logo
episode-header-image
Mar 2021
11m 46s

How synthetic biology can improve our he...

TED
About this episode
What if we could use biology to restore our balance with nature without giving up modern creature comforts? Advocating for a new kind of environmentalism, scientist and entrepreneur Emily Leproust rethinks modern sustainability at the molecular level, using synthetic biology to create green alternatives. From lab-developed insulin and disease-resistant bananas to airplanes made of super-strong spider silk, she explains how reading and writing DNA can lead to groundbreaking innovations in health, food and materials.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Up next
Yesterday
Could we detect breast cancer with a fingerprint? | Simona Francese
Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women globally. And yet, many people pass up opportunities to get screened for the disease, often because of the invasive and sometimes painful process of mammograms. Chemist and professor Simona Francese presents a potentially ground ... Show More
13m 23s
Aug 26
Why you should spend less time with your kids | Lenore Skenazy
Whether it’s micromanaging playtime, constantly hovering or incessantly texting, the adult takeover of childhood has created a crisis of anxiety in both children and parents, says Lenore Skenazy, cofounder and president Let Grow, an organization dedicated to normalizing childhood ... Show More
14m 40s
Aug 25
How AI could generate new life-forms | Eric Nguyen
If DNA is just a string of letters, could AI learn to read it … or even write it? Bioengineering researcher Eric Nguyen reveals how AI has upended the rules of biology, potentially creating a future where disease is cured with personalized medicine, extinct species are resurrecte ... Show More
13m 5s
Recommended Episodes
Mar 2021
How synthetic biology can improve our health, food and materials | Emily Leproust
What if we could use biology to restore our balance with nature without giving up modern creature comforts? Advocating for a new kind of environmentalism, scientist and entrepreneur Emily Leproust rethinks modern sustainability at the molecular level, using synthetic biology to c ... Show More
11m 22s
Jun 2021
The science and ethics of rewriting our DNA | Jennifer Doudna
Biochemist Jennifer Doudna won the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for pioneering CRISPR, a revolutionary biotech tool that can edit DNA with unprecedented precision and ease. But how exactly does CRISPR work, and what consequences may arise from altering our internal makeup? She t ... Show More
46m 13s
Jun 2021
The science and ethics of rewriting our DNA | Jennifer Doudna
Biochemist Jennifer Doudna won the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for pioneering CRISPR, a revolutionary biotech tool that can edit DNA with unprecedented precision and ease. But how exactly does CRISPR work, and what consequences may arise from altering our internal makeup? She t ... Show More
46m 13s
Sep 2020
Degrading Drugs for Problem Proteins: Journal Club now on Bio Eats World (ep 2)
Welcome to the second episode of Bio Eats World, a brand new podcast all about how biology is technology. Bio is breaking out of the lab and clinic and into our daily lives -- on the verge of revolutionizing our world in ways we are only just beginning to imagine.Many diseases ar ... Show More
25m 18s
Jul 2023
Dr. Zach Bush ON: Science Based Approach to Healing Your Gut Health & How to Prevent Disease with Nutrition
Have you ever considered the profound connection between being human and the natural world?  What if our true purpose is not just to exist as individuals but to embrace our role as part of a greater ecosystem?  These are only a few of the questions related to our future and the t ... Show More
1h 18m
Oct 2022
Could moth larvae be the answer to our plastic problem?
Plastic pollution is damaging the health of the environment, wildlife and us. It has been found on remote islands, in Antarctic snow and in human blood, breast milk and lungs. Alongside rapidly reducing how much plastic we produce, we also need to find new ways to tackle the wast ... Show More
12m 18s
Aug 2016
Organic Food
People are going bonkers for organic, but what are you really getting when you buy them? Better taste? Fewer toxic chemicals? A cleaner environment? Farmers Mark, Andy, and Brian Reeves, nutritional epidemiologist Dr. Kathryn Bradbury, Ass. Prof. Cynthia Curl, and Prof. Navin Ram ... Show More
38m 5s
Jun 2011
Passengers in a Bacterial Body
The good side of microbes goes under the microscope this week as we explore how the 100 trillion bacteria that thrive on us and in us, and even outnumber our own cells ten times over, work with the body to maintain good health. We also hear from the Nobel prizewinner who's turnin ... Show More
1h 2m
Oct 2022
Carolyn Bertozzi and Degrading Drugs for Problematic Proteins
In Bio Eats World's Journal Club episodes, we discuss groundbreaking research articles, why they matter, what new opportunities they present, and how to take these findings from paper to practice. In this episode, Stanford Professor Carolyn Bertozzi and former Bio Eats World host ... Show More
24m 9s
Dec 2019
197) Kathleen Draper: Using biochar to restore our biological and manmade carbon cycle
Kathleen Draper is the author of the blog 'Finger Lakes Biochar' and the book 'BURN: Using Fire to Cool the Earth.' She's also a researcher and communicator that focuses on biochar—a highly stable carbon material that can be used for things like improving soil health, reducing fl ... Show More
33m 28s