The story Synthetic life has gone mainstream. Since I wrote about Craig Venter’s work on creating synthetic cells this technology is now available to anyone with a lab so I guess it’s not surprising that companies are now making, and selling, ‘synthetic biology’ organisms.

…does whatever a spider-goat does. Can she swing from a web? No she can’t she’s a goat… …however, she can produce spider silk proteins in her milk.

This is a great video about Gregor Mendel and his work – a topic found in most GCSE science specifications. It was produced by Nottingham Trent University for their ‘My favourite scientist’ project.  You can find videos about other scientists on their website.

The story It was announced on Tuesday that Boots will be selling home paternity testing kits in all of its stores.  These kits have been available over the counter at a few other chemists and online but this is the first time that they have been exposed to potentially millions of people.

The story The award for ‘most observant scientist during his lunch break’ this week must go to Ngo Van Tri of the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology who noticed something odd about the tank of lizards at his local restaurant.

The story It is Jeans for Genes day this Friday.  This annual fundraising event encourages people to wear their jeans to school or work in order to raise money for the charity of the same name who provide funding and care for children with genetic disorders. 

The 7,000 people who signed a petition against cloning certainly think so.  This was delivered to 10 Downing Street on Friday by 35 activists from Compassion in World Farming (CIWF) and was in response to the recent news that cloned cows have entered the British food system.

Yes – okay, so can I, but fruit enthusiasts across the world are getting quite hot under the collar at the thought of tasting this new variety of apple – the Redlove.

Another genetics story hit the headline this week. A few weeks ago I reported that scientists were sequencing Ozzy Osborne’s genome to find out how the hell-raiser has managed to survive so long, now we hear that scientists have discovered a way of carrying out a genetic test to find out if you will make […]

Get ready for vampire mania as the new movie in the Twilight Saga – Eclipse, is premiering tonight in the USA.  It hits screens in the UK on July 9th so now is a perfect time to teach a little vampire biology. The PowerPoint I have designed for this occasion contains two starters – one for […]