Wearable Bioreactors V01

Wearable Bioreactors V01

Katia Zolotovsky

In this studio, students will explore the potential of biotechnology to enhance us as human beings and help us survive in extreme environments. Simple organisms such as bacteria, algae, etc are all around us and inside our bodies. Bacteria cells in our body outnumber human cells 10:1. If the new technology of biology allows us to engineer these organisms for new functions, what new abilities could we as humans/ or synthetic humans have? Can we inhabit new environments? Can we engineer synthetic organisms to filter water, generate power, detect and transform harmful chemicals, produce food, make bioplastics? In this studio,  students will imagine, design, and build wearable bioreactors that will inhabit engineered living cells to work in symbiosis with us, empower us, and enhance our survival abilities.