D. in molecular and cell biology from Rockefeller University.

FORBES: Biotech's Relative Blockbusters

In 1995, the late Richard C Strohman, then emeritus professor of molecular and cell biology at the University of California, Berkeley, wrote of the impossibility of Darwinian biology in explaining human aging and disease.

FORBES: Why You Should Fear Giant Databases With Your DNA

Several companies are already seeking to take advantage of the new field, called synthetic biology, which combines chemistry, computer science, molecular biology, genetics and cell biology to breed industrial life forms that can secrete fuels, vaccines or other commercial products.

WSJ: Scientists Create First Synthetic Cell