BE.180:Introduction

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Key Concepts from Day 1

 * 1) Develop a crisp answer to the question "What is Biological Engineering?" (see below).
 * 2) Understand how DNA synthesis lets you "write" DNA.
 * 3) Understand how DNA sequencing and synthesis technologies complement one another, allowing interconversion between genetic material (DNA) and genetic information (...ATCG...).
 * 4) Recognize the challenge of going from (A) imagining an engineered biological system that you might want (for example, a genetic oscillator or a self-growing tree house) to (B) the actual DNA sequence that programs a living system to produce your imaginable system.

Preliminary Assessment Q&A
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 * What is Biological Engineering?
 * Biological Engineering is the characterization, analysis, and design of natural and synthetic biological systems for useful purposes.
 * What does DNA do?
 * DNA is the genetic material that encodes the information which defines some of the behavior of biological systems.
 * What is DNA sequencing?
 * DNA sequencing is a technology that allows physical genetic material to be "read out," producing a string of information (for example, ATCGTACA...).
 * What is DNA synthesis?
 * DNA synthesis is a technology that allows raw chemicals to be combined with information to produce physical genetic material.
 * What are some tools or approaches that are useful for solving complex problems?
 * Decoupling and decomposition, abstraction, standardization, working in a group, taking a deep breath, and many more.
 * Write down, at whatever level of resolution you most prefer, the genetic program that would make a bacterium blink over time - like a little microscopic lighthouse: