Spider silk has long captured the imagination of scientists and engineers. 🕷️Weight for weight, it’s stronger than steel and tougher than Kevlar. Yet despite decades of research, nobody has successfully replicated its remarkable properties in the lab, let alone improved upon them. Until now ⬇️

Check out Sunday Extra this week on ABC radio for my interview with Julian Morrow on De-extinction!

Happy International Day of Women and Girls in Science! 👩‍🔬 Today, we celebrate the incredible contributions of women and girls in science and advocate for full and equal participation in STEM.

Some companies claim they can ‘resurrect’ species. Does that make people more comfortable with extinction? 🤔 Researchers from our ethics node at Macquarie University answer this question and more in a new study. Read about it in the @aunz.theconversation.com ⬇️ bit.ly/4kgUqHm #Ethics

At #EntoZyme, a biotech spin-out from #MacquarieUniversity, black soldier flies (Hermetic illucens) are being genetically engineered to chew through waste streams that stump even the most advanced recycling systems. 👉 Read the full story now: coesb.com.au/from-trash-t... #BioTech

@weforum.org recently named Precision Fermentation as one of 10 Emerging Technology Solutions for Planetary Health. Learn why by watching our animated explainer! 👀 youtu.be/A5kgo8oxulo?...

Congratulations to Dr Elena Eremeeva of QUT node on her grant success: 1. AEA Ignite Grant - to develop portable, rapid diagnostic sensors to detect smoke taint markers in wine grapes. 2. 2026 Thomas Davies Research Grant - to develop sensors for the environmental monitoring and clean-up of PFAS.

QAAFI is hiring across research, partnerships and professional roles, offering you the chance to make real-world impact in 2026. Some include: 🔹 Research Partnerships Officer 🔹 Postdoc Research Fellow (Sorghum Genome Bioinformatics) 🔹 FaBA Administration Officer View all now 👉 bit.ly/4pWMY5z

Centre postdoc Dr Anthony Waddle of Macquarie University combines synthetic biology with conservation to tackle one of wildlife's deadliest threats: the chytrid fungus that has driven 90+ frog species to extinction. Read the story ⬇️ bit.ly/49lrRoh

For the past two years, Centre researchers have taken to the stage with stand-up comedy at our Annual Conference Gala Dinner 🥂 - a tradition that's quickly become a crowd favourite! Huge congratulations to Erik Baker, Felicia Lie, and James Antoney for bringing the laughs and the science! 👏

Congratulations to Distinguished Professor Nicki Packer for receiving the 2025 Society for Glycobiology's President's Innovator Award for her pioneering work in glycoscience and proteomics. 🎉 Source: Macquarie Uni News Hub

From programmable microbes to self-assembling DNA structures, the ARC Centre of Excellence's fifth annual conference #CoESB25 painted an ambitious picture of where the field is headed and what it will take to get there. Read the story: bit.ly/4aPh86M @taeseokmoon.bsky.social

Did you know we have a Scholarly Visits Scheme? ✈️🔬 Last year we supported nine EMCRs, who visited four domestic labs and five international labs. 🌏🤝 We're looking forward to supporting even more collaborative research in 2026!

We're pressing pause on socials for a short break and will be back on 5 January. Wishing you a safe, restful and happy holiday season! 🌊✨

We are hiring! Our lab in Sydney is looking for a postdoc with cyano experience to drive our SynBio project on carbon fixation in encapsulin protein cages.🦠 ➡️ 🌻 This project follows our recent work in Nature Communications: lnkd.in/g-rYrg93 Full details: lnkd.in/gRJv4RGs @arccoesb.bsky.social

Congratulations to Centre researcher Dr Daniele Fulvi @danfulvi.bsky.social on being awarded the 2025 Excellence Award as an Early Career Researcher in the School of Arts at @westernsydneyu.bsky.social! 🎉

Building synthetic chromosomes one yeast at a time: insights from Sc2.0 - @arccoesb.bsky.social go.nature.com/48Fqxwi

After ten years and countless setbacks, scientists who completed the world’s first synthetic yeast genome have published a troubleshooting guide for building life from scratch. Congrats to Dr Paige Erpf and the team! 📖 Read it: lighthouse.mq.edu.au/article/dece...

Team-building at #CoESB25 🏖️ Team-building is an important part of our Annual Conference, helping us unwind, recharge and connect. Here’s our Stand-Up Paddleboard and Kayaking group enjoying some time on the water! 🌊😎 Stay tuned for our professional photos from the Conference!

We're pleased to welcome Professor Sakkie Pretorius, who will deliver our final keynote talk of #CoESB25. Sakkie has a background in synthetic yeast genomics and wine biotechnology. His talk is titled: The confluence of the Technology of Intelligence and the Technology of Life.

Excited to attend the annual workshop hosted by @arccoesb.bsky.social on the Gold Coast this week.

Coming soon at #CoESB25! Don't miss the panel discussion "Synthetic Biology for the Common Good: Challenges and Possibilities", facilitated by Prof Sujatha Raman. The panellists: Distinguished Prof Wendy Rogers, Dr Dan Santos, and Dr Samantha McGaughey.

Good morning, world! ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology starts today. This is the view of Gold Coast dawn at 4:30 am from my suite room covered by Ian Paulsen et al. who kindly invite me as the opening plenary speaker! A fantastic perk! See you all soon! @arccoesb.bsky.social

✨ One sleep to go until #CoESB25! ✨ We'd like to acknowledge the support from our valued sponsors: 💎 Diamond Welcome Dinner 🍽️ and Poster Sessions 🪧 Australian Genome Foundry and IDEA Bio 🏆 Gold Barista Coffee Cart ☕ @twistbioscience.com and Decode Science 🪩 Silver Shimadzu Tecan

Macquarie University students have returned from Paris with a gold medal for their project MethaNO! at the @igemhq.bsky.social Competition Grand Jamboree. 🥇 The team competed at the world expo of synthetic biology. Congratulations to the team! 🎉 Read the story: www.coesb.com.au/its-a-gold-m...

🪴 Can we grow our way out of climate change? A new scientific framework suggests it's certainly possible with an essential mix of biotech, plant agriculture and informed policy. Congratulations to Centre member Professor @claudiavickers.bsky.social! 📖 Read the story: bit.ly/4acvH3S

A talented synthetic biologist and...baker!? 🍰 We're farewelling Centre postdoc Dr James Antoney, who is wrapping up his time at QUT. For his final group meeting, James baked a white–dark chocolate marbled mud cake with white chocolate ganache, decorated to look like the plasmid pET-28a.

A Centre researcher is part of an ambitious international project that could revolutionise the way we extract the precious metals used in smartphones, electric vehicles, and wind turbines. 📱🚗 Congratulations Prof Kirill Alexandrov and the team! Read the story: bit.ly/3Kc8TXi

We're proud to celebrate Centre researchers Prof Lars Keld Nielsen and Geoffrey Otim from University of Queensland who have earned national acclaim for their work in transforming biotechnology into impactful solutions! 📖 Read the story: www.coesb.com.au/national-rec...

Congrats Dr Daniele Fulvi from our @westernsydneyu.bsky.social node for his recent article in @theconversation.com 🥳 📖 Read the full article: bit.ly/49CBbVw

Centre Director Distinguished Prof Ian Paulsen met with ARIA project collaborators Prof Ryan Lister and Dr James Lloyd of the University of Western Australia last week. 🤝 The project aims to develop synthetic chromosomes for agricultural crops in a bid to advance global food production systems. 🌱🧬

Researchers from our QUT node have developed a biosensor that can rapidly detect the heart failure biomarker S100A7 in saliva, offering a simple, non-invasive way to identify the disease. The breakthrough was published in Biosensors and Bioelectronics: X. 👉 Read the story: bit.ly/4qAXYqN

Centre researchers have created tiny compartments to help supercharge photosynthesis, potentially boosting wheat and rice yields while slashing water and nitrogen use. 🌾⬆️ Read the story: www.coesb.com.au/superchargin... 📷: Davin S Wijaya at ANU @taylorszyszka.bsky.social

🏆 Congratulations to Centre researchers Micaela Belen Sequeira and Dr James Antoney from our QUT (Queensland University of Technology) node on receiving the prize of Best Talk at the recent QUT Centre for Agriculture and the Bioeconomy Research Showcase! 👏

Centre Director Ian Paulsen, COO J-L Heylen and Strategic Initiatives Lead Dr Iniga George visited the Centre's @westernsydneyu.bsky.social node last week. It was wonderful to see how well the social science research is embedded within the centre’s activities.

Centre Director Ian Paulsen and postdoc Dr Alescia Cullen of our Macquarie University node are in China for the CO2 fixation and Bioconversion International Symposium. 🇨🇳♻️ Ian was an invited speaker and Alescia presented a poster on her research in Cyanobacteria.👏

Centre Chief Investigator Professor Ian O'Hara of #QUT has been appointed a 2025 Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences & Engineering. #ATSE 🎉 Join us in congratulating Professor O'Hara on this prestigious appointment! Read the story: bit.ly/3IKStom

Great turnout at the CoESB Industry Research Showcase at Macquarie University earlier this week, which brought together representatives from startups and academia to highlight collaborative research projects with real-world impact. 💡 Many thanks to our speakers for their engaging talks.

We loved teaming up with AGF to showcase Synthetic Biology at the sold-out annual event: Astronomy Open Night at Macquarie University. 🪐💫 3D food printing technologies could be used to make custom meals for astronauts using engineered yeast cells. 💡💭 Check out some highlights below!

Today is a landmark day – the official opening for Australia’s biomanufacturing industry. 🚀 👉 Read the story: www.coesb.com.au/launch-day-f...

Last month our Centre's Ethics node at Macquarie University hosted the CoESB 2025 Annual Workshop for Capabilities 2: Industrial Translation and 3: Social Dimensions. The workshop focused on risk, climate change and synthetic biology, and transitions to the bioeconomy. 👉 Read more: bit.ly/4mH9gXm

Genes and Gin: A Synthetic Biology Social 🎉 Join us for a fun night of Genes and Gin - learn to play the synthetic card game "Remediate!", created by a group of researchers within our Centre. Make sure you register for catering: www.eventbrite.com.au/e/genes-and-... See you on the rooftop!

🚀 Meet Our Centre Startups: Number 8 Bio with Dr Thomas Williams Number 8 Bio pioneers transformative change in the AgriTech and CleanTech sectors, providing innovative and sustainable methods to reduce livestock emissions. 🎥: Some footage sourced from Open Planet youtu.be/uIc2Y2NM7BM?...

Great to visit The University of Queensland node of our Centre last week! A chance to reconnect with the team, hear about their latest research projects and celebrate recent achievements. Thank you! 🤝

Noelia Rubio is an Industry PhD candidate jointly supported by Macquarie University and start-up Number 8 Bio, researching a feed additive that could transform the way cows and sheep contribute to–or help solve–the climate crisis. 💡🌏 👉 Read her story: bit.ly/3V6T0DF

Australian innovator MicroBioGen has significantly expanded its Sydney research facilities with a multi-million-dollar investment that signals growing confidence in the domestic synthetic biology sector. 💡 👉 Read the story: bit.ly/4m3Nqg2

'I’m most proud of the young researchers in my Centre. We’ve already spun out 10 companies, nine of them founded by early-career researchers or research students. The future of science is in good hands,' says Distinguished Professor Ian Paulsen. Read the story: bit.ly/4mJaNN3

Congratulations to our Centre Director Ian Paulsen on being awarded the prestigious Eureka Prize for Leadership in Science! 🎉 This award recognises his outstanding leadership in advancing synthetic biology in Australia and beyond. We couldn’t be prouder of this well-deserved achievement! 👏

🏆 The Australian Museum Eureka Prizes Awards Ceremony is on tonight! @eurekaprizes.bsky.social Our Centre Director, Distinguished Professor Ian Paulsen is a finalist for Leadership in Science. We wish him all the best! 🤞 🎬 Register to watch the livestream of the Awards here: bit.ly/41zG3G5

📢 #CoESB25 Keynote Speaker Announcement Kate will speak about (i) synbio funding patterns (ii) synbio cooperation with adjacent industries, and (iii) ‘the sophisticated investor’ and risk. Get excited! 🤩 📅 Conference registration closes 15 Oct. Register now: www.ewmevents.com.au/coesb2025/re...