Hacking bacteria to fight cancer – Tal Danino

Explore how synthetic biologists are programming bacteria to fight cancer by manipulating their DNA.

In 1884, an unlucky patient who had a rapidly growing cancer in his neck came down with an unrelated bacterial skin infection. As he recovered from the infection, the cancer surprisingly began to recede. The infection had stimulated the patient’s immune system. Today, synthetic biologists program bacteria to safely deliver drugs directly to tumors. How is this possible? Tal Danino investigates.

Advertisements

Lesson by Tal Danino, directed by Chris Bishop.

Animator’s website: https://www.chrisbishopartist.com
Sign up for our newsletter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdNewsletter
Support us on Patreon: http://bit.ly/TEDEdPatreon
Follow us on Facebook: http://bit.ly/TEDEdFacebook
Find us on Twitter: http://bit.ly/TEDEdTwitter
Peep us on Instagram: http://bit.ly/TEDEdInstagram
View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/hacking-bacteria-to-fight-cancer-tal-danino

Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Kyanta Yap, Ricardo Rendon Cepeda, Ana Maria, Benjamin & Shannon Pinder, Ernest Chow, Bela Namyslik, Alan Froese, Anika Westburg, Nick Cozby, Shawar Khan, Michael Braun-Boghos, Rohan Gupta, Elizabeth Cruz, Yujing Jiang, Sarah Lundegaard, Vladimir Ivanchenko, Georg Gusewski, Rohit Lodha, Erica Zhuang, Aaron Henson, Julio Sabatés Rodríguez, Vivian & Gilbert Lee, Fahad Nasser Chowdhury, ரமணன், John simmons, June Reiling, Khalid AlAli, Mickey Mikeworth, Nathaniel Lupus, Yansong Li, Chung Wah Gnapp, Amber Alexander, Robert Patrick, Pi Guanghui, Barbara Younker, Ai Ejima, Soma Ali, Roman Pinchuk, Raheem, Hector Quintanilla, Leen Mshasha, Mariana Ortega, Danny Romard, James Bruening, Ricki Daniel Marbun, Malcolm Callis, Sabrina Gonzalez, Al the Scottish Wildcat, سلطان الخليفي and Alexander Walls.

Share