A huge thank you to all participants and reviewers @proftomellis.bsky.social, @atinygreencell.bsky.social, Tim Lu and @lecong.bsky.social. You really showed us how creativity and scientific rigor can make SynBio a special tool to make the world a better place. A lot more to come!

The results are in! Here are the five winners of the 1st cycle of Megabase Spark to receive 100 kb of rBlocks™ synthetic DNA:
🏆 @emcrae.bsky.social (Houston Methodist)
🏆 @osn-scott.bsky.social
🏆 Cholpisit Ice Kiattisewee
🏆 @hansgerstmans.bsky.social
🏆 ‪‪@hannevdc.bsky.social‬
Follow for cycle #2!

Learn more about the #MegabaseSpark initiative: bit.ly/450ip7Z

"By engineering precise, tuneable expression systems with optimized protocols, this project will pioneer reliable microbiome-based diagnostics and therapeutics, transforming chronic colon disease management."

We are excited to share another bid for 100 kb of free DNA, as part of our 3 Mb give-away initiative called #MegabaseSpark. Here submission from @lukavdb.bsky.social: "Programmable Microbiome Therapeutics" (details below). Like and repost if you like this idea! #SynBio #SyntheticBiology

Learn more about the #MegabaseSpark initiative: Learn more at bit.ly/450ip7Z

"Synthetic refactoring and optimization of a biosynthetic gene cluster encoding a potent anti-breast cancer natural product, to improve potency and production in a breast microbiome-resident bacterium."

We'd like to share another bid for 100 kb of free DNA, as part of our 3 Mb give-away initiative called #MegabaseSpark. Here submission from @hansgerstmans.bsky.social: "Refactored BGC for Potent Breast Cancer Therapy" (details below). Like and repost if you like this idea! #SynBio #SyntheticBiology

"Optimization of a cutting-edge system to screen vast numbers of compounds within bacterial factories as a novel type of drugs to tackle a wide array of diseases."

We are excited to share another #MegabaseSpark submission, from @hannevdc.bsky.social: "Breaking Protein Interactions for Drug Discovery" (detail in reply) Like and repost if you like this idea! #SynBio #SyntheticBiology

"This research uses synthetic biology to determine if all 20 canonical amino acids are essential for life. By designing and testing proteins with fewer amino acids in bacteria, we aim to uncover fundamental life principles and advance protein design and synthetic biology."

Happy Friday everyone! Here's another #MegabaseSpark submission, from @lly123.bsky.social
: "Ec19" (detail in reply) Like and repost if you like this idea! #SynBio #SyntheticBiology

"As with software, open DNA & strains promotes innovation around the world. I wish to extend Open Yeast & Yeast Protein Expression Toolkits, now in 50 countries, to permit engineering of Yarrowia lipolytica & creating truly open chassis to support boots on the ground innovators."

Here's another #MegabaseSpark submission, from
@osn-scott.bsky.social: "The Open Yarrowia Collection" (detail in reply) Like and repost if you like this idea! #SynBio #RootPath

"We’re building a synthetic library of RNA sequence variants to map how mutations reshape RNA folding and function. By encoding thousands of designed variants in synthetic DNA, we aim to uncover design rules for RNA-based therapeutics and nanostructures."

We welcome the first ever #MegabaseSpark submission, from
@emcrae.bsky.social: "Systematic probing of RNA fitness landscapes" (detail in reply) Like and repost if you like this idea! #SynBio #RootPath

Thank you Tech Watch for the shoutout! We heard Belgium is famous for chocolate, waffles, fries and creativity of VIB researchers 😜

Thank you Sebastian for the shoutout! And thank you for offering your time to be a reviewer!

Thank you Dr. Ellis for the shoutout!

👋 Hello Bluesky — we’re RootPath.

We build next-gen gene synthesis tools to unlock biology at scale. Today, we’re launching something big:

🎉 Megabase Spark — our commitment to support bold, underfunded research with 3 million base pairs of free synthetic DNA.

Learn more at bit.ly/450ip7Z #SynBio