Lessons From Lab And Life

Tom Knight was among the first designers of bitmap displays and ITS operating systems. Then, he decided to apply what he knew about electrical engineering and computer science to biology, and he became known as the ‘Godfather of Synthetic Biology.’ Tom is one of the co-founders of Ginkgo Bioworks, a synthetic biology company in Cambridge, Massachusetts, developing new organisms that replace technology with biology.

Greg Patton is a development scientist at NEB, who routinely uses PCR in the lab. He explains how PCR is currently being used outside the lab to monitor food safety, and in doctor’s offices to test for HIV infection and much more.

Aaron Pomerantz shares the creative way he has combined his interest in entomology and field research with his passion for self-made discoveries, in the Integrative Biology department at UC Berkeley.

Tom Evans, Executive Director of Research, explains the somewhat unorthodox goals of the research department at NEB, where scientists focus on publication-worthy findings in an academically modeled department that supports the development of NEB reagents for molecular biology applications.

Sabah Ul-Hasan is the co-founder of the Biota Project, a science outreach organization dedicated to celebrating communities and connecting them to the science and nature they are surrounded by. The goal of the project is to promote mutual understanding and appreciation, or symbiosis, through the production of educational videos.

Listen as we interview Becky Kucera, who was at the bench during the early years after the concept of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was conceived by Kary Mullis.

Listen as Chris Noren interviews Angela Belcher about how her innovative science has found its inspiration in some pretty unlikely places, such as the pages of the NEB catalog and the exoskeletons of sea creatures.

Listen as Sriharsa interviews Sir Rich about why bacteria and microbes have such a bad rap, and why the public should adjust the way we think about these organisms.