116. Cell Yeah for Space!: Pioneer Labs' Erika DeBenedictis on Engineering Life for Mars

Grow Everything Biotech Podcast

Erum and Karl get into the nitty-gritty of evolution, automation, and space microbes with Erika DeBenedictis—CEO of Pioneer Labs, a computational physicist, molecular biologist, and all-around biotech explorer. They chat about her wild career path from JPL and Sandia National Laboratories to engineering microbes for Mars and running an academic lab dedicated to Robotics-Accelerated Evolution (yes, that’s as cool as it sounds). You can expect to hear all about AI-driven protein design, the future of fully automated science, and why programmable experiments might just be the next CRISPR. Plus, a little existential musing on whether life on Earth is just beta-testing for the universe.

Grow Everything brings the bioeconomy to life. Hosts Karl Schmieder and Erum Azeez Khan share stories and interview the leaders and influencers changing the world by growing everything. Biology is the oldest technology. And it can be engineered. What are we growing?

Learn more at ⁠⁠www.messaginglab.com/groweverything⁠⁠

Chapters:

• 00:00:00 – Introduction and Super Bowl: A Low-Gravity Celebration
• 00:00:46 – Crypto and Microbiomes: Decentralized Finance Meets Decentralized Lifeforms
• 00:02:12 – Earth Species Project: Talking to Whales, But Not on Zoom
• 00:03:57 – Telepathy Tapes: The WiFi of the Animal Kingdom
• 00:06:31 – Extremophiles and Biofilms: Nature’s Original Space Settlers
• 00:08:36 – Interview with Erika DeBenedictis: Evolution at Hyperspeed
• 00:08:58 – Life on Mars: Not Just a Sci-Fi Reboot
• 00:12:54 – Mars Habitat and Biomanufacturing: Home is Where the Microbes Are
• 00:24:47 – Pioneer Labs and Microbial Engineering: Engineering the Ultimate Space Hitchhikers
• 00:30:49 – Bioplastics vs. Bricks on Mars: Why Not Just 3D Print a House?
• 00:32:19 – Collaborations and Open Science: Because Space Isn’t a Solo Mission
• 00:35:00 – Mars Dirt Analysis: Not Your Average Potting Soil
• 00:45:23 – Potential of Ice Moons: Where the Coolest Science Happens
• 00:47:39 – Venus and Other Planetary Bodies: Finding Real Estate Beyond Earth
• 00:49:00 – The Future of Space Exploration: From Camping Trips to Colonies
• 00:51:54 – Concluding Thoughts and Farewell: The Final Countdown (For Now)

Links and Resources:

• Pioneer Labs
• Pioneer Labs Substack, Subscribe!
• The Earth Species Project
• Cultivarium
• Star Trek on Genetic Engineering

Topics Covered:

Mars, soil microbes, space biotech, genetic engineering, biotech, bioeconomy, research and development

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Email: [email protected]

Music by: Nihilore

Production by: Amplafy Media