Life Tech Hearts Synth Bio, Shows Venter Some Love

Over at Forbes' The Science Business blog, Matthew Herper reports on Life Technologies' $100 million investment in synthetic biology — including its recent acquisition of a majority stake in Geneart, and an equity investment in Craig Venter's Synthetic Genomics, among other transactions the company intends to make. Peter Dansky, president of molecular biology at Life Tech, told Herper that the firm intends "to replicate what we've done in molecular biology which is provide the tool kits for scientists who do this kind of work." Namely, through Geneart and Blue Heron, Life Tech "will sell access to synthetic gene sequences," as well as "the cells into which those genes are put, and the chemicals used to put the genes in the cells," according to The Science Business.