Synthetic Biology: Life’s Extraordinary New Worlds [TTC Audio]

Synthetic Biology: Life’s Extraordinary New Worlds is an introduction to synthetic biology for non-scientists, covering the exciting field that is transforming health care, agriculture, environmental science, and many other areas. Using the molecules of life to answer scientific questions and manipulate life for human benefit, synthetic biology encompasses a wide range of applications—from gene editing and metabolic engineering to food synthesis and green technologies. Researchers are also working on an array of problems such as DNA computers, the resurrection of extinct species, life-support systems for space missions, and the creation of non-DNA forms of life, among other mind-boggling ventures.

The 18 half-hour lectures are taught by Professor Milton Muldrow Jr., of Wilmington University, whose research includes the genomic engineering of corals to help reverse their steep decline in the world’s oceans. In the course, Professor Muldrow discusses how a DNA molecule is decoded, including a review of the pathbreaking human genome project and how it is possible to “write” DNA, assembling the code of life for tailor-made purposes. He delves into the 2020 Nobel-prize winning discovery CRISPR, which allows gene editing with amazing precision, and he shows how synthetic biology played a key role in vaccine development to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

Aside from its uses in medicine and for curing disease, synthetic biology touches on anything that can be grown, raised, or produced with microorganisms, which gives it roles in textiles, nutrition, and the energy industry, not to mention fighting climate change. Professor Muldrow also examines prospects for the misuse of synthetic biology, which could have devastating consequences for humanity and the biosphere, and looks at steps that can be taken to lessen that risk.