Players of a new online game called Foldit will help design three-dimensional protein structures for HIV vaccines, and enzymes for repairing DNA in diseased tissues.

David Baker, a leading protein scientist at the University of Washington, teamed up with computer scientists to create the game.

Kurzweil predicts our computing power is likely to make a 'billion-fold' increase in power over the next 25 years which will "unlock a solution to global warming, unmask the secret to longer life and solve myriad other worldly conundrums."

A scientist who mapped his genome and the genetic diversity of the oceans said he is creating a life form that feeds on climate-ruining carbon dioxide to produce fuel.

Scientists who seek to imitate living cells say they can't help but be perpetually dazzled by the genuine articles, their flexibility, their versatility, their childlike grandiosity. No matter what outrageous or fattening things we may ask our synthetic cells to do, scientists say, it's nothing compared with what cells already have done of their own accord, usually in the format of bacteria.

Craig Venter, the controversial DNA researcher involved in the race to decipher the human genetic code, has built a synthetic chromosome out of laboratory chemicals and is poised to announce the creation of the first new artificial life form on Earth.

Synthetic biology -- the emerging science of creating genomes, cellular components and even whole cellular organisms from scratch -- confronts regulators with some tricky problems.

A new generation of genetically engineered crops that produce drugs and chemicals is fast approaching the market -- bringing with it a new wave of concerns about the safety of the global food and feed supply. The containment practices used by developers assume an ability to control living and propagating organisms, which scientific evidence does not support.

Some of the world's biggest drug companies are finding that their genetic research is worth more to them if they give it away.

The final design for a "doomsday" vault that will house seeds from all known varieties of food crops has been unveiled by the Norwegian government. The Svalbard International Seed Vault will be built into a mountainside on a remote island near the North Pole.

New genomic and proteomic technologies make it much easier to understand the mechanisms involved in converting algae into a renewable energy source.