Synthetic biology represents the latest phase in the development of biotechnology, in which scientists are gaining unprecedented control in programming new biological functions by rewriting the genetic code. Recently, various industries have been investing in applications regarding new production processes based on synthetic biology. In the food industry, an interesting example, although not exclusive, is vanillin, the molecule that gives vanilla its typical perfume.

This year, on May 5th afternoon, MUSE – The Science Museum of Trento (Italy) issued the number 1 million entrance ticket. A rewarding result indeed, which overcomes all the expectations, just 21 months after the grand opening (on July 27, 2013). One million visitors, that is thousands of people who entered MUSE in a constant flow, that increased even more during weekends and holidays.

The call for proposals for the 2015 Ecsite Annual Conference closed yesterday at midnight. We received 168 session proposals (that’s 11 more than last year), 7 pre-Conference workshop proposals, 28 travelling exhibition proposals and 4 project showcase poster proposals!