Designing, building, and testing genetic designs has created the interdisciplinary field of synthetic biology that rationally designs biological systems, most often using DNA assembly. Biological systems are fascinating because they store information that is autocatalytic and self-replicating. This course is an introduction to the techniques of genetic engineering, tips for their application, and discussion of use-cases. The first module will review key concepts of molecular biology and biological system information storage, the eras of biological research and major technological breakthroughs, and how genetic elements have come to be defined and now abstracted. The second module focuses on the DNA modification techniques widely in use, the enzymes and other components, and design principals are covered. The final module looks at the applications of these techniques for genetically modified organisms. The future of distributed synthetic biology is also highlighted. Example experiments are included at the conclusion of the course to help see the new knowledge in action.

Genetic engineering has gone from a advanced laboratories to elementary classrooms as the techniques become more widely known and materials available. To build plasmids, genetic circuits, and engineered organisms a knowledge of DNA modification techniques is needed. These tools are available to a resourceful biohacker and will be familiar at the end of the course.