The Royal Institution
Single celled microorganisms were the first life forms to evolve and Earth and now have the potential to feed, fuel and heal our future.
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Michael Sulu is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at UCL in the department of Biochemical Engineering, working primarily with Microorganisms. Michael has graduated with degrees from UCL, the University of York and University of Birmingham.
Michael’s work encompasses cell growth and metabolism, and using microbes to produce more useful products from simple starting materials. This area has taken him from beer to pharmaceutical production. His current areas of work involve vaccine production and bio-pharmaceuticals, and he has a growing interest in future foods. Alongside engineering research and education, Michael is also active in the areas of widening participation, science communication, public engagement and equality, diversity and Inclusion within Engineering and HE.
This talk was filmed in the Ri on 10 June 2019.
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Pharmaceuticals? Use money wisely and the medicine properly. I don't want something like the opioid epidemic.
NO thanks! No GMOs please.
Using modified microorganisms as bioreactors is definitely the future. Maxing out the efficiency and incorporate it into daily life (food sources) will be a challenge though. If this was meant to feed the world, the first thing people think would be "soylent green", sadly.
Lovely gentle overview from a slightly nervous doctor, from whom I expect many wonderful and interesting things in the coming years. (I'm personally working on small-loop PK reclamation though fermentation, with the goal of hooking that into pico-scale euglena production.)
Yes please. Lots of GMOs. My digestive system can't tell the difference.
i enjoyed this a lot! thank you Mr.Michael Sulu an PI!
p.s. love Assen Holland!
So how do we make sure those modified microorganisms can't escape into the wild and cause massive issues?
this bacteria must be available for everyody not only from pharmaceutical company in a context of society collapse if the government can not assure provision of antbiiotic, and other vital medication.. people must be able to produce their medications themselves
8:53
1874 – Diamorphine – C. R. Alder Wright, St. Mary's Hospital Medical School.
My question, how does opiods effect micro organisms?
I believe in science and progress.
I loved the delivery and organization of the material, and it gives me quite a bit of hope for the study of microorganisms in general which is a nice change of pace.
Absolutely fascinating.
A decisive pair of negative influences to progress, quality of life and, ultimately, equality among people, are ignorance and church/religions.
If everyone in the room gets a headache, don't bother with personalized medicine, get outside immediately, carbon monoxide is serious! Jk, fascinating talk.
So much information in so short a time, yet very well explained and not rushed at all. I really enjoyed this talk.
Humanized antibodies and chimeric antibodies. Amazing engineering.
Thank you very much. I wonder if microbiology can bring us insulin, vitamin c, vanillin,… can it efficiently make fresh water from the oceans?
Can we all just agree to stop hating on GMO's? :D. Get some proper legislation about it but don't ban it all together ^^.
Scientist with a touch of humor!
I look forward to microbe evolution being utilised in the same way machine learning is used. Throw a bunch of variations at a problem and evolve from the one that worked best.
We're very proud of Mike – great communicator, scientists, engineer and all-round UCL Biochemical Engineering hero. He's led some amazing research, supported countless students and researchers and we're very proud to call him a colleague and, dare we say it, legend.
Dr. Sulu put together a clear, understandable and easy to understand lecture about some really complex science. That's really hard to do. Excellent work.
Thanks Michael. I know Micheal when he was a little boy. To see him decipher such a complex subject so eloquently fills me with pride and joy. Susan should be thrilled to have such a son