Wednesday Colloquia

Towards a synthetic biology of the laboratory

by Prof. Shashi Thutupalli (NCBS Bangalore)

Wednesday, October 12, 2022 from to (Asia/Kolkata)
at AG-66 and via ZOOM webinar ( Zoom link: https://zoom.us/j/97963259354?pwd=ZFZsa2xqWGJSZW5pUjZPNkNqeGlEZz09 )
Meeting ID: 979 6325 9354 Pass code: 04072020
Description
Active matter physics has met with initial success in its application to biology. In extending it by including aspects of growth and replication, we aim for a synthetic biology, analogous to the laboratory science that is a source of new phenomenology in condensed matter physics. We use two complementary viewpoints - (i) endowing artificial active matter systems with heritable self-replication and (ii) using laboratory directed evolution of biological systems to bridge eco-evolutionary processes with emergent mechanics. This juxtaposition - placing evolution, mechanics and topology at the crux of the two complementary approaches - is the central aspect of the synthetic biology that we envision. These efforts may result in a "malleable" biology of the laboratory, with the potential to throw up qualitatively features of living systems not found in the biology of the "natural world”.