Episodes

Wednesday May 20, 2015
Home-Brew Morphine, Dual Use Technology, and the Biologist’s Repsonsibilities
Wednesday May 20, 2015
Wednesday May 20, 2015
A recent article in Nature Chemical Biology that shows it is possible to convert sugar into morphine with genetically engineered yeast has sparked public attention over the potential illicit use of the technology and the need for regulation. The work, though, also opens up significant possibilities for producing a wide range of drugs and the discovery of new ones to treat everything from cancer to infectious diseases. We spoke John Dueber, assistant professor of bioengineering at the University of California, Berkeley and one of the authors of the study, about the work, its implications, and what role biologists need to play in regulating themselves.
Version: 20241125
No comments yet. Be the first to say something!