Designing DNA Circuits To Brew Tastier Beer 135
Al writes "Researchers at Boston University have developed a way to predict the behavior of different DNA segments and make synthetic biology a little bit more reliable. James Collins and colleagues have built libraries of component parts and a mathematical modeling system to help them predict the behavior of parts of a gene network. Like any self-respected bunch of grad students, they decided to demonstrate the approach by making beer. They engineered gene promoters to control when flocculation occurs in brewers yeast, which allowed them to finely control the flavor of the resulting beer."
Dear God! (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Dear God! (Score:5, Funny)
Before they produce the beverage man was not meant to brew!
Key light?
Re:Dear God! (Score:5, Funny)
Backwards (Score:5, Funny)
Damn fool BU geeks.
You don't use genes to manipulate beer, you use beer to manipulate jeans.
Kids these days....
Re:True application of science (Score:5, Funny)
Yes, but only so far as better-tasting beer can help scientists get laid.
THAT, my friend, is the true purpose of science.
Re:True application of science (Score:5, Funny)
Just like when all nuclear physics came to a head when Young Albert Einstein, then a lanky youth on the island of Tazmania, split the atom finally putting bubbles in beer. So much work for such a great deed.
Re:Which brings us full circle (Score:2, Funny)
I've long said that corn is the dominant life-form on the planet. But you've opened my eyes to the truth: it's been the yeast all along.
-Peter
Re:Dear God! (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Purity (Score:3, Funny)
Germans might be regard as brew masters, but we Finns have the best beer in world, Koff by Sinebrychoff, ranked multiple years in row as the best beer from tap.
True or not, i don't know, but i do prefer Koff over anything else i've tasted. Foster's is damn good as well.
Re:Dear God! (Score:1, Funny)
No shit, Lunix [wikipedia.org] is really old, why are you stating the obvious? What an idiot.
Re:How the liquor biz really works (Score:4, Funny)
It's all just flavored ethanol. Deal with it.
Pop a bottle of real champagne and share it with the wife. This stuff isn't 'just flavored ethanol', I'm telling you, it's bottled love potion.