3049 20th St
San Francisco, California 94110

Chris Anderson has set out to program bacteria to selectively kill cancer cells. He is combining DNA sequences from different types of bacteria and inserting them into E. Coli to create an organism that can evade the immune system, home in on tumors, and trick cancer cells into letting it inside, where it releases a toxin. Sounds easy right?

Synthetic biology uses chemically created pieces of DNA to build genes and insert them into an empty cell - in essence, custom-building an organism from scratch. The promise of synthetic biology is twofold. By learning how to assemble the minimal genetic requirements for survival, scientists will better understand how life works. But their goals are also practical - these synthetic cells can be put to many uses - from cancer treatments to designing the next biofuel.

We're on the path to juggling biological components the same way we now juggle bits. Critics abound as the new field has gone largely unregulated. Chris will sketch the huge upsides and weird downsides of bringing digital-style control and a hobbyist approach to the globby mess we are today.

Free.

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Added by FullCalendar on January 29, 2009