Question: What would happen if Frankenstein molecules took over the world and you were the only bioengineer alive?

Srinath Kasturirangan answered on 1 Mar 2019: last edited 3 Mar 2019 3:31 pm

That is a really funny question 🙂 I would design Jedi molecules to fight and defeat the Frankenstein molecules 🙂

Having had a few days to think about it, this question is not too far from reality! Sometimes the drugs that we make, after they complete the job they were designed to do – kill cancer cells, kill invading bacteria, reduce fever or infection – the drugs can stick around in the body and if they are not removed from the body, they can start attacking the organs of the body, causing some unwanted side effects. To prevent this, we design antidotes, just like you have antidotes for a snake bite, to go and clear the Frankenstein drugs from the body once they are done with their task so they do not cause any more damage. So these could be the Jedi molecules that go after the Frankenstein molecules to get rid of them and keep our body safe.