Episode description

Controlling the behaviour and output of microorganisms is one of the most important pieces in the biotechnology puzzle. Without an improved level of control in biology, it is difficult to create consistent results from engineered organisms. Future prospects hope to allow genetic circuits to be designed on a computer and to accurately predict the effect of these gene circuits when they are inserted into living bacteria. Another topic discussed is the benefits of co-culturing bacteria in order to activate gene clusters that are turned off when a bacteria strain is cultured alone. Finally, we touched on biosecurity and Miro's work at the Stanford Existential Risk Initiative.