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How to build synthetic DNA and send it across the internet

1,564,076 views |

Dan Gibson |

TED2018

• April 2018

Biologist Dan Gibson edits and programs DNA, just like coders program a computer. But his "code" creates life, giving scientists the power to convert digital information into biological material like proteins and vaccines. Now he's on to a new project: "biological transportation," which holds the promise of beaming new medicines across the globe over the internet. Learn more about how this technology could change the way we respond to disease outbreaks and enable us to download personalized prescriptions in our homes.

Biologist Dan Gibson edits and programs DNA, just like coders program a computer. But his "code" creates life, giving scientists the power to convert digital information into biological material like proteins and vaccines. Now he's on to a new project: "biological transportation," which holds the promise of beaming new medicines across the globe over the internet. Learn more about how this technology could change the way we respond to disease outbreaks and enable us to download personalized prescriptions in our homes.

This talk was presented at an official TED conference. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

Learn more about Codex DNA, a biotechnology company that utilizes unique and proprietary synthetic DNA technologies to create solutions that improve lives and the sustainability of the planet.

Learn more about the BioXp 3200, the world’s first and only fully automated high-throughput DNA printer that prints synthetic DNA in hours for vaccine and drug discovery workflows.

Learn more about Gibson assembly, a molecular cloning method which allows for the joining of multiple DNA fragments in a single, isothermal reaction.

About the speaker

Dan Gibson

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Dan Gibson leads a new breed of bioengineers, called genome writers, who use DNA to design and build new products powering the next industrial revolution.

Derrick Penner | Vancouver Sun, 2018 | Article

"TED Talk introduces potential for DNA printing to launch next Industrial Revolution"

J. Craig Venter, Daniel Gibson | The Wall Street Journal, 2010 | Article

"How We Created the First Synthetic Cell"

Jordan Pearson | Motherboard, 2017 | Article

"Craig Venter's ‘Digital-to-Biological Converter’ Is Real"

Brian Alexander | MIT Technology Review, 2017 | Book

"Rewriting Life Biological Teleporter Could Seed Life Through Galaxy"

J. Craig Venter | Penguin Books, 2014 | Book

Life at the Speed of Light: From the Double Helix to the Dawn of Digital Life

On May 20, 2010, headlines around the world announced one of the most extraordinary accomplishments in modern science: the creation of the world’s first synthetic lifeform. In Life at the Speed of Light, scientist J. Craig Venter, best known for sequencing the human genome, shares the dramatic account of how he led a team of researchers in this pioneering effort in synthetic genomics—and how that work will have a profound impact on our existence in the years to come. This is a fascinating and authoritative study that provides readers an opportunity to ponder afresh the age-old question “What is life?” at the dawn of a new era of biological engineering.

This talk was presented at an official TED conference. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

Learn more about Codex DNA, a biotechnology company that utilizes unique and proprietary synthetic DNA technologies to create solutions that improve lives and the sustainability of the planet.

Learn more about the BioXp 3200, the world’s first and only fully automated high-throughput DNA printer that prints synthetic DNA in hours for vaccine and drug discovery workflows.

Learn more about Gibson assembly, a molecular cloning method which allows for the joining of multiple DNA fragments in a single, isothermal reaction.