AAAS Dialogue on Science, Ethics and Religion

News & Events: Public Lecture

Synthetic Biology as a scientific discipline aims to generate novel biological functions through the design and construction of living systems. As such, Synthetic Biology includes the development of tools for constructing and redesigning organisms and has parallels to computer science and engineering. Such organisms could be used to, for example, sense the presence of a drug or the age of a cell and generate readout. Synthetic Biology currently encompasses a number of engineering strategies including applied protein design, genome design and construction, natural product drug synthesis, and the creation of standardized parts to build circuits into cells. Examples of the tools and design of biological circuits based on the organization of eukaryotic cells will be presented. In addition, Synthetic Biology has served as a catalyst for educational efforts that integrate students from various disciplines such as computer science and engineering with biology. Ongoing efforts in education and creation of an open scientific community will also be presented.

Coverage

Read a Brief Summary
Listen to the Lecture

Keynote Speaker

Pamela Silver, Ph.D., Department of Systems Biology, Harvard Medical School

Respondent

Lisa N. Geller, Ph.D., JD, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP