In "Human Nature," a documentary which premiered earlier this month, NOVA explores the possibilities of CRISPR technology, a gene editing tool which can alter human DNA. The video featured Environmenal Science, Policy, and Managament professor Jill Banfield, who spoke about CRISPR mechanisms and her work with bacterial DNA.
Banfield's lab studies the effects of microorganisms on the chemistry of their environments. Bacterial activity is shaped by inter-organism interactions, processes which the Banfield research group studies through metagenomics and community proteomics. Her work informs advances in bioremidation, the use of microorganisms to remove pollutants from natural sites, and nanogeoscience, the study of nanoparticles in relation to geological systems.
Watch "Human Nature" on PBS NOVA here.