BB 4260: Synthetic Biology

Category
Category II (offered at least every other Year)
Units 1/3

Do we yet have the technology to engineer life? Can we control gene expression to create organisms that function in useful ways? Do we understand the tenets of genetic regulation as well as we think we do? These important questions and more are investigated by the emerging field of Synthetic Biology. In this course, students will explore this exciting new realm of biology through in-depth analysis and discussion of primary literature. Topics to be covered include the design and construction of synthetic gene circuits, synthesis of new genes and genomes, logic gate regulation of gene expression, and the latest applications of synthetic biology to advances in medicine, information processing, and the environment. This course will be offered in 2022-23, and in alternating years thereafter.