Drew Endy presents The iGEM Revolution

iGEM stands for "International Genetically Engineered Machine."

Thousands of student bioengineers from all over the world create new life forms and race them every year at the iGEM Jamboree in Boston.  It has been going on for ten years (2,500 competitors this year, from 32 countries) and gives a peerless window into the global grassroots synthetic-biology revolution, yet the phenomenon has been almost completely overlooked by the media.

IGEM began with college undergraduates and recently expanded to include high school teams.  For their genetic creations they draw on, and contribute to, a repository of 2,000 genetic components called BioBricks.  The organisms (mostly microbes) they create range from frivolous (doing a stadium-style "wave") to beneficial (detecting and eliminating water pollutants) to ingenious (increasing plant root structure to fix carbon while ensuring that no exotic genes can escape).  "Teams are also challenged to actively consider and address the safety, security and environmental implications of their work."

Drew Endy, a professor of Bioengineering at Stanford, was one of the creators of iGEM and is co-founder and president of the BioBricks Foundation.  He is a strong proponent of "open source" biotech and public discussion of the techniques, benefits, and potential hazards of synthetic biology.

There will be a reception at South Restaurant in SFJAZZ Center following the Seminar