Synthetic biology is likely to have a profound impact on our future health, the environment and how scientists relate to society – and Imperial College London is at the forefront of this exciting new field in Europe.
In this week's show Alok Jha attends the sixth international meeting on synthetic biology, which took place at Imperial. Prof Paul Freemont and Professor Richard Kitney, co-directors of the EPSRC Centre for Synthetic Biology and Innovation at Imperial, explained why synthetic biology has become so important for industry in such a short time.
The conference hosted a diverse range of scientists, academics and artists. Alok interviewed designer Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg about collaborating with bio-engineers and scientists in imagining future applications and consequences of this emerging technology; Dr Tom Ellis, of Imperial College London, and Dr Leslie Mitchell, of Johns Hopkins University, about their work creating a synthetic yeast; Prof Farren Issacs from Yale University about new tools he is designing for biomedical research; and biological conservationist and consultant Kent Redford on using synthetic biology to preserve the world's biodiversity.
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