BioWorks 20: Building Software for Biology with Nicholas Larus-Stone

In which Nicholas Larus-Stone, co-founder of Sphinx Bio, discusses the future of “software-defined biology” and how his startup is accelerating scientists’ research by streamlining the process of experimental design, data processing, and data analysis. He also shares his experience working as a software engineer at early- to mid-sized biotech companies as well as the story behind Bits in Bio, a community dedicated to researchers, developers, and those interested in the intersection of software and biology. Hosted by Kevin Xu.

Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro

(02:04) Working at BenevolentAI and Octant Bio

(08:07) Problem-driven vs. solution-driven innovation

(10:50) Sphinx Bio

(12:27) What makes biological data different?

(18:10) Adapting to new technologies as a data platform

(22:37) Bits in Bio

(25:24) Sharing knowledge in a competitive industry

(27:12) Software-defined biology

(31:57) Studying CS in the age of AI

Links:

Sphinx Bio: https://www.sphinxbio.com/

"Software-defined biology": https://www.sphinxbio.com/post/software-defined-biology

Bits in Bio: ⁠https://www.bitsinbio.org/⁠