11/07/2014

Opening Up the Synthetic Biology Toolkit

17:48 minutes

How have scientists transformed tobacco plants into pharmacies that produce life-saving drugs? Synthetic biologist Christopher Voigt and biotechnologist Stephen Streatfield crack open their biological toolkits and discuss how scientists are tinkering with natural processes to improve products and systems. Plus, Ira checks in with the winning team of the iGEM competition.

Segment Guests

Christopher Voigt

Christopher Voigt is a biomedical engineering professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston, Massachusetts.

Stephen Streatfield

Stephen Streatfield is associate editor of Plant Biotechnology Journal, and director of research and development and scientific affairs at the Fraunhofer USA Center for Molecular Biotechnology in Newark, Delaware.

Aaron Cohen

Aaron Cohen is a member of the University of California, Davis iGEM Team, and an undergraduate student in biomedical engineering at the University of California, Davis in Davis, California.

Meet the Producer

About Alexa Lim

Alexa Lim was a senior producer for Science Friday. Her favorite stories involve space, sound, and strange animal discoveries.