Squid's sucker rings point to synthetic biomaterials
"The sucker rings have long been assumed to be made of the sugar-based polymer chitin that comprises the beak of the Humboldt squid and is a common structural material in invertebrates such as arthropods and other mollusks. It was therefore surprising that the researchers could not find any trace of chitin..." - they seem to be made from a protein complex.
Standards and BioBricks
The Scientist looks at the iGEM competition and standards work in the BioBricks Foundation for synthetic biology.
Two scientists talk (briefly) about their systems biology careers
Short profiles and interviews with Malcolm Young, e-Therapeutics, and Hiroaki Kitano, SBI, in Nature Reviews Drug Discovery.
