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There is now a CONTENT FREEZE for Mercury while we switch to a new platform. It began on Friday, March 10 at 6pm and will end on Wednesday, March 15 at noon. No new content can be created during this time, but all material in the system as of the beginning of the freeze will be migrated to the new platform, including users and groups. Functionally the new site is identical to the old one. webteam@gatech.edu
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Prof. Andrew Ellington, University of Texas
Neolife: Redesigning living systems
Biochemistry Division Seminar Series
The conventional view of biological organisms defines them based on their composition, and their mode of replication. Both can be changed, and in ways that synergize with one another. The composition of organisms is at some level a function of the monomers that are incorporated, while the mode of replication is based on the operation of Crick's Central Dogma in the context of a cell. Both the Central Dogma and the need for cellularization are open to question, and both can potentially be changed in part by changing the underlying monomers required for replication and biological function. This mystifying series of sentences will hopefully be deconvoluted by actual experimental approaches involving protein engineering, changing the genetic code, synthetic biology, and amorphous computation.
For more information contact Prof. Nicholas Hud (404-385-1162).