Living Machines: How Biology And Engineering Can Come Together

Imagine a world where viruses work together for good to build things like batteries. A world in which proteins can filter water, and tiny microscopic particles can help doctors detect cancer.

That world is not one out of science fiction; it's our own, says Susan Hockfield.

Hockfield served as the first female president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and also the first life scientist to lead the institution. And she's out with a new book that paints a hopeful picture of tomorrow, with biology and engineering work together to solve some of our most intractable problems.

The book is "The Age Of Living Machines: How Biology Will Build The Next Technology Revolution."

Susan Hockfield will be in conversation with WBUR's Robin Young Thursday night at the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research.

Susan Hockfield, president emerita and professor of neuroscience at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.