George Church, a Professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School, discusses embracing outliers, taking risks, and changing the world without caring about credit. He encourages aiming high, mentioning shooting for the stars to reach the moon. The conversation focuses on the importance of failure in achieving groundbreaking innovations and the value of collaboration and openness in the research field.

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.

George Church, Ph.D. is a professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School and of health sciences and technology at both Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dr. Church played an instrumental role in the Human Genome Project and is widely recognized as one of the premier scientists in the fields of gene editing technology and synthetic biology.  In this episode, we discuss: (00:00) Introduction to Dr. George Church (07:13) History of the Human Genome Project (15:20) Manufacturing cell phones (with biology) (17:34) Genome Project-Write (20:03) Writing a human Y chromosome (from scratch) (20:48) What if you could eliminate viral disease? (22:51) De-extinction and reinstating lost traits and genes (27:06) The Vertebrate Genomes Project (29:47) AlphaFold and other AI tools (41:27) CRISPR vs. Base Editing (emerging tools of genetic engineering) (49:40) Why multiplex editing will change the world (52:18) Molecular flight recorder (53:31) Preventing viral spillover and enhancing livestock (57:40) PCSK9 gene therapy for cholesterol (1:00:30) Is aging an evolved program? (1:05:21) Treating aging with a combination gene treatment (1:09:04) Does animal research help us understand human aging? (1:11:40) Human organoids as a model and therapeutic (1:13:34) Could engineered transplant organs become better than the originals? (1:16:17) Embryo editing controversy (1:28:41) Gene editing for space travel (1:30:40) Can synthetic biology alleviate poverty? (1:34:07) Is in vitro fertilization and embryo selection practically similar to editing? (1:39:12) The occasional cost of brilliance (1:45:45) Eradicating disease with Gene Drive (1:48:55) Technologies to solve Lyme disease (1:51:57) Dr. Church's experience with narcolepsy as a bridge to creative insights (2:00:42) Why George encoded his book in DNA Watch this episode on YouTube Show notes are available by clicking here Join over 300,000 people and get the latest distilled information straight to your inbox weekly: https://www.foundmyfitness.com/newsletter Become a FoundMyFitness premium member to get access to exclusive episodes, emails, live Q+A’s with Rhonda and more: https://www.foundmyfitness.com/premium Learn more about the premium podcast The Aliquot: https://www.foundmyfitness.com/aliquot

A genetic disease runs in your family. Your doctor tells you that, should you wish to have a child, that child is likely to also carry the disease. But a new gene-editing technology could change your fate. It could ensure that your baby is -- and remains -- healthy. What do you do? It’s is not without its perils. Critics say the technology will exacerbate inequality, pressure all parents (and nations) into editing their children to stay competitive, and meddle with the most basic aspect of our humanity. So, should we use gene editing to make better babies?  Arguing in favor of the motion is geneticist George Church and futurist Amy Webb. Arguing against the motion is policy advocate Marcy Darnovsky and philosopher Françoise Baylis. Emmy award-winning journalist John Donvan moderates.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Vanguard geneticist Dr. George Church discusses his pioneering work in genomics and synthetic biology, including DNA sequencing and CRISPR gene editing. He shares controversial ideas about resurrecting wooly mammoths and using genome sequencing in dating apps. Dr. Church emphasizes the potential for synthetic biology and genetics to transform medicine and society, and explores the impact of AI on biology, including protein and nucleic acid design. The chapter also delves into the democratization of gene editing and AI technology and the importance of ethics and protocols.