glowing plants: natural lighting without electricity
a team of scientists have put together a series of DNA sequences to create glowing plants using synthetic biology and genome
compiler’s software – the first step in creating sustainable natural lighting. by combining these new techniques with the principles
of modern engineering, they use computers and laboratory chemicals to design organisms that can ultimately do new things.
influenced by the university of cambridge iGem team’s progress with bacterial bio-luminescence by recycling luciferase,
the crowdsourcing campaign implements a fluorescent gene into the seed of the plant – causing it to sprout in the future with
illumination capabilities. the glowing plants project is currently seeking funding on kickstarter.
a team of scientists have put together a series of DNA sequences to create glowing plants using synthetic biology and genome compiler’s software
all living organisms contain an instruction set that determines what they look like and what they do. these instructions are encoded in the organisms’s DNA —
long and complex strings of molecules embedded in every living cell. this is an organism’s genetic code (or “genome”). humans have been altering the genetic
code of plants and animals for millennia, by selectively breeding individuals with desirable features. as bio-technologists have learned more about how to read
and manipulate this code, they have begun to take genetic information associated with useful features from one organism, and add it into another one.
this is the basis of genetic engineering, and has allowed researchers to speed up the process of developing new breeds of plants and animals.