Tal Danino
Synthetic biologist
Tal Danino explores the emerging frontier of combining biology and engineering (and art). He is a 2015 TED Fellow.
Why you should listen
Tal Danino's research explores the emerging frontier of combining biology, engineering and medicine. His work as a synthetic biologist focuses on reprogramming bacteria to detect and treat diseases in our bodies such as cancer.
Originally from Los Angeles, Danino received B.S. degrees from UCLA in Physics, Chemistry and Math, and received his Ph.D. in Bioengineering from UCSD. He did a postdoctoral fellowship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and is currently an assistant professor at Columbia University in New York.
Danino's work has been published in scientific journals and highlighted in several popular press venues. He actively develops "Bio-Art" projects that share perspectives and stories about science with recent projects featured in the New York Times, WIRED, and the Wall Street Journal.
Tal Danino’s TED Talks
More news and ideas from Tal Danino
Arts + Design
Gallery: The most beautiful bacteria you’ll ever see
March 31, 2017
Synthetic biologist Tal Danino manipulates microorganisms in his lab to create eye-catching, colorful patterns. Here’s a look at the process he uses to turn “Oh, yuck” into “Oh, wow.”
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TED Fellow Tal Danino programs bacteria to detect and treat cancer – and make art
May 9, 2015
Did you know that bacteria can be programmed as though they were computers? Bioengineer and artist Tal Danino is working out how to instruct bacteria to enter cancerous tumors — where it can detect and treat the disease noninvasively. And when Danino isn’t tinkering with bacteria’s healing potential, he makes artwork with it. With Danino’s TED talk posted just yesterday, he […]
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