Synthetic biology articles from across Nature Portfolio

An engineered microenvironment for blood vessel organoid development facilitates vascular reconstruction and stimulates neurogenesis in ischaemic brain regions of mice after stroke.

A study establishes intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs) as a new module in chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) engineering. The intrinsic biophysics of IDRs — transient, multivalent interactions — can be exploited to optimize CAR T cell therapies via enhanced clustering and synapse formation where conventional approaches fall short.

Precise control of transgene expression remains a challenge in engineering primary cells for diverse applications. We developed DIAL, a promoter editing framework that transmits transient inputs into stable setpoints of expression in primary cells and human induced pluripotent stem cells, paving the way for predictable programming of gene circuits in therapeutically relevant cells.

Circadian clocks integrate external environmental and internal physiological cues to generate oscillations of secreted endocrine signals. Here the authors build a melatonin-based circadian biomarker-driven gene switch in mammalian cells for type-2 diabetes treatment by oscillatory GLP-1 release.

Zhou et al. design protein-based artificial kinetochore constructs as decoys to prevent premature chromosomal separation in aged oocytes. These constructs compete with chromosomal kinetochores, reducing excessive bipolar microtubule pulling forces.

This work introduces Cyclone, an acyclovir-controlled cassette that enables regulation of both transgene and endogenous gene expression with minimal background activity.

A focused-ultrasound-mediated mechanogenetics approach enables the genetic modification of cancer cells near solid tumours to activate chimeric antigen receptor T cell response and achieve tumour suppression at distinct sites.

Systems combining nucleic acid hybridization with enzymatic catalysis could offer both excellent precision and efficient signal amplification. Here authors develop a system based on “thiol switching”, where specific DNA sequences control enzyme activity – an approach that could have a wide range of applications in biotechnology.

Bacteria can be engineered as biosensors for the detection and analysis of DNA in unpurified samples. This Review examines the engineering of bacterial DNA biosensors, highlighting performance metrics and applications in comparison with in vitro DNA biosensors.

In this Tools of the Trade article, Kofoed (Muir lab) describes the development of the dual-component platform splicing-modulated actuation upon recognition of targets (SMART), which combines detection of cells with specific surface markers with a customizable output.

An engineered microenvironment for blood vessel organoid development facilitates vascular reconstruction and stimulates neurogenesis in ischaemic brain regions of mice after stroke.

A study establishes intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs) as a new module in chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) engineering. The intrinsic biophysics of IDRs — transient, multivalent interactions — can be exploited to optimize CAR T cell therapies via enhanced clustering and synapse formation where conventional approaches fall short.

Precise control of transgene expression remains a challenge in engineering primary cells for diverse applications. We developed DIAL, a promoter editing framework that transmits transient inputs into stable setpoints of expression in primary cells and human induced pluripotent stem cells, paving the way for predictable programming of gene circuits in therapeutically relevant cells.

Scientists used artificial intelligence to write coherent viral genomes, using them to synthesize bacteriophages capable of killing resistant strains of bacteria.