New England Biolabs supports iGEM synthetic biology competition

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. and IPSWICH, Mass., June 11, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- As part of its commitment to life science research and scientific education, New England Biolabs (NEB) is pleased to offer free molecular biology reagents to the high school teams participating in the 2013 International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) competition. The iGEM competition encourages innovation in synthetic biology by soliciting novel and exciting project ideas from high school students, college students and post-graduate "entrepreneurs". Teams design and generate a "biological machine", built from iGEM's Registry of Standard Parts, which is a collection of interchangeable "DNA parts".

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"NEB has a long history of offering educational support to teachers, whether in the form of reagents to enhance in-class experimentation or scientific reference materials, like the NEB Catalog & Technical Reference Guide," said Andrew Bertera, Executive Marketing Director at NEB. "Expanding this support to the iGEM competition is a natural extension of NEB's commitment to scientific education, and it is our hope that the great ideas fostered by this challenge will push the boundaries of synthetic biology to new heights." NEB will also continue to be a supporter of the teams in the iGEM collegiate competition.

"NEB is at the forefront of molecular biology research; its product and technology offering allows for the quick and easy assembly of DNA, a basic need for synthetic biologists. Their continuing support for this competition is greatly appreciated," added Meagan Lizarazo, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the iGEM Foundation.

Registration for this year's iGEM high school teams is already closed.  The collegiate teams are currently being accepted, as are "entrepreneur" teams.  The iGEM High School Jamboree & Awards Ceremony is scheduled for June 28-29^th, 2013, in Cambridge, MA. For more details on the free molecular biology reagents available to this year's iGEM High School teams, visit 2013hs.iGEM.org/Sponsors.

About New England Biolabs
Established in the mid 1970's, New England Biolabs, Inc. is the industry leader in the discovery and production of enzymes for molecular biology applications and now offers the largest selection of recombinant and native enzymes for genomic research. NEB continues to expand its product offerings into areas related to PCR, gene expression, library preparation for next generation sequencing, cellular analysis, epigenetics and RNA analysis. Additionally, NEB is focused on strengthening alliances that enable new technologies to reach key market sectors. New England Biolabs is a privately held company, headquartered in Ipswich, MA, and has extensive worldwide distribution through a network of exclusive distributors, agents and seven subsidiaries located in Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, Singapore and the UK. For more information about New England Biolabs visit www.neb.com.

SOURCE New England Biolabs