ChinaTalk: Biotech 101

Biotech. What is it? Why should you care? Does biotech really matter for national security? What are China’s biotech ambitions?

To find out, ChinaTalk interviewed Jason Kelly, the Chair and Vice Chair of the National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology. Jason is the Co-Founder and CEO of Ginkgo Bioworks, a publicly traded firm that provides a horizontal platform for cell programming. Michelle Rozo is currently Vice President of Technical Capabilities at In-Q-Tel, and she previously held positions in Biden’s NSC, the Department of Defense, and on the Hill.

Co-hosting today is Chris “CRISPR” Miller, author of Chip War.

We get into:

• The powerful science behind genetic engineering ;

• How the US government turned biotechnology into a $1 trillion industry over the course of the last fifty years;

• Why generative AI is destined to revolutionize synthetic biology;

• And whether China’s national biotech champions can leapfrog the US.

 

Outtro music: Suite Bergamasque: Clair de Lune, No. 3 (youtube.com)