Biotechnology

Watch

• How CRISPR lets you edit DNA - Andrea M. Henle ↗TED-Ed
• The immortal cells of Henrietta Lacks - Robin Bulleri ↗TED-Ed
• Genetic Engineering and Diseases – Gene Drive & Malaria ↗Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell
• The Deadliest Being on Planet Earth – The Bacteriophage ↗Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell
• The new medical innovations that could change everything - The Engineers, BBC World Service ↗BBC World Service
• Here’s How Biocomputing Works And Matters For AI | Bloomberg Primer ↗Bloomberg Originals

Read

• The Double Helix: A Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNA ↗A gripping, personal account of the race to uncover DNA's structure, revealing the human drama behind a scientific revolution.James D. Watson
• Genome: The Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters ↗An accessible and engaging journey through the human genome, explaining the significance of each chromosome with clarity and wit.Matt Ridley
• The Gene: An Intimate History ↗A masterful narrative weaving together the history, science, and ethical dilemmas of genetics, from Mendel to gene editing.Siddhartha Mukherjee
• The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race ↗Chronicles the groundbreaking discovery of CRISPR and its profound implications for medicine, ethics, and the very definition of humanity.Walter Isaacson
• Molecular Structure of Nucleic Acids: A Structure for Deoxyribose Nucleic AcidThe seminal, concise paper that unveiled the double helix, fundamentally reshaping our understanding of life itself.J.D. Watson and F.H.C. Crick

Voices to follow

• Jennifer Doudna ↗Her co-discovery of CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing has revolutionised biotechnology, offering unprecedented precision in manipulating genetic material.Nobel Laureate in Chemistry; Professor of Chemistry and Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley
• George Church ↗A visionary in synthetic biology and genomics, he pushes the boundaries of gene sequencing, editing, and even de-extinction, often sparking debate on ethical frontiers.Professor of Genetics, Harvard Medical School; Professor of Health Sciences and Technology, MIT
• Siddhartha Mukherjee ↗He masterfully translates complex biological and medical science, particularly genetics and cancer, into compelling narratives that illuminate their profound human implications.Oncologist, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Columbia University; Pulitzer Prize-winning author
• Walter Isaacson ↗His meticulous biographies, notably 'The Code Breaker' on Jennifer Doudna and CRISPR, provide accessible and insightful explorations of the scientific minds shaping biotechnology's future.Biographer, former CEO of the Aspen Institute

Glossary

• AntibioticsAntibiotics are medicines that kill or stop the growth of harmful bacteria that cause infections in humans and animals. They are very important for treating bacterial illnesses. For example, if you get a bacterial ear infection, a doctor might prescribe antibiotics to help you get better.
• BiofuelBiofuels are types of fuel made from recently living organisms or their waste products, rather than from ancient fossil fuels like oil or coal. They are considered a renewable energy source. For example, ethanol, which can be made from corn or sugarcane, is a biofuel used in some cars.
• BiotechnologyBiotechnology uses living things, like tiny bacteria or plants, to create useful products or solve problems. It's like using nature's tools to make things better for humans. For example, using special bacteria to clean up oil spills in the ocean is a type of biotechnology.
• CloningCloning is the process of creating an exact genetic copy of a living thing, like a plant or an animal. The cloned organism has the identical DNA as the original. For example, if you take a cutting from a plant and grow a new plant from it, you've essentially cloned that plant.
• CRISPRCRISPR is a powerful and precise tool that scientists use to edit genes, much like a "find and replace" function in a word processor for DNA. It allows them to cut out, add, or change specific parts of a gene very accurately. For example, CRISPR could potentially be used to fix a faulty gene that causes a genetic disease.
• DNADNA is like a secret instruction book found inside almost every living cell, telling it how to grow, function, and reproduce. It contains all the genetic information that makes you, you. For example, your DNA determines your eye color and whether your hair is curly or straight.
• EnzymeEnzymes are special proteins in living things that act like tiny biological machines, speeding up chemical reactions without being used up themselves. They help your body do important jobs, like digesting food or building new cells. For example, the enzymes in your saliva start breaking down the food you eat as soon as it enters your mouth.
• FermentationFermentation is a natural process where tiny living organisms, like yeast or bacteria, break down sugars to produce other substances, often without needing oxygen. This process is used to make many foods and drinks. For example, yeast uses fermentation to turn grape juice into wine or to make bread dough rise.
• GeneA gene is a specific section or chapter in your DNA instruction book that carries the code for a particular trait or function. Each gene tells your body how to make a specific protein, which does a job in your body. For example, one gene might carry the instructions for making the protein that gives you brown eyes.
• Genetic EngineeringGenetic engineering is when scientists directly change an organism's DNA by adding, removing, or changing specific genes. It's like editing the instruction book of a living thing to give it new abilities. For example, scientists can use genetic engineering to make crops resistant to pests, so farmers don't need to use as many harmful sprays.
• GMO (Genetically Modified Organism)A GMO is any living thing (like a plant, animal, or microbe) whose DNA has been changed using genetic engineering. These changes are made to give the organism new or improved characteristics. For example, a corn plant engineered to produce its own insect repellent is a GMO.
• VaccineA vaccine is a special medicine that teaches your body's immune system how to fight off a specific disease before you even get sick. It usually contains a weakened or inactive part of a virus or bacteria, which helps your body build defenses without causing the illness. For example, the polio vaccine protects people from getting polio by training their body to recognize and destroy the polio virus.

Threads 5

Where this connects to other fields, and why it's worth knowing.

• Food & Agriculture Systems Environment

  Scientists invented a rice packed with vitamin A that could have saved millions of kids from going blind. Then it sat on the shelf for twenty years, not because the science failed, but because of arguments over patents, politics, and who to trust. Sometimes the hardest part of a cure isn't inventing it, it's getting the world to let you use it.

• Private Law: Contract, Tort & Property Law

  If you tweak a bacterium in a lab so it eats oil spills, is it now your property, like a gadget you built? A living thing that can grow and multiply on its own? Biotech dragged courts into a bizarre new question: can you actually own life itself?

• Waste, Reuse & Material Loops Environment

  Scientists are engineering microbes that munch through plastic trash and others that brew fuel out of waste. That turns living cells into tiny recycling factories, closing loops that ordinary chemistry can't. Biology becomes the machine that keeps materials circling instead of piling up in landfills.

• Ritual and Practice Religion

  Bread rising, wine fermenting, cheese ripening, humans were running living microbe factories for thousands of years before anyone knew microbes existed. It's arguably our oldest biotechnology. And we placed those very products, the bread and the wine, right at the heart of our most sacred rituals.

• Endangered and Dying Languages Literature

  In some languages, a plant's name literally tells you which leaf cures which fever. That name is a medical clue built up over centuries. When the last person who speaks that language dies, the clue vanishes, and drug hunters lose a lead nobody ever wrote down.