THE ELLINGTON LABNEWSPROJECTSCONTACTOUTREACHPUBLICATIONSMEMBERS The Ellington Lab. What evolves here changes the world. Enter the lab. WHO WE ARE — THE ELLINGTON LAB The Ellington Lab conducts research in synthetic biology, protein engineering, and DNA nanotechnology at the University of Texas at Austin. Throughout its existence, the Ellington Lab has generated impactful new technologies and approaches. Currently, we are working in several different areas, including: Developing novel genetic codes
and
NEWS — THE ELLINGTON LAB Posted on September 12, 2020. The Engineering Biology Research Consortium (EBRC) is a nationwide group of synthetic biologists from academia, industry, and government. Dr. Ellington recently gave a (virtual) talk to this group on "Applying molecular engineering to COVID-19." Dr. Ellington updated on the lab's efforts to develop POC (point-of
MEMBERS — THE ELLINGTON LAB Andrew Ellington is the Fraser Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Texas at Austin. He is perhaps best known for the invention of the word "aptamer," but is now most involved in the development and evolution of artificial life, including nucleic acid operating systems that can function both in vitro and in vivo. Publications.
PROJECTS — THE ELLINGTON LAB Jose Cardona. I work on several different projects for the Ellington laboratory. Though the bulk of my projects involve using repertoire analysis to create and enhance antibodies for a wide array of targets. An example would be me analyzing a set a b cells which encode a wide array of VH and VL genes that are encoded by mRNA transcripts in b cells.
OUTREACH — THE ELLINGTON LAB An artificial neural network, a computer system modeled on the human neural system, allows a computer to figure out what constitutes a particular subject on its own. A research team in the Ellington Lab at the University of Texas at Austin is using this concept to recognize the ‘amino acid-ness’ of individual amino acids in a protein structure.
PUBLICATIONS
Supercharging enables organized assembly of synthetic biomolecules. Nat Chem. 2019;11 (3):204-12. Epub 2019/01/16. doi: 10.1038/s41557-018-0196-3. PubMed PMID: 30643229. Stovall GM, Huynh V, Engelman S, Ellington AD. Aptamers in Education: Undergraduates Make Aptamers and Acquire 21st Century Skills Along the Way. LOCATION/CONTACT
Location and contact information for the Ellington Lab at the University of Texas at Austin. PUBLICATIONS-WIDGET
A partial listing of publications from current and former members of the Ellington Lab.
ON APTAMERS
On aptamers. December 01, 2014. by Andy Ellington. OK, so it’s been awhile. I busted my arm, which made typing modestly difficult. I’ll gear up here with an easy (but still hopefully meaningful) one: The word ‘aptamer’ comes from the Latin ‘aptus,’ to fit. Thus, this was meant to be a polymer (incongruously Greek) that ‘fit’ to THE ELLINGTON LABNEWSPROJECTSCONTACTOUTREACHPUBLICATIONSMEMBERS The Ellington Lab. What evolves here changes the world. Enter the lab. WHO WE ARE — THE ELLINGTON LAB The Ellington Lab conducts research in synthetic biology, protein engineering, and DNA nanotechnology at the University of Texas at Austin. Throughout its existence, the Ellington Lab has generated impactful new technologies and approaches. Currently, we are working in several different areas, including: Developing novel genetic codes and
NEWS — THE ELLINGTON LAB Posted on September 12, 2020. The Engineering Biology Research Consortium (EBRC) is a nationwide group of synthetic biologists from academia, industry, and government. Dr. Ellington recently gave a (virtual) talk to this group on "Applying molecular engineering to COVID-19." Dr. Ellington updated on the lab's efforts to develop POC (point-of
MEMBERS — THE ELLINGTON LAB Andrew Ellington is the Fraser Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Texas at Austin. He is perhaps best known for the invention of the word "aptamer," but is now most involved in the development and evolution of artificial life, including nucleic acid operating systems that can function both in vitro and in vivo. Publications.
PROJECTS — THE ELLINGTON LAB Jose Cardona. I work on several different projects for the Ellington laboratory. Though the bulk of my projects involve using repertoire analysis to create and enhance antibodies for a wide array of targets. An example would be me analyzing a set a b cells which encode a wide array of VH and VL genes that are encoded by mRNA transcripts in b cells.
OUTREACH — THE ELLINGTON LAB An artificial neural network, a computer system modeled on the human neural system, allows a computer to figure out what constitutes a particular subject on its own. A research team in the Ellington Lab at the University of Texas at Austin is using this concept to recognize the ‘amino acid-ness’ of individual amino acids in a protein structure.
PUBLICATIONS
Supercharging enables organized assembly of synthetic biomolecules. Nat Chem. 2019;11 (3):204-12. Epub 2019/01/16. doi: 10.1038/s41557-018-0196-3. PubMed PMID: 30643229. Stovall GM, Huynh V, Engelman S, Ellington AD. Aptamers in Education: Undergraduates Make Aptamers and Acquire 21st Century Skills Along the Way. LOCATION/CONTACT
Location and contact information for the Ellington Lab at the University of Texas at Austin. PUBLICATIONS-WIDGET
A partial listing of publications from current and former members of the Ellington Lab.
ON APTAMERS
On aptamers. December 01, 2014. by Andy Ellington. OK, so it’s been awhile. I busted my arm, which made typing modestly difficult. I’ll gear up here with an easy (but still hopefully meaningful) one: The word ‘aptamer’ comes from the Latin ‘aptus,’ to fit. Thus, this was meant to be a polymer (incongruously Greek) that ‘fit’ to PUBLICATIONS-WIDGET
x @article{pmid26750592, abstract = { During the past decade, aptasensors have largely been designed on the basis of the notion that ligand-modulated equilibration between aptamer conformations could be exploited for sensing. NEW GALLERY
What evolves here changes the world. Home; Who We Are; News; Members; Projects; Publications; Contact; Outreach ON CONSCIENCE
I cannot say anything here other than to distribute the thoughts of my friend Dan Tawfik. Those of you close to the pointy end of the stick always have harder decisions to make than those of us who have the privilege and luxury of enjoying peace. I would only hope that I would have the fortitude tha A SOLUTION TO RESEARCH IN LOW RESOURCE AREAS The kit is intended for use by students and instructors in low-resource areas due to its cost effectiveness and ease of use. This would especially prove beneficial in giving research opportunities to aspiring researchers in need of lab resources. For larger labs, these cell reagents can also be made in bulk, and each PCR tube could perform up
ON APOLOGETICS
Well, the University of Texas iGEM team just returned from its first appearance in several years. They did great, and I’m mostly proud of them. They worked on engineering a micro-organism that could eat caffeine. Unfortunately, they somehow became mired CHANGING THE GENETIC CODE TO IMPROVE Shaharyar Lakhani published on June 13, 2019: Proteins are the workhorses of life, and are comprised of strings of amino acids, which in turn are specified by the triplet codons of the genetic code. Currently, only 20 amino acids make up the genetic code in most organisms. In order to expand the f A NEW BIOLOGICAL AND FINANCIAL ECOSYSTEM FOR PLASTIC Shaharyar Lakhani published on June 24, 2019: Plastics have been in popular use for only around 50 years, yet they have managed to saturate the planet. The toxic pollutants in plastics, combined with the long time they take to degrade, have adversely affected land, water, and air pollution. Nearly THE BIOSECURITY BATTLE Shaharyar Lakhani published on June 28, 2019: There are always two applications of scientific research; the intended application, and well the unintended. Assuming the former is being used to advance and benefit the world, the latter, when in the wrong hands, can result in ON PALEOVIROLOGY
Sara also had the great foresight to invite Robert Gifford, from the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center, to recently give a seminar on “Paleovirology: investigating the origin and evolution of viruses using genomic fossils.”. This was just a kickass seminar, where we got to see all of the dead retroviruses littering our collective genomes.
ON RICIN — THE ELLINGTON LAB Well, I have often thought that the threat of domestic terrorism is much greater than the threat from abroad. That’s not because I have some sort of fuzzy-minded notion that no one outside of our borders hate us. Hey, I’ve traveled on Eurail, where everyone is a Canadian. No, it’s more that the oppo THE ELLINGTON LABNEWSPROJECTSCONTACTOUTREACHPUBLICATIONSMEMBERS The Ellington Lab. What evolves here changes the world. Enter the lab. WHO WE ARE — THE ELLINGTON LAB The Ellington Lab conducts research in synthetic biology, protein engineering, and DNA nanotechnology at the University of Texas at Austin. Throughout its existence, the Ellington Lab has generated impactful new technologies and approaches. Currently, we are working in several different areas, including: Developing novel genetic codes and
NEWS — THE ELLINGTON LAB Posted on September 12, 2020. The Engineering Biology Research Consortium (EBRC) is a nationwide group of synthetic biologists from academia, industry, and government. Dr. Ellington recently gave a (virtual) talk to this group on "Applying molecular engineering to COVID-19." Dr. Ellington updated on the lab's efforts to develop POC (point-of
MEMBERS — THE ELLINGTON LAB Andrew Ellington is the Fraser Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Texas at Austin. He is perhaps best known for the invention of the word "aptamer," but is now most involved in the development and evolution of artificial life, including nucleic acid operating systems that can function both in vitro and in vivo. Publications.
PROJECTS — THE ELLINGTON LAB Jose Cardona. I work on several different projects for the Ellington laboratory. Though the bulk of my projects involve using repertoire analysis to create and enhance antibodies for a wide array of targets. An example would be me analyzing a set a b cells which encode a wide array of VH and VL genes that are encoded by mRNA transcripts in b cells.
OUTREACH — THE ELLINGTON LAB An artificial neural network, a computer system modeled on the human neural system, allows a computer to figure out what constitutes a particular subject on its own. A research team in the Ellington Lab at the University of Texas at Austin is using this concept to recognize the ‘amino acid-ness’ of individual amino acids in a protein structure.
PUBLICATIONS
Supercharging enables organized assembly of synthetic biomolecules. Nat Chem. 2019;11 (3):204-12. Epub 2019/01/16. doi: 10.1038/s41557-018-0196-3. PubMed PMID: 30643229. Stovall GM, Huynh V, Engelman S, Ellington AD. Aptamers in Education: Undergraduates Make Aptamers and Acquire 21st Century Skills Along the Way. LOCATION/CONTACT
Location and contact information for the Ellington Lab at the University of Texas at Austin. ON APTAMERS
On aptamers. December 01, 2014. by Andy Ellington. OK, so it’s been awhile. I busted my arm, which made typing modestly difficult. I’ll gear up here with an easy (but still hopefully meaningful) one: The word ‘aptamer’ comes from the Latin ‘aptus,’ to fit. Thus, this was meant to be a polymer (incongruously Greek) that ‘fit’ to ON CONSCIENCE
I cannot say anything here other than to distribute the thoughts of my friend Dan Tawfik. Those of you close to the pointy end of the stick always have harder decisions to make than those of us who have the privilege and luxury of enjoying peace. I would only hope that I would have the fortitude tha THE ELLINGTON LABNEWSPROJECTSCONTACTOUTREACHPUBLICATIONSMEMBERS The Ellington Lab. What evolves here changes the world. Enter the lab. WHO WE ARE — THE ELLINGTON LAB The Ellington Lab conducts research in synthetic biology, protein engineering, and DNA nanotechnology at the University of Texas at Austin. Throughout its existence, the Ellington Lab has generated impactful new technologies and approaches. Currently, we are working in several different areas, including: Developing novel genetic codes and
NEWS — THE ELLINGTON LAB Posted on September 12, 2020. The Engineering Biology Research Consortium (EBRC) is a nationwide group of synthetic biologists from academia, industry, and government. Dr. Ellington recently gave a (virtual) talk to this group on "Applying molecular engineering to COVID-19." Dr. Ellington updated on the lab's efforts to develop POC (point-of
MEMBERS — THE ELLINGTON LAB Andrew Ellington is the Fraser Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Texas at Austin. He is perhaps best known for the invention of the word "aptamer," but is now most involved in the development and evolution of artificial life, including nucleic acid operating systems that can function both in vitro and in vivo. Publications.
PROJECTS — THE ELLINGTON LAB Jose Cardona. I work on several different projects for the Ellington laboratory. Though the bulk of my projects involve using repertoire analysis to create and enhance antibodies for a wide array of targets. An example would be me analyzing a set a b cells which encode a wide array of VH and VL genes that are encoded by mRNA transcripts in b cells.
OUTREACH — THE ELLINGTON LAB An artificial neural network, a computer system modeled on the human neural system, allows a computer to figure out what constitutes a particular subject on its own. A research team in the Ellington Lab at the University of Texas at Austin is using this concept to recognize the ‘amino acid-ness’ of individual amino acids in a protein structure.
PUBLICATIONS
Supercharging enables organized assembly of synthetic biomolecules. Nat Chem. 2019;11 (3):204-12. Epub 2019/01/16. doi: 10.1038/s41557-018-0196-3. PubMed PMID: 30643229. Stovall GM, Huynh V, Engelman S, Ellington AD. Aptamers in Education: Undergraduates Make Aptamers and Acquire 21st Century Skills Along the Way. LOCATION/CONTACT
Location and contact information for the Ellington Lab at the University of Texas at Austin. ON APTAMERS
On aptamers. December 01, 2014. by Andy Ellington. OK, so it’s been awhile. I busted my arm, which made typing modestly difficult. I’ll gear up here with an easy (but still hopefully meaningful) one: The word ‘aptamer’ comes from the Latin ‘aptus,’ to fit. Thus, this was meant to be a polymer (incongruously Greek) that ‘fit’ to ON CONSCIENCE
I cannot say anything here other than to distribute the thoughts of my friend Dan Tawfik. Those of you close to the pointy end of the stick always have harder decisions to make than those of us who have the privilege and luxury of enjoying peace. I would only hope that I would have the fortitude tha PUBLICATIONS-WIDGET
x @article{pmid26750592, abstract = { During the past decade, aptasensors have largely been designed on the basis of the notion that ligand-modulated equilibration between aptamer conformations could be exploited for sensing. A SOLUTION TO RESEARCH IN LOW RESOURCE AREAS The kit is intended for use by students and instructors in low-resource areas due to its cost effectiveness and ease of use. This would especially prove beneficial in giving research opportunities to aspiring researchers in need of lab resources. For larger labs, these cell reagents can also be made in bulk, and each PCR tube could perform up
ON IDENTITY
Who are you? Who-who, who-who? This question, by the eponymous band, has been on my mind ever since I heard about the recent study where electronic clues allowed ON PALEOVIROLOGY
Sara also had the great foresight to invite Robert Gifford, from the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center, to recently give a seminar on “Paleovirology: investigating the origin and evolution of viruses using genomic fossils.”. This was just a kickass seminar, where we got to see all of the dead retroviruses littering our collective genomes.
ON PLASMIDS
Ever since I’ve been a practicing molecular biologist, we’ve used plasmids as vehicles for genetic engineering. Or, more accurately, episomes, encompassing the range of extra-genomic information that can replicate inside of cells. In parallel, viral vectors have been harnessed in
ON REGULATION
Rob Carlson had a piece recently in The Scientist (which has been kind enough to notice this Blog in the past) on the regulation of synthetic biology, in part due to the supposed threat from the DIY Bio community. This seems to be part of a continuing hysterical exchange over a non-issue. While Rob ON FEAR — THE ELLINGTON LAB I am almost (but not quite) of the generation that you can ask the question of: “Where were you when JFK died?” For those of you who do not know who JFK was well, that’s just sad. Anyway, I do remember where I was when JFK died. The modern version of this question may be ON COMMUNICABILITY
Hey, here’s a riddle: what’s more dangerous than an al Qaeda member with a plane ticket and a shoe bomb? Answer: an al Qaeda member with a plane ticket and no shoe bomb! OK, perhaps that’s not as funny as I thought. But here’s the point: we are all ON MAN’S BEST FRENEMY Wug, it’s been awhile. Lots to write about, but I’ve been a laggard. To the topic at hand. We’ve previously discussed how zoonoses, viruses that spread from animals to man, can be a real biodefense threat (or at least have the appearance of being ON VENTER ENVY
At one point, I think I spawned the phrase “Venter envy” to describe the feeling that many of us who are not corporate titans that can make entire chromosomes at will must feel. Surely this applies to you, yes? Well, anyway, what are the little people supposed to do? The answer to this vexing questi THE ELLINGTON LABNEWSPROJECTSCONTACTOUTREACHPUBLICATIONSMEMBERS The Ellington Lab. What evolves here changes the world. Enter the lab. WHO WE ARE — THE ELLINGTON LAB The Ellington Lab conducts research in synthetic biology, protein engineering, and DNA nanotechnology at the University of Texas at Austin. Throughout its existence, the Ellington Lab has generated impactful new technologies and approaches. Currently, we are working in several different areas, including: Developing novel genetic codes and
NEWS — THE ELLINGTON LAB Posted on September 12, 2020. The Engineering Biology Research Consortium (EBRC) is a nationwide group of synthetic biologists from academia, industry, and government. Dr. Ellington recently gave a (virtual) talk to this group on "Applying molecular engineering to COVID-19." Dr. Ellington updated on the lab's efforts to develop POC (point-of
MEMBERS — THE ELLINGTON LAB Andrew Ellington is the Fraser Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Texas at Austin. He is perhaps best known for the invention of the word "aptamer," but is now most involved in the development and evolution of artificial life, including nucleic acid operating systems that can function both in vitro and in vivo. Publications.
PROJECTS — THE ELLINGTON LAB Jose Cardona. I work on several different projects for the Ellington laboratory. Though the bulk of my projects involve using repertoire analysis to create and enhance antibodies for a wide array of targets. An example would be me analyzing a set a b cells which encode a wide array of VH and VL genes that are encoded by mRNA transcripts in b cells.
OUTREACH — THE ELLINGTON LAB An artificial neural network, a computer system modeled on the human neural system, allows a computer to figure out what constitutes a particular subject on its own. A research team in the Ellington Lab at the University of Texas at Austin is using this concept to recognize the ‘amino acid-ness’ of individual amino acids in a protein structure.
PUBLICATIONS
Supercharging enables organized assembly of synthetic biomolecules. Nat Chem. 2019;11 (3):204-12. Epub 2019/01/16. doi: 10.1038/s41557-018-0196-3. PubMed PMID: 30643229. Stovall GM, Huynh V, Engelman S, Ellington AD. Aptamers in Education: Undergraduates Make Aptamers and Acquire 21st Century Skills Along the Way. LOCATION/CONTACT
Location and contact information for the Ellington Lab at the University of Texas at Austin. ON APTAMERS
On aptamers. December 01, 2014. by Andy Ellington. OK, so it’s been awhile. I busted my arm, which made typing modestly difficult. I’ll gear up here with an easy (but still hopefully meaningful) one: The word ‘aptamer’ comes from the Latin ‘aptus,’ to fit. Thus, this was meant to be a polymer (incongruously Greek) that ‘fit’ to ON CONSCIENCE
I cannot say anything here other than to distribute the thoughts of my friend Dan Tawfik. Those of you close to the pointy end of the stick always have harder decisions to make than those of us who have the privilege and luxury of enjoying peace. I would only hope that I would have the fortitude tha THE ELLINGTON LABNEWSPROJECTSCONTACTOUTREACHPUBLICATIONSMEMBERS The Ellington Lab. What evolves here changes the world. Enter the lab. WHO WE ARE — THE ELLINGTON LAB The Ellington Lab conducts research in synthetic biology, protein engineering, and DNA nanotechnology at the University of Texas at Austin. Throughout its existence, the Ellington Lab has generated impactful new technologies and approaches. Currently, we are working in several different areas, including: Developing novel genetic codes and
NEWS — THE ELLINGTON LAB Posted on September 12, 2020. The Engineering Biology Research Consortium (EBRC) is a nationwide group of synthetic biologists from academia, industry, and government. Dr. Ellington recently gave a (virtual) talk to this group on "Applying molecular engineering to COVID-19." Dr. Ellington updated on the lab's efforts to develop POC (point-of
MEMBERS — THE ELLINGTON LAB Andrew Ellington is the Fraser Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Texas at Austin. He is perhaps best known for the invention of the word "aptamer," but is now most involved in the development and evolution of artificial life, including nucleic acid operating systems that can function both in vitro and in vivo. Publications.
PROJECTS — THE ELLINGTON LAB Jose Cardona. I work on several different projects for the Ellington laboratory. Though the bulk of my projects involve using repertoire analysis to create and enhance antibodies for a wide array of targets. An example would be me analyzing a set a b cells which encode a wide array of VH and VL genes that are encoded by mRNA transcripts in b cells.
OUTREACH — THE ELLINGTON LAB An artificial neural network, a computer system modeled on the human neural system, allows a computer to figure out what constitutes a particular subject on its own. A research team in the Ellington Lab at the University of Texas at Austin is using this concept to recognize the ‘amino acid-ness’ of individual amino acids in a protein structure.
PUBLICATIONS
Supercharging enables organized assembly of synthetic biomolecules. Nat Chem. 2019;11 (3):204-12. Epub 2019/01/16. doi: 10.1038/s41557-018-0196-3. PubMed PMID: 30643229. Stovall GM, Huynh V, Engelman S, Ellington AD. Aptamers in Education: Undergraduates Make Aptamers and Acquire 21st Century Skills Along the Way. LOCATION/CONTACT
Location and contact information for the Ellington Lab at the University of Texas at Austin. ON APTAMERS
On aptamers. December 01, 2014. by Andy Ellington. OK, so it’s been awhile. I busted my arm, which made typing modestly difficult. I’ll gear up here with an easy (but still hopefully meaningful) one: The word ‘aptamer’ comes from the Latin ‘aptus,’ to fit. Thus, this was meant to be a polymer (incongruously Greek) that ‘fit’ to ON CONSCIENCE
I cannot say anything here other than to distribute the thoughts of my friend Dan Tawfik. Those of you close to the pointy end of the stick always have harder decisions to make than those of us who have the privilege and luxury of enjoying peace. I would only hope that I would have the fortitude tha PUBLICATIONS-WIDGET
x @article{pmid26750592, abstract = { During the past decade, aptasensors have largely been designed on the basis of the notion that ligand-modulated equilibration between aptamer conformations could be exploited for sensing. A SOLUTION TO RESEARCH IN LOW RESOURCE AREAS The kit is intended for use by students and instructors in low-resource areas due to its cost effectiveness and ease of use. This would especially prove beneficial in giving research opportunities to aspiring researchers in need of lab resources. For larger labs, these cell reagents can also be made in bulk, and each PCR tube could perform up
ON IDENTITY
Who are you? Who-who, who-who? This question, by the eponymous band, has been on my mind ever since I heard about the recent study where electronic clues allowed ON PALEOVIROLOGY
Sara also had the great foresight to invite Robert Gifford, from the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center, to recently give a seminar on “Paleovirology: investigating the origin and evolution of viruses using genomic fossils.”. This was just a kickass seminar, where we got to see all of the dead retroviruses littering our collective genomes.
ON PLASMIDS
Ever since I’ve been a practicing molecular biologist, we’ve used plasmids as vehicles for genetic engineering. Or, more accurately, episomes, encompassing the range of extra-genomic information that can replicate inside of cells. In parallel, viral vectors have been harnessed in
ON REGULATION
Rob Carlson had a piece recently in The Scientist (which has been kind enough to notice this Blog in the past) on the regulation of synthetic biology, in part due to the supposed threat from the DIY Bio community. This seems to be part of a continuing hysterical exchange over a non-issue. While Rob ON DEBILITATION
Mostly when we think about biothreats we think about critical rather than chronic attacks. This is because our adversaries are most likely to use these weapons against us to sow destruction and chaos, rather than to attempt a long-term modification of ON FEAR — THE ELLINGTON LAB I am almost (but not quite) of the generation that you can ask the question of: “Where were you when JFK died?” For those of you who do not know who JFK was well, that’s just sad. Anyway, I do remember where I was when JFK died. The modern version of this question may be ON COMMUNICABILITY
Hey, here’s a riddle: what’s more dangerous than an al Qaeda member with a plane ticket and a shoe bomb? Answer: an al Qaeda member with a plane ticket and no shoe bomb! OK, perhaps that’s not as funny as I thought. But here’s the point: we are all ON MAN’S BEST FRENEMY Wug, it’s been awhile. Lots to write about, but I’ve been a laggard. To the topic at hand. We’ve previously discussed how zoonoses, viruses that spread from animals to man, can be a real biodefense threat (or at least have the appearance of being THE ELLINGTON LABNEWSPROJECTSCONTACTOUTREACHPUBLICATIONSMEMBERS The Ellington Lab. What evolves here changes the world. Enter the lab. WHO WE ARE — THE ELLINGTON LAB The Ellington Lab conducts research in synthetic biology, protein engineering, and DNA nanotechnology at the University of Texas at Austin. Throughout its existence, the Ellington Lab has generated impactful new technologies and approaches. Currently, we are working in several different areas, including: Developing novel genetic codes and
NEWS — THE ELLINGTON LAB Posted on September 12, 2020. The Engineering Biology Research Consortium (EBRC) is a nationwide group of synthetic biologists from academia, industry, and government. Dr. Ellington recently gave a (virtual) talk to this group on "Applying molecular engineering to COVID-19." Dr. Ellington updated on the lab's efforts to develop POC (point-of
MEMBERS — THE ELLINGTON LAB Andrew Ellington is the Fraser Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Texas at Austin. He is perhaps best known for the invention of the word "aptamer," but is now most involved in the development and evolution of artificial life, including nucleic acid operating systems that can function both in vitro and in vivo. Publications.
PROJECTS — THE ELLINGTON LAB Jose Cardona. I work on several different projects for the Ellington laboratory. Though the bulk of my projects involve using repertoire analysis to create and enhance antibodies for a wide array of targets. An example would be me analyzing a set a b cells which encode a wide array of VH and VL genes that are encoded by mRNA transcripts in b cells.
PUBLICATIONS
Supercharging enables organized assembly of synthetic biomolecules. Nat Chem. 2019;11 (3):204-12. Epub 2019/01/16. doi: 10.1038/s41557-018-0196-3. PubMed PMID: 30643229. Stovall GM, Huynh V, Engelman S, Ellington AD. Aptamers in Education: Undergraduates Make Aptamers and Acquire 21st Century Skills Along the Way. OUTREACH — THE ELLINGTON LAB An artificial neural network, a computer system modeled on the human neural system, allows a computer to figure out what constitutes a particular subject on its own. A research team in the Ellington Lab at the University of Texas at Austin is using this concept to recognize the ‘amino acid-ness’ of individual amino acids in a protein structure.
PUBLICATIONS-WIDGET
A partial listing of publications from current and former members of the Ellington Lab.
LOCATION/CONTACT
Location and contact information for the Ellington Lab at the University of Texas at Austin. ON APTAMERS
On aptamers. December 01, 2014. by Andy Ellington. OK, so it’s been awhile. I busted my arm, which made typing modestly difficult. I’ll gear up here with an easy (but still hopefully meaningful) one: The word ‘aptamer’ comes from the Latin ‘aptus,’ to fit. Thus, this was meant to be a polymer (incongruously Greek) that ‘fit’ to THE ELLINGTON LABNEWSPROJECTSCONTACTOUTREACHPUBLICATIONSMEMBERS The Ellington Lab. What evolves here changes the world. Enter the lab. WHO WE ARE — THE ELLINGTON LAB The Ellington Lab conducts research in synthetic biology, protein engineering, and DNA nanotechnology at the University of Texas at Austin. Throughout its existence, the Ellington Lab has generated impactful new technologies and approaches. Currently, we are working in several different areas, including: Developing novel genetic codes and
NEWS — THE ELLINGTON LAB Posted on September 12, 2020. The Engineering Biology Research Consortium (EBRC) is a nationwide group of synthetic biologists from academia, industry, and government. Dr. Ellington recently gave a (virtual) talk to this group on "Applying molecular engineering to COVID-19." Dr. Ellington updated on the lab's efforts to develop POC (point-of
MEMBERS — THE ELLINGTON LAB Andrew Ellington is the Fraser Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Texas at Austin. He is perhaps best known for the invention of the word "aptamer," but is now most involved in the development and evolution of artificial life, including nucleic acid operating systems that can function both in vitro and in vivo. Publications.
PROJECTS — THE ELLINGTON LAB Jose Cardona. I work on several different projects for the Ellington laboratory. Though the bulk of my projects involve using repertoire analysis to create and enhance antibodies for a wide array of targets. An example would be me analyzing a set a b cells which encode a wide array of VH and VL genes that are encoded by mRNA transcripts in b cells.
PUBLICATIONS
Supercharging enables organized assembly of synthetic biomolecules. Nat Chem. 2019;11 (3):204-12. Epub 2019/01/16. doi: 10.1038/s41557-018-0196-3. PubMed PMID: 30643229. Stovall GM, Huynh V, Engelman S, Ellington AD. Aptamers in Education: Undergraduates Make Aptamers and Acquire 21st Century Skills Along the Way. OUTREACH — THE ELLINGTON LAB An artificial neural network, a computer system modeled on the human neural system, allows a computer to figure out what constitutes a particular subject on its own. A research team in the Ellington Lab at the University of Texas at Austin is using this concept to recognize the ‘amino acid-ness’ of individual amino acids in a protein structure.
PUBLICATIONS-WIDGET
A partial listing of publications from current and former members of the Ellington Lab.
LOCATION/CONTACT
Location and contact information for the Ellington Lab at the University of Texas at Austin. ON APTAMERS
On aptamers. December 01, 2014. by Andy Ellington. OK, so it’s been awhile. I busted my arm, which made typing modestly difficult. I’ll gear up here with an easy (but still hopefully meaningful) one: The word ‘aptamer’ comes from the Latin ‘aptus,’ to fit. Thus, this was meant to be a polymer (incongruously Greek) that ‘fit’ to ARCHIVE — THE ELLINGTON LAB Shaharyar Lakhani published on July 3, 2019: While science produces many advancements across various fields, it is undeniably costly and intricate.
ON CONSCIENCE
I cannot say anything here other than to distribute the thoughts of my friend Dan Tawfik. Those of you close to the pointy end of the stick always have harder decisions to make than those of us who have the privilege and luxury of enjoying peace. I would only hope that I would have the fortitude tha A SOLUTION TO RESEARCH IN LOW RESOURCE AREAS The kit is intended for use by students and instructors in low-resource areas due to its cost effectiveness and ease of use. This would especially prove beneficial in giving research opportunities to aspiring researchers in need of lab resources. For larger labs, these cell reagents can also be made in bulk, and each PCR tube could perform up
A NEW BIOLOGICAL AND FINANCIAL ECOSYSTEM FOR PLASTIC Shaharyar Lakhani published on June 24, 2019: Plastics have been in popular use for only around 50 years, yet they have managed to saturate the planet. The toxic pollutants in plastics, combined with the long time they take to degrade, have adversely affected land, water, and air pollution. Nearly THE BIOSECURITY BATTLE Shaharyar Lakhani published on June 28, 2019: There are always two applications of scientific research; the intended application, and well the unintended. Assuming the former is being used to advance and benefit the world, the latter, when in the wrong hands, can result in ON STEGANOGRAPHY
Isn’t that a cool word? It makes you think of dinosaurs doing dictation, or something. I first came across this word a few years ago when Bancroft and co-workers published a short letter in Nature, “Hiding messages in DNA microdots” (Nature, 399:533 (1999)). But steganography is actually a cryptogra CHANGING THE GENETIC CODE TO IMPROVE Shaharyar Lakhani published on June 13, 2019: Proteins are the workhorses of life, and are comprised of strings of amino acids, which in turn are specified by the triplet codons of the genetic code. Currently, only 20 amino acids make up the genetic code in most organisms. In order to expand the f ON CONTROVERSY
One of the great things about science is that it is not set in stone. We always say that scientists revise their thoughts based on new evidence, but there aren’t that many times when we actually see this happen. For example, while we can play around ON FUTURES — THE ELLINGTON LAB I’m at the Exploratory Round Table Conference in Shanghai, which is ostensibly a forum to discuss what directions synthetic biology will take into the future. As with most such forums, it frequently devolves into a discussion of what synthetic biology is (or is not). I am as happy to engage in such ON SPOOFING
This can be considered sort of a hybrid post, bringing together “On the threat of synthetic biology,” “On GATTACA and taggants,” and “On fear.” Or, in other words, I’m so boring that I can’t really write anything new. My blanket scoff regarding the threat of synthetic biology has a few caveats, whi THE ELLINGTON LABNEWSPROJECTSCONTACTOUTREACHPUBLICATIONSMEMBERS The Ellington Lab. What evolves here changes the world. Enter the lab. WHO WE ARE — THE ELLINGTON LAB The Ellington Lab conducts research in synthetic biology, protein engineering, and DNA nanotechnology at the University of Texas at Austin. Throughout its existence, the Ellington Lab has generated impactful new technologies and approaches. Currently, we are working in several different areas, including: Developing novel genetic codes and
NEWS — THE ELLINGTON LAB Posted on September 12, 2020. The Engineering Biology Research Consortium (EBRC) is a nationwide group of synthetic biologists from academia, industry, and government. Dr. Ellington recently gave a (virtual) talk to this group on "Applying molecular engineering to COVID-19." Dr. Ellington updated on the lab's efforts to develop POC (point-of
MEMBERS — THE ELLINGTON LAB Andrew Ellington is the Fraser Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Texas at Austin. He is perhaps best known for the invention of the word "aptamer," but is now most involved in the development and evolution of artificial life, including nucleic acid operating systems that can function both in vitro and in vivo. Publications.
PROJECTS — THE ELLINGTON LAB Jose Cardona. I work on several different projects for the Ellington laboratory. Though the bulk of my projects involve using repertoire analysis to create and enhance antibodies for a wide array of targets. An example would be me analyzing a set a b cells which encode a wide array of VH and VL genes that are encoded by mRNA transcripts in b cells.
OUTREACH — THE ELLINGTON LAB An artificial neural network, a computer system modeled on the human neural system, allows a computer to figure out what constitutes a particular subject on its own. A research team in the Ellington Lab at the University of Texas at Austin is using this concept to recognize the ‘amino acid-ness’ of individual amino acids in a protein structure.
PUBLICATIONS
Supercharging enables organized assembly of synthetic biomolecules. Nat Chem. 2019;11 (3):204-12. Epub 2019/01/16. doi: 10.1038/s41557-018-0196-3. PubMed PMID: 30643229. Stovall GM, Huynh V, Engelman S, Ellington AD. Aptamers in Education: Undergraduates Make Aptamers and Acquire 21st Century Skills Along the Way. LOCATION/CONTACT
Location and contact information for the Ellington Lab at the University of Texas at Austin. ON APTAMERS
On aptamers. December 01, 2014. by Andy Ellington. OK, so it’s been awhile. I busted my arm, which made typing modestly difficult. I’ll gear up here with an easy (but still hopefully meaningful) one: The word ‘aptamer’ comes from the Latin ‘aptus,’ to fit. Thus, this was meant to be a polymer (incongruously Greek) that ‘fit’ to ON CONSCIENCE
I cannot say anything here other than to distribute the thoughts of my friend Dan Tawfik. Those of you close to the pointy end of the stick always have harder decisions to make than those of us who have the privilege and luxury of enjoying peace. I would only hope that I would have the fortitude tha THE ELLINGTON LABNEWSPROJECTSCONTACTOUTREACHPUBLICATIONSMEMBERS The Ellington Lab. What evolves here changes the world. Enter the lab. WHO WE ARE — THE ELLINGTON LAB The Ellington Lab conducts research in synthetic biology, protein engineering, and DNA nanotechnology at the University of Texas at Austin. Throughout its existence, the Ellington Lab has generated impactful new technologies and approaches. Currently, we are working in several different areas, including: Developing novel genetic codes and
NEWS — THE ELLINGTON LAB Posted on September 12, 2020. The Engineering Biology Research Consortium (EBRC) is a nationwide group of synthetic biologists from academia, industry, and government. Dr. Ellington recently gave a (virtual) talk to this group on "Applying molecular engineering to COVID-19." Dr. Ellington updated on the lab's efforts to develop POC (point-of
MEMBERS — THE ELLINGTON LAB Andrew Ellington is the Fraser Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Texas at Austin. He is perhaps best known for the invention of the word "aptamer," but is now most involved in the development and evolution of artificial life, including nucleic acid operating systems that can function both in vitro and in vivo. Publications.
PROJECTS — THE ELLINGTON LAB Jose Cardona. I work on several different projects for the Ellington laboratory. Though the bulk of my projects involve using repertoire analysis to create and enhance antibodies for a wide array of targets. An example would be me analyzing a set a b cells which encode a wide array of VH and VL genes that are encoded by mRNA transcripts in b cells.
OUTREACH — THE ELLINGTON LAB An artificial neural network, a computer system modeled on the human neural system, allows a computer to figure out what constitutes a particular subject on its own. A research team in the Ellington Lab at the University of Texas at Austin is using this concept to recognize the ‘amino acid-ness’ of individual amino acids in a protein structure.
PUBLICATIONS
Supercharging enables organized assembly of synthetic biomolecules. Nat Chem. 2019;11 (3):204-12. Epub 2019/01/16. doi: 10.1038/s41557-018-0196-3. PubMed PMID: 30643229. Stovall GM, Huynh V, Engelman S, Ellington AD. Aptamers in Education: Undergraduates Make Aptamers and Acquire 21st Century Skills Along the Way. LOCATION/CONTACT
Location and contact information for the Ellington Lab at the University of Texas at Austin. ON APTAMERS
On aptamers. December 01, 2014. by Andy Ellington. OK, so it’s been awhile. I busted my arm, which made typing modestly difficult. I’ll gear up here with an easy (but still hopefully meaningful) one: The word ‘aptamer’ comes from the Latin ‘aptus,’ to fit. Thus, this was meant to be a polymer (incongruously Greek) that ‘fit’ to ON CONSCIENCE
I cannot say anything here other than to distribute the thoughts of my friend Dan Tawfik. Those of you close to the pointy end of the stick always have harder decisions to make than those of us who have the privilege and luxury of enjoying peace. I would only hope that I would have the fortitude tha PUBLICATIONS-WIDGET
x @article{pmid26750592, abstract = { During the past decade, aptasensors have largely been designed on the basis of the notion that ligand-modulated equilibration between aptamer conformations could be exploited for sensing. A SOLUTION TO RESEARCH IN LOW RESOURCE AREAS The kit is intended for use by students and instructors in low-resource areas due to its cost effectiveness and ease of use. This would especially prove beneficial in giving research opportunities to aspiring researchers in need of lab resources. For larger labs, these cell reagents can also be made in bulk, and each PCR tube could perform up
ON PALEOVIROLOGY
Sara also had the great foresight to invite Robert Gifford, from the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center, to recently give a seminar on “Paleovirology: investigating the origin and evolution of viruses using genomic fossils.”. This was just a kickass seminar, where we got to see all of the dead retroviruses littering our collective genomes.
ON IDENTITY
Who are you? Who-who, who-who? This question, by the eponymous band, has been on my mind ever since I heard about the recent study where electronic clues allowed A NEW BIOLOGICAL AND FINANCIAL ECOSYSTEM FOR PLASTIC Shaharyar Lakhani published on June 24, 2019: Plastics have been in popular use for only around 50 years, yet they have managed to saturate the planet. The toxic pollutants in plastics, combined with the long time they take to degrade, have adversely affected land, water, and air pollution. Nearly ON REGULATION
Rob Carlson had a piece recently in The Scientist (which has been kind enough to notice this Blog in the past) on the regulation of synthetic biology, in part due to the supposed threat from the DIY Bio community. This seems to be part of a continuing hysterical exchange over a non-issue. While Rob ON DEBILITATION
Mostly when we think about biothreats we think about critical rather than chronic attacks. This is because our adversaries are most likely to use these weapons against us to sow destruction and chaos, rather than to attempt a long-term modification of ON COMMUNICABILITY
Hey, here’s a riddle: what’s more dangerous than an al Qaeda member with a plane ticket and a shoe bomb? Answer: an al Qaeda member with a plane ticket and no shoe bomb! OK, perhaps that’s not as funny as I thought. But here’s the point: we are all ON GOOD INTENTIONS
Ha, bet you thought I was gone. I sort of did, too. I’ve been vastly disappointed with recent turns of events. Of course I am speaking of the actions of the appointed Guardians of the Universe, the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB). This august group, at the behest of our own ON MAN’S BEST FRENEMY Wug, it’s been awhile. Lots to write about, but I’ve been a laggard. To the topic at hand. We’ve previously discussed how zoonoses, viruses that spread from animals to man, can be a real biodefense threat (or at least have the appearance of being THE ELLINGTON LABNEWSPROJECTSCONTACTOUTREACHPUBLICATIONSMEMBERS The Ellington Lab. What evolves here changes the world. Enter the lab. WHO WE ARE — THE ELLINGTON LAB The Ellington Lab conducts research in synthetic biology, protein engineering, and DNA nanotechnology at the University of Texas at Austin. Throughout its existence, the Ellington Lab has generated impactful new technologies and approaches. Currently, we are working in several different areas, including: Developing novel genetic codes and
NEWS — THE ELLINGTON LAB Posted on September 12, 2020. The Engineering Biology Research Consortium (EBRC) is a nationwide group of synthetic biologists from academia, industry, and government. Dr. Ellington recently gave a (virtual) talk to this group on "Applying molecular engineering to COVID-19." Dr. Ellington updated on the lab's efforts to develop POC (point-of
MEMBERS — THE ELLINGTON LAB Andrew Ellington is the Fraser Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Texas at Austin. He is perhaps best known for the invention of the word "aptamer," but is now most involved in the development and evolution of artificial life, including nucleic acid operating systems that can function both in vitro and in vivo. Publications.
PROJECTS — THE ELLINGTON LAB Jose Cardona. I work on several different projects for the Ellington laboratory. Though the bulk of my projects involve using repertoire analysis to create and enhance antibodies for a wide array of targets. An example would be me analyzing a set a b cells which encode a wide array of VH and VL genes that are encoded by mRNA transcripts in b cells.
OUTREACH — THE ELLINGTON LAB An artificial neural network, a computer system modeled on the human neural system, allows a computer to figure out what constitutes a particular subject on its own. A research team in the Ellington Lab at the University of Texas at Austin is using this concept to recognize the ‘amino acid-ness’ of individual amino acids in a protein structure.
PUBLICATIONS
Supercharging enables organized assembly of synthetic biomolecules. Nat Chem. 2019;11 (3):204-12. Epub 2019/01/16. doi: 10.1038/s41557-018-0196-3. PubMed PMID: 30643229. Stovall GM, Huynh V, Engelman S, Ellington AD. Aptamers in Education: Undergraduates Make Aptamers and Acquire 21st Century Skills Along the Way. LOCATION/CONTACT
Location and contact information for the Ellington Lab at the University of Texas at Austin. ON APTAMERS
On aptamers. December 01, 2014. by Andy Ellington. OK, so it’s been awhile. I busted my arm, which made typing modestly difficult. I’ll gear up here with an easy (but still hopefully meaningful) one: The word ‘aptamer’ comes from the Latin ‘aptus,’ to fit. Thus, this was meant to be a polymer (incongruously Greek) that ‘fit’ to ON CONSCIENCE
I cannot say anything here other than to distribute the thoughts of my friend Dan Tawfik. Those of you close to the pointy end of the stick always have harder decisions to make than those of us who have the privilege and luxury of enjoying peace. I would only hope that I would have the fortitude tha THE ELLINGTON LABNEWSPROJECTSCONTACTOUTREACHPUBLICATIONSMEMBERS The Ellington Lab. What evolves here changes the world. Enter the lab. WHO WE ARE — THE ELLINGTON LAB The Ellington Lab conducts research in synthetic biology, protein engineering, and DNA nanotechnology at the University of Texas at Austin. Throughout its existence, the Ellington Lab has generated impactful new technologies and approaches. Currently, we are working in several different areas, including: Developing novel genetic codes and
NEWS — THE ELLINGTON LAB Posted on September 12, 2020. The Engineering Biology Research Consortium (EBRC) is a nationwide group of synthetic biologists from academia, industry, and government. Dr. Ellington recently gave a (virtual) talk to this group on "Applying molecular engineering to COVID-19." Dr. Ellington updated on the lab's efforts to develop POC (point-of
MEMBERS — THE ELLINGTON LAB Andrew Ellington is the Fraser Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Texas at Austin. He is perhaps best known for the invention of the word "aptamer," but is now most involved in the development and evolution of artificial life, including nucleic acid operating systems that can function both in vitro and in vivo. Publications.
PROJECTS — THE ELLINGTON LAB Jose Cardona. I work on several different projects for the Ellington laboratory. Though the bulk of my projects involve using repertoire analysis to create and enhance antibodies for a wide array of targets. An example would be me analyzing a set a b cells which encode a wide array of VH and VL genes that are encoded by mRNA transcripts in b cells.
OUTREACH — THE ELLINGTON LAB An artificial neural network, a computer system modeled on the human neural system, allows a computer to figure out what constitutes a particular subject on its own. A research team in the Ellington Lab at the University of Texas at Austin is using this concept to recognize the ‘amino acid-ness’ of individual amino acids in a protein structure.
PUBLICATIONS
Supercharging enables organized assembly of synthetic biomolecules. Nat Chem. 2019;11 (3):204-12. Epub 2019/01/16. doi: 10.1038/s41557-018-0196-3. PubMed PMID: 30643229. Stovall GM, Huynh V, Engelman S, Ellington AD. Aptamers in Education: Undergraduates Make Aptamers and Acquire 21st Century Skills Along the Way. LOCATION/CONTACT
Location and contact information for the Ellington Lab at the University of Texas at Austin. ON APTAMERS
On aptamers. December 01, 2014. by Andy Ellington. OK, so it’s been awhile. I busted my arm, which made typing modestly difficult. I’ll gear up here with an easy (but still hopefully meaningful) one: The word ‘aptamer’ comes from the Latin ‘aptus,’ to fit. Thus, this was meant to be a polymer (incongruously Greek) that ‘fit’ to ON CONSCIENCE
I cannot say anything here other than to distribute the thoughts of my friend Dan Tawfik. Those of you close to the pointy end of the stick always have harder decisions to make than those of us who have the privilege and luxury of enjoying peace. I would only hope that I would have the fortitude tha PUBLICATIONS-WIDGET
x @article{pmid26750592, abstract = { During the past decade, aptasensors have largely been designed on the basis of the notion that ligand-modulated equilibration between aptamer conformations could be exploited for sensing. A SOLUTION TO RESEARCH IN LOW RESOURCE AREAS The kit is intended for use by students and instructors in low-resource areas due to its cost effectiveness and ease of use. This would especially prove beneficial in giving research opportunities to aspiring researchers in need of lab resources. For larger labs, these cell reagents can also be made in bulk, and each PCR tube could perform up
ON PALEOVIROLOGY
Sara also had the great foresight to invite Robert Gifford, from the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center, to recently give a seminar on “Paleovirology: investigating the origin and evolution of viruses using genomic fossils.”. This was just a kickass seminar, where we got to see all of the dead retroviruses littering our collective genomes.
ON IDENTITY
Who are you? Who-who, who-who? This question, by the eponymous band, has been on my mind ever since I heard about the recent study where electronic clues allowed A NEW BIOLOGICAL AND FINANCIAL ECOSYSTEM FOR PLASTIC Shaharyar Lakhani published on June 24, 2019: Plastics have been in popular use for only around 50 years, yet they have managed to saturate the planet. The toxic pollutants in plastics, combined with the long time they take to degrade, have adversely affected land, water, and air pollution. Nearly ON REGULATION
Rob Carlson had a piece recently in The Scientist (which has been kind enough to notice this Blog in the past) on the regulation of synthetic biology, in part due to the supposed threat from the DIY Bio community. This seems to be part of a continuing hysterical exchange over a non-issue. While Rob ON DEBILITATION
Mostly when we think about biothreats we think about critical rather than chronic attacks. This is because our adversaries are most likely to use these weapons against us to sow destruction and chaos, rather than to attempt a long-term modification of ON COMMUNICABILITY
Hey, here’s a riddle: what’s more dangerous than an al Qaeda member with a plane ticket and a shoe bomb? Answer: an al Qaeda member with a plane ticket and no shoe bomb! OK, perhaps that’s not as funny as I thought. But here’s the point: we are all ON GOOD INTENTIONS
Ha, bet you thought I was gone. I sort of did, too. I’ve been vastly disappointed with recent turns of events. Of course I am speaking of the actions of the appointed Guardians of the Universe, the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB). This august group, at the behest of our own ON MAN’S BEST FRENEMY Wug, it’s been awhile. Lots to write about, but I’ve been a laggard. To the topic at hand. We’ve previously discussed how zoonoses, viruses that spread from animals to man, can be a real biodefense threat (or at least have the appearance of being THE ELLINGTON
LABNEWSPROJECTSCONTACTOUTREACHPUBLICATIONSMEMBERSELLINGTON LABTHE LAB MEMBERSUNITY POINT BETTENDORF LABUT AUSTIN ALPER LAB What evolves here changes the world. Enter the lab; contact us WHO WE ARE — THE ELLINGTON LAB The Ellington Lab conducts research in synthetic biology, protein engineering, and DNA nanotechnology at the University of Texas at Austin. Throughout its existence, the Ellington Lab has generated impactful new technologies and approaches. NEWS — THE ELLINGTON LABELLINGTON LABANDY ELLINGTONBLOOD LABS IN ELLINGTON CTECHN ELLINGTON CTANDRE ELLINGTON FANTASYANDRE ELLINGTON NEWS
Dr. Andy Ellington Speaks to University of Texas COVID-19 Modeling Consortium. Posted on September 14, 2020. Dr. Ellington also recently spoke to the UT COVID-19 Modeling Consortium, a regular topics group that is an outgrowth of the extraordinary work carried out by Dr. Lauren Meyers, who regularly models and predicts the epidemiology of the virus.
MEMBERS — THE ELLINGTON LAB Andrew Ellington is the Fraser Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Texas at Austin. He is perhaps best known for the invention of the word "aptamer," but is now most involved in the development and evolution of artificial life, including nucleic acid operating systems that can function both in vitro and in vivo.. Publications
PROJECTS — THE ELLINGTON LAB This project aims to improve upon the previous work done on biomimetic adhesives derived from mussels such as Mytilus Californianus.By utilizing a DOPA-charging synthetase made in house, we can more efficiently create peptides/proteins which will be displayed on the surface of E. coli.By selecting for adhesion, we create a means of evolving peptides/proteins based on adhesive strength or even PUBLICATIONS
Publications. 2020. Agrawal, N. K., Allen, P., Song, Y. H., Wachs, R. A., Du, Y., Ellington, A. D., & Schmidt, C. E. (2020). Oligonucleotide-functionalized hydrogels OUTREACH — THE ELLINGTON LAB Speeding Up Evolution using Artificial Intelligence. Shaharyar Lakhani published on June 24, 2019: An artificial neural network, a computer system modeled on the human neural system, allows a computer to figure out what constitutes a particular subject on its own. LOCATION/CONTACT
Location and contact information for the Ellington Lab at the University of Texas at Austin. ON APTAMERS
OK, so it’s been awhile. I busted my arm, which made typing modestly difficult. I’ll gear up here with an easy (but still hopefully meaningful) one: The word ‘aptamer’ comes from the Latin ‘aptus,’ to fit. Thus, this was meant to be a polymer (incongruously Greek) that ‘fit’ to its target. Of cours ON CONSCIENCE
I cannot say anything here other than to distribute the thoughts of my friend Dan Tawfik. Those of you close to the pointy end of the stick always have harder decisions to make than those of us who have the privilege and luxury of enjoying peace. I would only hope that I would have the fortitude tha THE ELLINGTON
LABNEWSPROJECTSCONTACTOUTREACHPUBLICATIONSMEMBERSELLINGTON LABTHE LAB MEMBERSUNITY POINT BETTENDORF LABUT AUSTIN ALPER LAB What evolves here changes the world. Enter the lab; contact us WHO WE ARE — THE ELLINGTON LAB The Ellington Lab conducts research in synthetic biology, protein engineering, and DNA nanotechnology at the University of Texas at Austin. Throughout its existence, the Ellington Lab has generated impactful new technologies and approaches. NEWS — THE ELLINGTON LABELLINGTON LABANDY ELLINGTONBLOOD LABS IN ELLINGTON CTECHN ELLINGTON CTANDRE ELLINGTON FANTASYANDRE ELLINGTON NEWS
Dr. Andy Ellington Speaks to University of Texas COVID-19 Modeling Consortium. Posted on September 14, 2020. Dr. Ellington also recently spoke to the UT COVID-19 Modeling Consortium, a regular topics group that is an outgrowth of the extraordinary work carried out by Dr. Lauren Meyers, who regularly models and predicts the epidemiology of the virus.
MEMBERS — THE ELLINGTON LAB Andrew Ellington is the Fraser Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Texas at Austin. He is perhaps best known for the invention of the word "aptamer," but is now most involved in the development and evolution of artificial life, including nucleic acid operating systems that can function both in vitro and in vivo.. Publications
PROJECTS — THE ELLINGTON LAB This project aims to improve upon the previous work done on biomimetic adhesives derived from mussels such as Mytilus Californianus.By utilizing a DOPA-charging synthetase made in house, we can more efficiently create peptides/proteins which will be displayed on the surface of E. coli.By selecting for adhesion, we create a means of evolving peptides/proteins based on adhesive strength or even PUBLICATIONS
Publications. 2020. Agrawal, N. K., Allen, P., Song, Y. H., Wachs, R. A., Du, Y., Ellington, A. D., & Schmidt, C. E. (2020). Oligonucleotide-functionalized hydrogels OUTREACH — THE ELLINGTON LAB Speeding Up Evolution using Artificial Intelligence. Shaharyar Lakhani published on June 24, 2019: An artificial neural network, a computer system modeled on the human neural system, allows a computer to figure out what constitutes a particular subject on its own. LOCATION/CONTACT
Location and contact information for the Ellington Lab at the University of Texas at Austin. ON APTAMERS
OK, so it’s been awhile. I busted my arm, which made typing modestly difficult. I’ll gear up here with an easy (but still hopefully meaningful) one: The word ‘aptamer’ comes from the Latin ‘aptus,’ to fit. Thus, this was meant to be a polymer (incongruously Greek) that ‘fit’ to its target. Of cours ON CONSCIENCE
I cannot say anything here other than to distribute the thoughts of my friend Dan Tawfik. Those of you close to the pointy end of the stick always have harder decisions to make than those of us who have the privilege and luxury of enjoying peace. I would only hope that I would have the fortitude tha PUBLICATIONS-WIDGET
A partial listing of publications from current and former members of the Ellington Lab.
A SOLUTION TO RESEARCH IN LOW RESOURCE AREAS Shaharyar Lakhani published on July 3, 2019: While science produces many advancements across various fields, it is undeniably costly and intricate. Therefore, only people with the right equipment and facilities are able to carry out high level experiments. Dr. Sanchita Bhadra and her team in the E ON IDENTITY
Who are you? Who-who, who-who? This question, by the eponymous band, has been on my mind ever since I heard about the recent study where electronic clues allowed ON PALEOVIROLOGY
Like most nerds, I like reading science fiction. It’s not that I think that these fantastical futures will come to pass, it’s more just appreciating the imagination and optimism of those who are unfettered by the realities of experimental failure. Even dystopias seem like Nirvana compared to a day a A NEW BIOLOGICAL AND FINANCIAL ECOSYSTEM FOR PLASTIC Shaharyar Lakhani published on June 24, 2019: Plastics have been in popular use for only around 50 years, yet they have managed to saturate the planet. The toxic pollutants in plastics, combined with the long time they take to degrade, have adversely affected land, water, and air pollution. Nearly NASA PROJECT MEDIA:
https://research.utexas.edu/showcase/articles/view/two-ut-scientists-part-of-project-to-detect-life-as-we-dont-know-it . https://news.utexas.edu/2019/01/04/two-ut ON PEPCID — THE ELLINGTON LAB Unsurprisingly, I have indigestion. My Dad had indigestion, I have indigestion, lots of out-of-shape American males have indigestion. Now, just as antibiotics are one of the things that make modern life better than antiquity, I can point to the presence of drugs like Pepcid Complete as proof positiv ON GOOD INTENTIONS
Ha, bet you thought I was gone. I sort of did, too. I’ve been vastly disappointed with recent turns of events. Of course I am speaking of the actions of the appointed Guardians of the Universe, the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB). This august group, at the behest of our own ON ROBOTS AND COMMUNISM While the kids were playing in the surf, I was slathered up with SPF 500 sunscreen, hunkered down with my beach reading; Robopocalypse, by Daniel H. Wilson (Robocalypse, Daniel! It should have been Robocalypse!). It’s a pretty good read, in the spirit of ON DESIGNER CHEMICAL WEAPONS I’ve been traveling a fair amount recently, and probably have alot to catch up on here. One of the more interesting meetings I went to was the Gordon Conference on Chemical and Biological Terrorism Defense, in Ventura, CA. In the Gordon Research THE ELLINGTON
LABNEWSPROJECTSCONTACTOUTREACHPUBLICATIONSMEMBERSELLINGTON LABTHE LAB MEMBERSUNITY POINT BETTENDORF LABUT AUSTIN ALPER LAB What evolves here changes the world. Enter the lab; contact us WHO WE ARE — THE ELLINGTON LAB The Ellington Lab conducts research in synthetic biology, protein engineering, and DNA nanotechnology at the University of Texas at Austin. Throughout its existence, the Ellington Lab has generated impactful new technologies and approaches. NEWS — THE ELLINGTON LABELLINGTON LABANDY ELLINGTONBLOOD LABS IN ELLINGTON CTECHN ELLINGTON CTANDRE ELLINGTON FANTASYANDRE ELLINGTON NEWS
Dr. Andy Ellington Speaks to University of Texas COVID-19 Modeling Consortium. Posted on September 14, 2020. Dr. Ellington also recently spoke to the UT COVID-19 Modeling Consortium, a regular topics group that is an outgrowth of the extraordinary work carried out by Dr. Lauren Meyers, who regularly models and predicts the epidemiology of the virus.
MEMBERS — THE ELLINGTON LAB Andrew Ellington is the Fraser Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Texas at Austin. He is perhaps best known for the invention of the word "aptamer," but is now most involved in the development and evolution of artificial life, including nucleic acid operating systems that can function both in vitro and in vivo.. Publications
PROJECTS — THE ELLINGTON LAB This project aims to improve upon the previous work done on biomimetic adhesives derived from mussels such as Mytilus Californianus.By utilizing a DOPA-charging synthetase made in house, we can more efficiently create peptides/proteins which will be displayed on the surface of E. coli.By selecting for adhesion, we create a means of evolving peptides/proteins based on adhesive strength or even PUBLICATIONS
Publications. 2020. Agrawal, N. K., Allen, P., Song, Y. H., Wachs, R. A., Du, Y., Ellington, A. D., & Schmidt, C. E. (2020). Oligonucleotide-functionalized hydrogels OUTREACH — THE ELLINGTON LAB Speeding Up Evolution using Artificial Intelligence. Shaharyar Lakhani published on June 24, 2019: An artificial neural network, a computer system modeled on the human neural system, allows a computer to figure out what constitutes a particular subject on its own. LOCATION/CONTACT
Location and contact information for the Ellington Lab at the University of Texas at Austin. ON APTAMERS
OK, so it’s been awhile. I busted my arm, which made typing modestly difficult. I’ll gear up here with an easy (but still hopefully meaningful) one: The word ‘aptamer’ comes from the Latin ‘aptus,’ to fit. Thus, this was meant to be a polymer (incongruously Greek) that ‘fit’ to its target. Of cours ON CONSCIENCE
I cannot say anything here other than to distribute the thoughts of my friend Dan Tawfik. Those of you close to the pointy end of the stick always have harder decisions to make than those of us who have the privilege and luxury of enjoying peace. I would only hope that I would have the fortitude tha THE ELLINGTON
LABNEWSPROJECTSCONTACTOUTREACHPUBLICATIONSMEMBERSELLINGTON LABTHE LAB MEMBERSUNITY POINT BETTENDORF LABUT AUSTIN ALPER LAB What evolves here changes the world. Enter the lab; contact us WHO WE ARE — THE ELLINGTON LAB The Ellington Lab conducts research in synthetic biology, protein engineering, and DNA nanotechnology at the University of Texas at Austin. Throughout its existence, the Ellington Lab has generated impactful new technologies and approaches. NEWS — THE ELLINGTON LABELLINGTON LABANDY ELLINGTONBLOOD LABS IN ELLINGTON CTECHN ELLINGTON CTANDRE ELLINGTON FANTASYANDRE ELLINGTON NEWS
Dr. Andy Ellington Speaks to University of Texas COVID-19 Modeling Consortium. Posted on September 14, 2020. Dr. Ellington also recently spoke to the UT COVID-19 Modeling Consortium, a regular topics group that is an outgrowth of the extraordinary work carried out by Dr. Lauren Meyers, who regularly models and predicts the epidemiology of the virus.
MEMBERS — THE ELLINGTON LAB Andrew Ellington is the Fraser Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Texas at Austin. He is perhaps best known for the invention of the word "aptamer," but is now most involved in the development and evolution of artificial life, including nucleic acid operating systems that can function both in vitro and in vivo.. Publications
PROJECTS — THE ELLINGTON LAB This project aims to improve upon the previous work done on biomimetic adhesives derived from mussels such as Mytilus Californianus.By utilizing a DOPA-charging synthetase made in house, we can more efficiently create peptides/proteins which will be displayed on the surface of E. coli.By selecting for adhesion, we create a means of evolving peptides/proteins based on adhesive strength or even PUBLICATIONS
Publications. 2020. Agrawal, N. K., Allen, P., Song, Y. H., Wachs, R. A., Du, Y., Ellington, A. D., & Schmidt, C. E. (2020). Oligonucleotide-functionalized hydrogels OUTREACH — THE ELLINGTON LAB Speeding Up Evolution using Artificial Intelligence. Shaharyar Lakhani published on June 24, 2019: An artificial neural network, a computer system modeled on the human neural system, allows a computer to figure out what constitutes a particular subject on its own. LOCATION/CONTACT
Location and contact information for the Ellington Lab at the University of Texas at Austin. ON APTAMERS
OK, so it’s been awhile. I busted my arm, which made typing modestly difficult. I’ll gear up here with an easy (but still hopefully meaningful) one: The word ‘aptamer’ comes from the Latin ‘aptus,’ to fit. Thus, this was meant to be a polymer (incongruously Greek) that ‘fit’ to its target. Of cours ON CONSCIENCE
I cannot say anything here other than to distribute the thoughts of my friend Dan Tawfik. Those of you close to the pointy end of the stick always have harder decisions to make than those of us who have the privilege and luxury of enjoying peace. I would only hope that I would have the fortitude tha PUBLICATIONS-WIDGET
A partial listing of publications from current and former members of the Ellington Lab.
A SOLUTION TO RESEARCH IN LOW RESOURCE AREAS Shaharyar Lakhani published on July 3, 2019: While science produces many advancements across various fields, it is undeniably costly and intricate. Therefore, only people with the right equipment and facilities are able to carry out high level experiments. Dr. Sanchita Bhadra and her team in the E ON IDENTITY
Who are you? Who-who, who-who? This question, by the eponymous band, has been on my mind ever since I heard about the recent study where electronic clues allowed ON PALEOVIROLOGY
Like most nerds, I like reading science fiction. It’s not that I think that these fantastical futures will come to pass, it’s more just appreciating the imagination and optimism of those who are unfettered by the realities of experimental failure. Even dystopias seem like Nirvana compared to a day a A NEW BIOLOGICAL AND FINANCIAL ECOSYSTEM FOR PLASTIC Shaharyar Lakhani published on June 24, 2019: Plastics have been in popular use for only around 50 years, yet they have managed to saturate the planet. The toxic pollutants in plastics, combined with the long time they take to degrade, have adversely affected land, water, and air pollution. Nearly NASA PROJECT MEDIA:
https://research.utexas.edu/showcase/articles/view/two-ut-scientists-part-of-project-to-detect-life-as-we-dont-know-it . https://news.utexas.edu/2019/01/04/two-ut ON PEPCID — THE ELLINGTON LAB Unsurprisingly, I have indigestion. My Dad had indigestion, I have indigestion, lots of out-of-shape American males have indigestion. Now, just as antibiotics are one of the things that make modern life better than antiquity, I can point to the presence of drugs like Pepcid Complete as proof positiv ON GOOD INTENTIONS
Ha, bet you thought I was gone. I sort of did, too. I’ve been vastly disappointed with recent turns of events. Of course I am speaking of the actions of the appointed Guardians of the Universe, the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB). This august group, at the behest of our own ON ROBOTS AND COMMUNISM While the kids were playing in the surf, I was slathered up with SPF 500 sunscreen, hunkered down with my beach reading; Robopocalypse, by Daniel H. Wilson (Robocalypse, Daniel! It should have been Robocalypse!). It’s a pretty good read, in the spirit of ON DESIGNER CHEMICAL WEAPONS I’ve been traveling a fair amount recently, and probably have alot to catch up on here. One of the more interesting meetings I went to was the Gordon Conference on Chemical and Biological Terrorism Defense, in Ventura, CA. In the Gordon Research THIS SITE IS CURRENTLY UNDERGOING MAINTENANCE FOR AN UPDATE AS OF 2/11/19. STAY TUNED! - CSM What evolves here changes the world. * Home
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THE ELLINGTON LAB CONDUCTS RESEARCH IN SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY, PROTEIN ENGINEERING, AND DNA NANOTECHNOLOGY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN.
THROUGHOUT ITS EXISTENCE, THE ELLINGTON LAB HAS GENERATED IMPACTFUL NEW TECHNOLOGIES AND APPROACHES. CURRENTLY, WE ARE WORKING IN SEVERAL DIFFERENT AREAS, INCLUDING: *
DEVELOPING NOVEL GENETIC CODES AND SYNTHETIC ORGANISMS BASED ON ENGINEERING THE TRANSLATION APPARATUS. MOST RECENTLY, POST-DOCTORAL FELLOW ROSS THYER HAS GENERATED A SELENO-COLI CAPABLE OF MAKING PROTEINS WITH DISELENIDE BONDS (THYER ET AL. (2018), NATURE BIOTECHNOLOGY, 36:624). *
DEVELOPING NOVEL POINT-OF-CARE DIAGNOSTICS BASED ON ISOTHERMAL AMPLIFICATION AND DNA COMPUTATION. MOST RECENTLY, ASSISTANT RESEARCH PROFESSOR SANCHITA BHADRA HAS DEVELOPED AN ASSAY FOR TYPING MOSQUITOES IN THE FIELD, WITH CONCOMITANT IMPLICATIONS FOR SURVEYING FOR ZIKA AND OTHER ARTHROPOD-BORNE DISEASES (BHADRA ET AL. (2018), PLOS NEGLECTED AND TROPICAL DISEASES, 12:E0006771). *
DEVELOPING NEW METHODS FOR SCALABLE ASSEMBLY OF PROTEIN ARCHITECTURES AND PROGRAMMED BIOMATERIALS. MOST RECENTLY, POST-DOCTORAL FELLOW ANNA SIMON HAS GENERATED NOVEL PROTEIN ARCHITECTURES BASED ON COMBINING SUPERCHARGED PROTEINS (SIMON ET AL. (2018), BIORXIV, HTTPS://DOI.ORG/10.1101/323261). TO BEST WAY TO EXPERIENCE THE RANGE OF INNOVATIVE PROJECTS WE CARRY OUT IS TO COME BY AND CHECK US OUT. WE HAVE AN EXTREMELY INTERDISCIPLINARY ATMOSPHERE, LOVE TO COLLABORATE, AND HAVE NEVER MET A TECHNOLOGY WE DIDN’T LIKE. WE’RE IN THE HEART OF TEXAS; ARE FRONTED BY THE CENTER FOR SYSTEMS AND SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY, WHICH IS FILLED WITH LIKE-MINDED PIS AND RESEARCHERS; MAINTAIN OUR OWN GENE SYNTHESIS FACILITY CAPABLE OF PRODUCING 10 KB CONSTRUCTS ON DEMAND; AND BOAST A TECHNICAL STAFF THAT KEEPS EVERYTHING GOING SUPREMELY WELL.
DRAWING INSPIRATION FROM THE WORDS OF OUR ALMA MATER, MICROSOFT, AND JOURNALIST HUNTER THOMPSON, WE AIM TO RIDE THIS STRANGE TORPEDO OF SCIENCE TO THE END OF THE KNOWN WORLD, AND BEYOND. HERE, THERE BE DRAGONS. Powered by Squarespace 0 items $0
