Episode
A virus-resistant organism -- and what it could mean for the future | Jason W. Chin
12:24
Published: Wed Nov 02 2022
Description
What if we could use the power of DNA to create a sustainable, circular economy? In a talk about breakthrough science, synthetic biologist Jason W. Chin describes his team's work rewriting the genetic blueprint of cells to create a virus-resistant organism -- the largest synthetic genome ever made and a first step towards reimagining what life can become. Learn more about how this advancement could lay the groundwork for the sustainable factories of the future, capable of producing plastics, antibiotics and more.
Chapters
Researchers have rewritten the genetic code of E.coli by replacing targeted codons in its genome with synonymous codons, encoding the same amino acid, which can change the way the cell works in a specific way.
00:00 - 06:19 (06:19)
Summary
Researchers have rewritten the genetic code of E.coli by replacing targeted codons in its genome with synonymous codons, encoding the same amino acid, which can change the way the cell works in a specific way.
EpisodeA virus-resistant organism -- and what it could mean for the future | Jason W. Chin
PodcastTED Talks Daily
Researchers added synthetic DNA to a virus-resistant organism that allowed for the building of new polymer molecules using cellular factories, which could potentially be broken down into constituent chemical building blocks for recycling.
06:19 - 11:48 (05:28)
Summary
Researchers added synthetic DNA to a virus-resistant organism that allowed for the building of new polymer molecules using cellular factories, which could potentially be broken down into constituent chemical building blocks for recycling. However, this required the engineering of translational machinery to read triplet codons and reassign them to new chemical building blocks not found in nature.