When the Nanoscape podcast, produced by the International Institute for Nanotechnology at Northwestern University, set out to explore how nanotechnology is shaping the future, it invited Julius Lucks, co-director of the Center for Synthetic Biology, who is working at the intersection of synthetic biology and nanotechnology.
In this episode, Lucks takes listeners into what he calls the “RNA multiverse” — a hidden nanoscale world where tiny molecules twist, fold, and compute like living machines. Trained originally as a chemist and physicist, he found his calling in RNA, a molecule he describes as “life’s magic material.” Unlike DNA, which primarily stores information, RNA can sense its environment, regulate genes, and even catalyze chemical reactions. These dynamic properties make RNA both central to biology and uniquely powerful for engineering.
The conversation traces how fundamental questions about RNA folding and molecular dynamics have led to real-world technologies. One example is ROSALIND, a portable water-quality test named after Rosalind Franklin. By reprogramming naturally occurring RNA sensors, Lucks’ team developed a low-cost diagnostic that detects contaminants such as lead and produces a visible signal bringing sophisticated molecular detection out of the lab and into communities. The technology is being field-tested in Chicago and internationally, shaped through collaboration with community members and global health researchers, including Luck’s wife and fellow Northwestern researcher Sera Young, to ensure it meets real needs.
The episode also highlight PLANT-Dx, an RNA-based platform designed to detect crop diseases before visible symptoms appear, offering potential protection for farmers against devastating losses. Both projects illustrate a hallmark of the Center’s approach: pairing nanoscale engineering with human-centered design.
Throughout the discussion, Lucks reflects on the evolution of synthetic biology — from early efforts to understand and engineer biological circuits to today’s transformative tools, including CRISPR and mRNA technologies — and looks ahead to a future accelerated by AI-driven biological design. He emphasizes that while the science operates at the molecular scale, its success depends on interdisciplinary collaboration, community engagement, and sustained investment in fundamental discovery.
Click here to listen to the podcast or listen wherever you get your podcasts.
See the RNA molecules dance to salsa music on Instagram.
Watch a clip from the podcast hosted by Erin Spain and IIN’s Seth Zimmerman below: