EdX

Principles of Synthetic Biology (edX)

Offered by MIT, MITx,
Principles of Synthetic Biology (edX)

Learn how to engineer biological systems and program organisms to perform novel tasks. Do you like biology, biotechnology, or genetic engineering? Are you interested in computer science, engineering, or design? Synthetic Biology is an innovative field bringing together these subject areas and many more to create useful tools to solve everyday problems.

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This introductory synthetic biology course starts with a brief overview of the field and then delves into more challenging yet exciting concepts. You will learn how to design your very own biological regulatory circuits and consider ways in which you can apply these circuits to real-world problems we face today.
From basic oscillators, toggle switches, and band-pass filters to more sophisticated circuits that build upon these devices, you will learn what synthetic biologists of today are currently constructing and how these circuits can be used in interesting and novel ways.
Join us as we explore the field of synthetic biology: its past, present, and promising future!

What you'll learn:

  • Modern techniques in DNA assembly and regulation of gene expression and protein activity
  • How to design basic biological circuits
  • Principles for scaling up and creating large-scale biological circuits and regulatory networks
  • Basic ODE modeling of biological systems with MATLAB, introduction to Cello: genetic circuit design automation software
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