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Colorful stylized cartoon of a woman looking at a synthetic biology creation.

Course20.02011 lectures40 min

Introduction to Biological Engineering Design

Dr. Natalie Kuldell and Prof. Andrew Endy · Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Start with lecture 1 At MIT OpenCourseWare

About

This class is a project-based introduction to the engineering of synthetic biological systems. Throughout the term, students develop projects that are responsive to real-world problems of their choosing, and whose solutions depend on biological technologies. Lectures, discussions, and studio exercises will introduce (1) components and control of prokaryotic and eukaryotic behavior, (2) DNA synthesis, standards, and abstraction in biological engineering, and (3) issues of human practice, including biological safety; security; ownership, sharing, and innovation; and ethics. Enrollment preference is given to freshmen.

This subject was originally developed and first taught in Spring 2008 by Drew Endy and Natalie Kuldell. Many of Drew’s materials are used in this Spring 2009 version, and are included with his permission.

This OCW Web site is based on the OpenWetWare class Wiki, found at OpenWetWare: 20.020 (S09)

Lectures

BioBuilder Animations

  1. 1. Open Reading Frames (ORFs) 4 min · Video
  2. 2. Building a Gene: Correct Parts in Correct Order 4 min · Video
  3. 3. Genetic Programs: Why Parts Don’t Simply Snap Together 4 min · Video
  4. 4. Genetic Digital Devices: The On-Off Switch 6 min · Video
  5. 5. The Abstraction Process: Arsenic Detector 4 min · Video
  6. 6. Controlling Growth: The Transcriptional Inverter 6 min · Video
  7. 7. DNA Synthesis: Stringing Parts Together 4 min · Video
  8. 8. Measurement for Biological Parts 3 min · Video
  9. 9. The iGEM Competition 4 min · Video
  10. 10. Biosafety Levels 4 min · Video
  11. 11. Bacterial Growth and its Measurement 3 min · Video

Syllabus and materials

At MIT OpenCourseWare, as the course publishes them.

Credits and licence

Institution
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Department
Biological Engineering
Taught by
Dr. Natalie Kuldell, Prof. Andrew Endy
Term
Spring 2009
Level
Undergraduate
Language
English
Subjects
Biology, Engineering
Source
MIT OpenCourseWare
Licence
CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, as MIT OpenCourseWare states it. Non-commercial use only. MIT OpenCourseWare's terms
Attribution
Dr. Natalie Kuldell, Prof. Andrew Endy. Introduction to Biological Engineering Design. Spring 2009. Massachusetts Institute of Technology: MIT OpenCourseWare, https://ocw.mit.edu/. License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA.
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