In this enlightening discussion, guest George Church—a pioneering geneticist and co-founder of numerous biotech companies—dives into the intersection of synthetic biology and climate solutions. He shares his vision for rewilding ecosystems and bio-mining to tackle global challenges. A bold concept of testing Mars colonies on Earth captivates listeners, while he emphasizes the need for innovative monitoring technologies in climate biotech. George's infectious curiosity shines as he breaks down the potential of engineered organisms and scalable biological solutions.
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question_answer ANECDOTE
Early Life and Interests
George Church grew up exploring Florida mudflats, fascinated by marine life.
He initially planned to study river dolphins in the Amazon, even learning about outboard motors.
insights INSIGHT
Biotech Downturn as Opportunity
Biotech's current downturn presents an opportunity to build during undervaluation.
In this special Grow Everything episode swap with The Climate Biotech Podcast, Erum and Karl introduce a mind-blowing conversation with the one and only George Church. If you’re into synthetic biology, you already know he’s a legend—co-founding 50+ biotech companies and pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with DNA. In this episode, George talks about scaling microscopic innovations to solve massive global challenges—think rewilding ecosystems, bio-mining for new molecular tools, and engineering biology to fight climate change. He even throws out wild ideas like testing space colonies on Earth before heading to Mars. Stick around after the episode for Erum and Karl’s takeaways and a heads-up on a funding opportunity from Homeworld Collective!
Grow Everything brings the bioeconomy to life. Hosts Karl Schmieder and Erum Azeez Khan share stories and interview the leaders and influencers changing the world by growing everything. Biology is the oldest technology. And it can be engineered. What are we growing?
Grow Everything Biotech Podcast