Synthetic Biology

Overview

This video presents synthetic biology and its role in bioengineering. Synthetic biology refers to the methods used to genetically modify organisms in order to make them capable of producing large quantities of a product. This product could be a protein that the cell already makes or a new protein that has been encoded in a newly-inserted DNA sequence.

Here, we discuss how an organism's genetic material is modified using transformation or transfection. Then, the process is shown in the laboratory, and the applications of the technique discussed.

Procedure

Synthetic biology is a field that combines biology and engineering to create or redesign biological entities, organisms, or pathways. The idea is similar to chemical synthesis in chemistry where well known reactions are used to synthesize new chemical compounds. The end goal can vary from the creation of new biological drug molecules to the modification of organisms to make them able to break down wastes. This video discusses the basic principles of synthetic biology and some techniques used to c

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