Beginner Course in Synthetic Biology
Learn the fundamentals of synthetic biology with SynBio4ALL Africa
Course Access
Self-paced learning with full materials
- 6 video lessons
- Homework assignments
- Course materials
- Session- Only Certificate (Temporarily)
About this Course
This course, developed by SynBio4ALL Africa, introduces the fundamentals of synthetic biology, providing both theoretical knowledge and practical insights. Whether you're revisiting the course or taking it for the first time, you can explore the key concepts and techniques that are foundational to synthetic biology.
Synthetic biology combines principles from biology, engineering, genetics, biophysics, and computer science to design and construct new biological parts, devices, and systems for useful purposes. This field is rapidly advancing and has applications in medicine, agriculture, energy, and materials science.
The course is structured to guide you through progressive learning modules, each building on the previous to develop a comprehensive understanding of synthetic biology principles, techniques, and applications.
What You'll Learn
Theoretical Foundations
Understand core concepts and principles of synthetic biology
Biological Information
Learn how DNA, RNA, and proteins process information
Laboratory Techniques
Explore DNA engineering and PCR-based methods
CRISPR Technologies
Discover the basics of gene editing and regulation
Featured Modules
Week 1: What is Synthetic Biology?
1h 15m
In this lecture, we will introduce the idea of synthetic biology from a historical context and provide an example on how the field has developed and impacted our world in the past decades.
Week 2: How does biology process information?
1h 22m
In this lecture, we will focus on how Biology naturally processes its information from stored DNA to messenger RNA, and then functional protein.
Week 3: How can we control biological processes?
1h 18m
In this lecture, we will walk through how use Synthetic Biology idea to control biological process to introduce new technology, such as biomolecules production.
Week 4: Useful Parts in Synthetic Biology
1h 10m
In this lecture, we will walk through different genetic parts in Synthetic Biology engineer novel machineries for biological applications.
Week 5: Laboratory Techniques in Synthetic Biology
1h 30m
In this lecture, we will dive deeper into how to engineer DNA, the basis of Synthetic Biology. We discussed the method of DNA production, modifications, and assembly while focusing on PCR-based methodology.
Week 6: Part 1: Biology by Numbers / Part 2: CRISPR Technologies
1h 45m
In this lecture, we discussed the numerical basis of cell biology in the first half of the lecture. Then, walked through the basics of CRISPR gene editing and provide examples of repurposing the CRISPR tools for programmable gene regulation.
Course Details
Level
Beginner
Duration
6 weeks
Effort
3-5 hours per week
Language
English
Prerequisites
Basic understanding of biology