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Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution


The last half century of medical research has placed chemical structures behind much of biology, including human disease, the human genome, and the origin of life. Scientists at the Foundation have contributed broadly to these activities through innovative and polydisciplinary research in fields as diverse as chemistry, informatics, biology, geology, and astronomy. We are now taking the next steps, to place biological chemistry within its larger "systems" context, from the cell to the organism, and from there to the ecosystem and the planet. Emerging from this are new tools for systems biology and personalized medicine, as well as answers to some "big" questions: Where did we come from? What is our future? Are we alone?

Latest News and Events

• August 30, 2010. In Science magazine this week, FfAME scientists analyze the potential roles of silicate, aluminate, and borate minerals in the origin of life.
H.-J. Kim, S. A. Benner (2010) Science 329, 902

• May 20, 2010. Nature magazine has featured a commentary by FfAME scientists on the synthesis of an entire bacterial genome in the J. Craig Venter Institute. This synthesis is the next step in the whole gene synthesis paradigm that began in the Benner laboratory in 1984. See Life after the synthetic cell for a full set of comments.

• April 29, 2010. On Thursday, April 29, Matthew Carrigan, Fellow at the FfAME, will present recent advances on the use of paleogenetics to understand human behavior as it relates to alcoholism and alcohol abuse. He will be speaking at the Astrobiology Science Conference in Houston, Texas.

• April 26, 2010. Steven Benner, Distinguished Fellow at the FfAME, and Robert Shapiro, Professor at New York University, squared off yesterday at the Astrobiology Science Conference in Houston, over the role of RNA in the origin of life. The debate, moderated by Nick Hud from Georgia Tech, went for 90 minutes, including audience contributions.


• April 2, 2010. On Friday, April 2, in the New Physics Building at the University of Florida, Matthew Carrigan and Steven Benner will join distinguished astrobiologists from UF and NASA, as well as physicists and astronomers interested galaxies, stars, and planets, to discuss "origins", of life, the universe, and everything. The panel discussion, open to the public and taking questions from the floor, will begin at 7:00 PM.

• November 6, 2009. FfAME scientists are featured tonight on Bloomberg News as part of their "Innovators" program. Airing times are Fri: 9:00pm, 11:00pm; Sat: 3:00pm, 6:00pm, 8:00pm, 10:00pm; Sun: 12:00am 10:00am, 1:00pm, 4:00pm. The episode will also appear this evening on the Bloomberg Innovators webpage.

• November 6, 2009. Prof. Steven Benner will participate in a Pontifical Academy Study week on Astrobiology at the Vatican in Italy. He will be presenting a talk entitled: "Towards a Theory of Life."

(Click here to see all News and Events)
Press Coverage

• Yahoo! News: Vatican looks to heavens for signs of alien life
November 10, 2009

• Seed Magazine: What Life Leaves Behind
November 9, 2009

• Bloomberg News: X-Prize Effect
November 6, 2009

• EarthSky: Steven Benner: incremental step to artificial life
April 27, 2009

• Science Magazine (Origins blog): NESCent Symposium Covers Applied Evolution.
February 26, 2009

• The Economist: The lonely planet guide.
February 19, 2009

• MSNBC: Search for 'alien life' could start on Earth.
February 17, 2009

• Seed Magazine: Excitement and Caution at AAAS.
February 17, 2009

• FOX News: New Artificial DNA Points to Alien Life.
February 16, 2009

• Wired (blog): The Hunt for E.T. Comes Home — to Earth.
February 15, 2009

(Click here to see all Press Coverage)
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