What does it take to bring new chemistry to life?
In this episode of Galaxy Balance, Cory Smith speaks with Aditya Kunjapur, Associate Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Delaware, about genetic code expansion, non-standard amino acids, engineered microbes, and the future of synthetic biology.
Aditya’s lab explores how biology can be programmed to biosynthesize chemical groups that are rare or absent in nature, install those new building blocks into proteins, and make microbial survival depend on synthetic chemistry. The conversation moves from his early path through energy and chemical engineering, to his time in George Church’s lab, to the founding of Nitro Biosciences and the use of expanded genetic codes for next generation vaccine platforms.
They discuss how non-standard amino acids can act as chemical flags for the immune system, how live microbes could produce antigens inside the body, and why genetic code expansion may open new approaches to vaccines, biocontainment, agriculture, environmental engineering, and planetary protection.
The episode also explores synthetic auxotrophy, engineered microbial dependence, plant controlled microbial survival, plastic degradation, agricultural probiotics, bioenergy, AI tools for non-standard amino acids, and the science fiction lessons behind containment, from Jurassic Park to modern AI.
This is a conversation about rewriting the language of life, not only to understand biology, but to give it new chemistry, new safeguards, and new possibilities.
Timestamps:
00:00 - Engineering microbes for space: Bacillus subtilis and biological containment
02:28 - Aditya’s pathway into synthetic biology and innovative chemistry
05:46 - Transitioning from industry internships to academia and entrepreneurship
10:16 - Founding Nitro Biosciences: balancing entrepreneurship with academic research
16:31 - Genetic code expansion and its potential to elicit immune responses
22:41 - The scarcity and potential of non-standard amino acids in life
27:26 - Detecting extraterrestrial life and the shared building blocks of biology
36:49 - Synthetic oxytrophy and microbial biocontainment strategies
44:01 - Reducing herbicide reliance with engineered microbes in agriculture
52:53 - Computational tools and AI for non-standard amino acid research
54:53 - Bioenergy and sustainability: bio-catalysis innovations
59:08 - How science fiction influences bioengineering and AI safety considerations
