The BioBricks Foundation:Standards/Technical

BBF Technical Standards Mailing List

Join or check out the BBF technical standards mailing list and archives here!

Active Technical Standards Projects

• PoBol: Provisional BioBrick Language
• Biobrick Formats (aka Physical Composition)
• Measurement standards
• Data exchange standards
• Technical Resources
• BBF WetLab Challenges <-- is this really a standards topic?
• The_BioBricks_Foundation:Standards/Technical/E.coli promoter standard

Possible New Technical Standards Projects

Comprehensive list of standards topics to consider working on (feel free to organize or add to this list). If you start working on a topic please move it to the list above, and start a new page, as appropriate:

• standard assembly for DNA, RNA, protein and parts (physical composition)
• standard formats (same as above?)
• DNA synthesis & construction standards
• standards for sharing information about parts via computer networks
• standards for defining parts / functional nomenclature
• standard ontology for parts (avoid reinventing the world, if appropriate)
• standards for defining function / behavior of parts (i.e., quantitative models)
• standards for defining qualitative functional descriptions (i.e., works, does not work)
• standards for support for searching (people-based, CAD-based)
• functional composition standards (e.g., signal carriers, signal levels, device timing)
• compatability / conflict standards (quantitative, degree)
• standards for the cellular environment, context, chassis (e.g., genotype, culture conditions)
• characterization standards (for experimental measurements, and reporting of experiments, e.g., promoters, RBSs, and many more)
• standards for defining the source of parts, uses of parts
• coordination with other standards setting organizations
• safety standards
• graphical / visual depiction standards
• standards for noting the current ownership status of a part (e.g., free)
• abstraction standards
• release status standards
• identification / signature standards

BBF4 lowhanging-fruit RFCs

BBF4 technical standards meeting - "lowhanging fruit RFCs" blackboard image:

Potentially low-hanging "fruit" that could be turned into RFCs using BBF:RFC0:

• DNA Sewing - Kim de Mora
• Strain Descriptions - Tom Knight
• BBa-v2 Standard Assembly - Tom Knight
• BBb Standard Assembly - Chris Anderson
• What is the Nature of a Part - Kristian Müller
• Plasmid Naming - Reshma Shetty
• PoBoL - Sean Sleight
• Promoter Measurement - Jason Kelly
• Synthetic Biology Graphical Notation - Mac Cowell

BBF Technical Standards Setting Process

How are BBF technical standards defined? Good question! Here's the current version (v1) of the BBF Open Standards Setting Scheme. Send comments to endy@mit.edu

1. You develop some scheme for standardizing some aspect of synthetic biology work.
2. You convince at least one other person, at a different location from you, that the scheme would help them with something that they care about.
3. You each demonstrate that the proposed standard works for each of you (i.e., the standard must work and be good for something).
4. You document your scheme in writing.
5. You request a BBF RFC number by asking for one (email the list)
6. The BBF technical standards group (i.e., the folks on this list) comment on the standard, try it out, propose revisions.
7. You revise the standard if necessary.
8. The standard is formally accepted as part of the definition for BioBrick parts. Congratulations, you win (publishers are standing by), the BioBricks technical standards suite is updated.
9. New, possible standards tremble before you! Goto 1.