genes on Earth today than when microbial life first spawned on the planet about four billion years ago. Many of these newer genes grew from genetic mutations, misprints that slowly drift from the original blueprint via cellular division. If these mutations drift far enough, they can establish a new family of genes, though this process can take well over a million years.

Scientists can suck animal DNA from the air

A look at how researchers filtered the air around two zoos and identified genetic material from dozens of species, a technique that could help track and conserve wildlife.

Dsup slightly unwinds DNA and changes shape to better cling to the molecule

The damage suppressor protein, which is exclusively found in tardigrades, has also been modeled as coating DNA and shielding it from radiation and the toxic byproducts of radiation damage. Dsup may become a fundamental ingredient in future DNA storage technologies.

Watch how algorithms can be designed to train themselves and self-improve without human input, to the point where the optimized code is too complex for programmers to understand.

As of 2025, the most cited papers in science include a review of graphene, methods to improve image recognition, streamlining electron density calculations, and optimizing protein studies.

Massive 3D printers have been used to build homes by stacking layers of 'concrete toothpaste,' a fire-resistant material that effectively insulates against outside noise.

Indefinite cloning of some endangered species may not sustain their longevity because cloning success rates decrease as genetic mutations accumulate.

Read a deep dive on the 'all-purpose healing' peptide BPC-157.

Explore our favorite visualization of the immense scale of space, from an astronaut to the size of the observable universe

Telehealth demand for GLP-1s for weight loss is booming as consumers seek easier access.

This site reaches millions of visitors who are tired of AI chatbots and seeking human connection. Pretend to be an AI chatbot and ask questions, provide answers, and draw for people in real time.

Sony set the standard for cylinder-shaped batteries when it repurposed manufacturing equipment used to make rolls of magnetic recording tape.

Learn how your body is, scientifically, like a firework with its own slow, controlled burn.

Massive blooms of microscopic plankton called dinoflagellates produce the neon blue light seen in glowing tides.

Browse a detailed visual analysis of over 200,000 similes—comparisons that often use 'like' or 'as'—from popular fiction to see how frequently writers the same idiomatic expressions.

Ebola is a filovirus, meaning it resembles a thread under a microscope, though it sometimes twists and can resemble a bowl of spaghetti.

Bone marrow (soft tissue found inside certain bones) generates roughly 500 billion new blood cells each day

Hear 50 years of iconic hip-hop samples, the genre's foundational looped tracks

Budweiser stores yeast derived from the original 1800s strain in a secret bunker, which only the Head of Yeast Management can access—not even the CEO

The name 'Silicon Valley' arose from the founding of Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory in Fairchild Semiconductor in 1956-57, founded near Stanford University in Palo Alto

Children are now three times more likely to say they want to be a YouTuber when they grow up than an astronaut, with some even attending 'YouTube camps' that teach kids how to create content for the platform.

Scientists testing how climate change affects plants found, in a years-long simulation study, that poison ivy grew 70% faster with the resulting extra carbon dioxide.

The original copy of the Declaration of Independence is not a pristine document, and even features a smudged anonymous handprint in the bottom left corner.

Learn how to read a prospectus, the juicy document that any company must file with the SEC before going public.

Gerrymandering works through two techniques: cracking opposing voters across districts to dilute their power, and packing them into a few to waste their votes in lopsided majorities.

Dorothy's famous entrance into Oz in 'The Wizard of Oz' relied on analog tricks, including a body double and sepia-toned paint, as much as it did on technology

'Saturday Night Fever,' the 1977 film that introduced disco to the mainstream, was based on a fabricated magazine story.