Controlling Growth MIT 20.020 Introduction to Biological Engineering Design, Spring 2009
>> Izzy: Dude, I like what you built there. What's it do? >> Dude: Oh...hi Iz. This is a cool bug. I made it using an electronics building kit that Sally got me. She wanted to get me a genetics kit but nothing's available yet. Eesh! I don't get it. Why is it so easy to turn on and off the lights for this electronic bug but so hard to turn things on and off in biology? >> Izzy: What do you mean Dude? The arsenic sensor that we built in bacteria a few years ago works pretty well. If there's arsenic in the water being tested the sensor turns on. And when arsenic isn't in the water, the sensor is off. And we built that sensor with natural biological parts! >> Dude: So arsenic works like this switch? How is that possible? How does the cell know? >> Izzy: We used parts from the ArsR operon to program arsenic-inducible expression. >> Dude: Hold up! Arsenic-inducible expression? What's that mean?? All I know is that arse...