synthetic biology

Bacteria generate small molecules to fend off their fellow microbes. They also produce molecules that affect the response of host organisms—including humans—to their presence. Such molecules have been a major source of antibiotics, immunosuppressants, anti-cancer agents, and other drugs.

Synthetic biologist and UCSF School of Pharmacy faculty member Christopher Voigt, PhD, and Jeffrey Tabor, a postdoctoral scholar in Voigt's laboratory, discuss the field and promise of synthetic biology in this July 21, 2009 KQED television segment.

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