captioning sponsored by macneil/lehrer productions >> woodruff: the u.s. and partnering arab nations launched air and cruise missile strikes across syria aimed at crippling islamic state militants. good evening. i'm judy woodruff. gwen ifill is away. also ahead this tuesday: as world leaders gather in new york, climate change takes the spotlight. we talk with the woman leading the united nations' efforts, former irish president mary robinson. plus, a different breed of hackers breach the genetics of living things to create what was once only imagined. >> as an engineer working with biology, i view biology not as a science, but as a platform for

making, for manufacturing. i want to figure out how to partner with life to make the things we need, in a way that's sustainable and beautiful. >> woodruff: those are some of the stories we're covering on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> at bae systems, our pride and dedication show in everything we do; from electronics systems to intelligence analysis and cyber- operations; from combat vehicles and weapons to the maintenance and modernization of ships, aircraft, and critical infrastructure. knowing our work makes a difference inspires us everyday. that's bae systems. that's inspired work. >> i've been around long enough to recognize the people who are out there owning it. the ones getting involved, staying engaged. they are not afraid to question

the path they're on. because the one question they never want to ask is, "how did i end up here?" i started schwab with those people. people who want to take ownership of their investments, like they do in every other aspect of their lives. >> and the william and flora hewlett foundation, helping people build immeasurably better lives. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions and... >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> woodruff: the air war against "islamic state" forces has now moved into syria. bombs and missiles rained down

on targets there overnight. another group was also hit to avert a possible attack on the united states itself. in all, the more than 200 air strikes, included bombing from u.s. carrier-based aircraft, as well as sorties from regional arab nations, plus nearly 50 tomahawk cruise missiles launched from u.s. navy vessels, all aimed at more than a dozen locations across northern syria. they included: "islamic state" training camps and other facilities in raqqah, and also in hasakah, in deyr aw zour, and hard by the iraq border at abu kamal. as he left the white house this morning, president obama said the aerial assault made a vital point. >> we were joined in this action by our friends and partners-- saudi arabia, the united arab emirates, jordan, bahrain, and qatar-- the strength of this

coalition makes it clear to the world that this is not america's fight alone. >> woodruff: separately, on its own, the u.s. hit a group called "khorosan", an organization of veteran al qaeda operatives. eight air strikes hit near aleppo, where the khorosan militants are linked with the "al-nusra front", al qaeda's principal syria franchise. pentagon leaders said the strikes were successful. the top operations officer for the joint chiefs, lieutenant general william mayville, said the aleppo attacks aimed to disrupt an active plot. >> we've been watching this group closely for some time, and we believe the khorasan group was nearing the execution phase of an attack either in europe, or the homeland. >> woodruff: mayville also made clear the air campaign against "islamic state" forces in iraq and syria is open-ended. >> could this take years? >> i would think of it in terms of years, yes. >> woodruff: there were some

reports of civilians killed on the ground and video of syrians apparently trying to dig out people trapped in rubble. mayville said they were "unaware" of any civilian deaths. he also confirmed the u.s. carried out the vast majority of the bombing. but jordan, bahrain, saudi arabia and the united arab emirates all flew combat missions, too, while qatar provided support. jordan's information minister spoke in amman. >> we will continue to identify and to attack the positions of these terrorist organizations, in order to secure our country and our national interest. >> woodruff: the state department denied reports that it "coordinated" with syrian president bashar al-assad. it did say the u.s. alerted damascus ahead of the strikes. after the strikes, the syrian government issued its own statement on state television.

>> ( translated ): syria will support any international effort that may help in fighting terrorism. but this should not affect the lives of civilians and national sovereignty of syria as well as the international laws. >> woodruff: on the streets of damascus today, reactions to the air campaign varied. >> when we see american warplanes flying in the air over syria, it is impossible to be optimistic about this thing. with all my respect to america, it should stand by the syrian government's side in a serious, way. >> woodruff: there was also word that a key nato ally might join the fight: turkish president erdogan had refused to pledge military action earlier this month at a nato summit, while 49 turks were held hostage by islamic state militants. the captives were released saturday. and today erdogan said: "we will give the necessary support to the operation. the support could be military or logistics." later, after arriving in new

york, president obama met with leaders of the anti-islamic state coalition. he will make the case for the campaign tomorrow, before the u.n. general assembly. also today, the wife of british aid worker alan henning said she's received an audio message from him, pleading for "islamic state" captors to spare his life. and in iraq, "islamic state" fighters in iraq paraded captured government soldiers in fallujah. the militants overran an army camp in anbar province on sunday, killing 40 troops and capturing nearly 70. israel shot down a syrian fighter jet today for the first time since 1982. the israeli defense minister said the plane entered israeli air space over the golan heights. amateur video from syria appeared to show a patriot missile battery downing the jet. the crew managed to get out, and landed in syrian territory.

special forces in israel have killed two alleged "hamas" militants wanted in the murder of three israeli teenagers. the teens' deaths in june ultimately triggered this summer's 50-day war in gaza. early today, israeli units stormed a west bank hideout and shot it out with the suspects. prime minister benjamin netanyahu hailed the outcome. >> >> ( translated ): i said whoever carried out the kidnapping and murder of our teenagers would face the consequences. i vowed we would not rest until we reached the last of them, wherever they tried to hide. i also said this was our first mission and it would be carried out. this morning it was carried out. >> woodruff: palestinians held funerals for the two men this afternoon in hebron. "hamas" leaders praised them for "a long life full of jihad and sacrifice."

>> ( translated ): hamas mourns for the palestinian people and the two martyrs. hamas blames the israeli occupation for the assassination of the two martyrs, and this is a war crime which the israeli occupation is responsible for. >> woodruff: the killings sparked a new round of clashes in the west bank and threatened cease-fire talks in cairo. but palestinian negotiators agreed later to move forward. the ebola outbreak in west africa could lead to 1.4 million people being infected. that new estimate came today from the u.s. centers for disease control and prevention. it's more than double any previous figure. the c.d.c said the projection assumes the number of cases is currently being substantially under-reported. a german-american journalist was freed today in somalia after being held hostage for two and a half years. michael scott moore was kidnapped by somali pirates in january 2012, while researching a book. it's unclear if any ransom was paid for his release.

in china, an ethnic uyghur scholar was sentenced to life in prison. he'd been convicted of advocating separatism, for speaking about the muslim minority's plight. the penalty is the most severe in a decade for illegal political speech. prosecutors said ilham tohti led "a criminal gang seeking to split the country." the white house said it's deeply concerned and called for tohti's release. the outgoing president of afghanistan, hamid karzai, aimed a parting criticism at the united states today. in his farewell address, he thanked other nations, but he charged that americans did not truly want peace in his country. he spoke in kabul and called for washington to be honest in its dealings. >> ( translated ): we want to have strategic relations with america. we want to have deep relations with america. we want to have the best relations with them in the west. but america should follow the path of friendship with afghanistan.

afghanistan can be their best friend on condition their actions and words are the same. >> woodruff: afghanistan inducts a new president, ashraf ghani ahmadzai, on monday. osama bin laden's son-in-law and spokesman will spend life in a u.s. prison. sulaiman abu ghaith, was sentenced today in new york, for aiding al-qaeda after the 9/11 attacks. he warned the united states will face retaliation. it's about to become legal to carry a concealed handgun in the nation's capital. the washington d.c. city council voted unanimously today to allow it, but with a number of restrictions. in july, a federal judge struck down the city's ban on carrying weapons. eight national fraternities announced efforts today to fight sexual assaults on colleges campuses. the initiative includes training members to prevent and intervene in sexual violence, hazing and binge drinking. wall street had a down day.

the dow jones industrial average lost more than 116 points to close below 17,056. the nasdaq fell 19 points to close at 4,508. and the s&p 500 slipped 11 to finish at 1,982. still to come on the newshour: air strikes target islamic state strongholds in syria, global leaders put a spotlight on climate change, hackers rewire the biology of living organisms for practical uses, and the secret service comes under fire after a man breached security at the white house. >> woodruff: now back to the u.s. and partners' air strikes inside syria. our chief foreign affairs correspondent margaret warner is at thunited nations this week and has more on the international reaction to the new campaign.

hello, margaret. you've been talking to a lot of people today. what is the reaction there to these air strikes? >> well, judy, since the president has signaled that he was going to take the fight against the islamic state or isil or isil into syria as well as iraq, it did not come as a shock here, but the reaction was, well, where you stand is where you sit. i went to a small meeting with president rouhani of iran. he declared them illegal because they violated the sovereignty of the syrian government, that syria had not given its permission. he further said the only way to defeat isis in this whole region is you're going to have to partner essentially with the syrian government. he said the syrian option, you can't fight the only government that could step in if the iraqi government could step in and reclaim territory, you can't do both fights on one. the president of turkey had small gathering yesterday. he didn't know about the strikes yet, but turkey clearly did not join the coalition and did not

play ball. he said to secretary kerry when they met two or three weeks ago, look, as long as isis has 49 hostages, we can't do anything. but after we get them out, which they did last weekend, perhaps we can. i thought the most interesting reaction, judy, was from jordan and the four gulf states that did participate. none of them boasted about it. i saw one of them late this afternoon. i cannot name who he was, who said this is very sensitive for us. we're now partnering with the united states. we have a reputation on the line, and what we keep asking the americans is what comes the day after. he left the suggestion that they really don't have an answer yet. >> woodruff: margaret, it's interesting because a number of these countries have been critical of the u.s.'s uncertain leadership. are they taking a different tone about that today because of the u.s. leading these strikes? >> you know, judy, you put your finger right on it. that is the... the concern is

the constancy of u.s. leadership. from president obama saying he would strike syria last year over chemical weapons and then backing off or announcing he's going to afghanistan but announcing an end date. even countries that didn't want the u.s. to do those things were shaken or rattled by that. so these countries do feel they could be out on a limb. they joined this public coalition now with the united states. so that is the... i would say that is the number-one concern. i still think the united states has a long way to go to persuade them that this president is in it for the long haul. i did ask the gulf leader about this, i said, do you have any doubts about the president's constancy, he went -- "you'll have to ask him." that concern remains. >> woodruff: just quickly, margaret, we know the u.s. on its own undertook these strikes against this group. we really haven't heard very much about before, this khorasan group, they're called veteran al

qaeda fighters. what are you hearing about that? >> well, u.s. officials today from... well, i can't say from where, gave a briefing for all of us. they really got into it. they said these are seasoned operatives out of afghanistan and pakistan. their specialty is recruiting foreign fighters, bringing them, training them, sending them back, explosive device, mounting attacks on homelands in various parts of the country and moving money and material around. and they saw a safe haven they could exploit, and they moved into syria into this area. they're not necessarily affiliated with isis, but u.s. intelligence had received what they said was credible information that a big plot against they said u.s. interests and european allies was in the works, was imminent. president obama went to centcom last week to do it. it was also convenient that it coincided with the decision to also launch the air strikes

against i.system militants in syria. >> woodruff: margaret, thank you very much. you'll be in new york all this week covering these u.n. meetings. we thank you. >> thank you, judy. for analysis on the strikes and how they affect an already complicated civil war in syria with multiple sides, i'm joined by retired colonel derek harvey, a former intelligence officer and special adviser to the commander of u.s. forces in iraq, general david petraeus. he's now director for the global initiative on civil society and conflict at university of south florida. and joshua landis, director of the center for middle eastern studies at the university of oklahoma and andrew tabler, a senior fellow in the program on arab politics at the washington institute for near east policy. welcome you all back to the program. colonel harvey, to you first. how do you size up this military operation last night? >> i think it's an important event, but it's just the

beginning of a very long journey. the president has laid out a strategy that's going to take a long time to pull the pieces together. the financial aspects going after foreign fighter flow, delegitimizing the islamic state. most importantly from last night, we had sunni arab and shia arab buy-in in this attack, and the attack on the khorasan group i think was the most important element last night. >> woodruff: so you're saying the u.s. with this coalition, five countries, went after the right targets? >> i think for the initial stages it was the right target. it's going to be a long campaign. the khorasan group, a legitimate, serious threat, and then going after the islamic state, even though they've had plenty of time to disperse and prepare for this, because they knew this strike was coming. so it's not a decisive strike that we made last night against them, but it's the first step of a long journey. we have to understand that.

>> woodruff: andrew tabler here with me in washington, first step in a long journey, is that how you see it? >> absolutely. i think the air strikes are first step to contain isis and eliminate it inside of syria. >> woodruff: quickly to you, joshua landis. is this... for the united states, have these five countries in the region on board, what does this look like to you as the beginning of a campaign? >> well, it's great to have five monarchies as your wing man on, this all sunni arab. this is the big challenge for the united states is to convince sunni arabs that we're not attacking them and we're not against sunni islam. many people, many sunnis suspect we are. we're trying to... we have a war against islam because we threw the sunnis out of power in iraq and catapulted the shiites into power. they've been persecuting the sunnis ever since. we said we were going to bring

sunni rebels to victory in syria when we said assad had to step aside and we did nothing. the country has crashed into horrible civil war. the u.n. just said 90% of syrians are living in poverty today some many sunnis believe that america is secretly working with iran and shiites to destroy sunni islam. now, from an american perspective, this seems absurd, but this is the sort of propaganda that isis is going to try to use, al qaeda will try the use. we have to convince the arab world that we're going to do something good for sunnis and that we're not just bombing arabs again. that's why we needed the five monarchs there with us in this thing. >> woodruff: so andrew tabler, the convincing goes on. it was one thing to get these five countries on board last night, but what i'm hearing from all of you is that that is an effort that will continue. >> right. and there are two parts to this. one is keeping the rulers of the monarchies on side and the other arab countries as well as turkey that might jump on board.

there was serious damage to american credibility in what was known as the non-strike incident last year when president assad went beyond american red lines. the second selling is to the sunni population majority inside of syria. it's there with the opposition in particular that american credibility has been extremely low. hopefully with these strikes we can go on bath toward restoring that credibility with a pledge to arm moderate rebels in syria. >> what about the campaign itself? i'm coming back to you for the moment, joshua landis. the campaign, the idea that air strikes alone, which is what president obama has been saying, no u.s. boots on the ground, that we can... that the u.s. can degrade isis, and one assumes that's the same view when it comes to the khorasan group? >> right. well, you know, andrew is right. the united states needs to partner with somebody because you can bomb isis, but you need an army on the ground that is pro american, that's going to bring better government to this

region, that can move in and take these towns away from isis as they're bombed. that puts america in a very complicated position. the united states has not really wanted the rebels to win a military victory in syria. and today the rebels are saying, arm us, arm us, we'll take on isis, but assad is our real target. and america has to figure out how to get the rebels on board, to attack isis, without destroying damascus and many cities where syrians still live in their apartments and drive cars and get some benefits from the state. if that should happen, there will be a big outflow of refugees again from syria, and this could flood out into neighborhoods, which is just what america does not want. so the dangers are many for obama. he's going to go slowly and see how he can develop the rebel side of this. >> woodruff: picking up on,

that colonel derek harvey, once air strikes do as much as they can do, what does... who does the u.s. turn to to fill those spaces that isis now occupies? >> well, i think that's an important element and it speaks to the issue that we don't have a parter in in syria, in the free syrian army and the training program will take a long time. but there are some significant and important developments that we could take advantage of. in the euphrates river valley, there are a number of sunni arab tribes willing to take up arms and fight the islamic state, and they're not aligned with the damascus government either. we could take advantage of that and use jordan and saudi arabia and our iraqi partners to work with those tribes in developing a resistance almost like an awakening movement. the same dynamics apply to the northeast. if you did that with kurdish and sunni arabs in the northeast that are willing the fight and the free syrian army in the far

west, then you have the makings of a three-pronged effort to put pressure on the islamic state. it would be an awakening-type movement, and it would be a tribal militia-type movement. then you could move towards something like a no-fly free zone that might begin to give you a political way forward in syria. >> woodruff: andrew tabler, that sounds like a significant balancing act for the united states to be juggling this many different players and this many different interests? >> absolutely, but after the initial strikes, right, that's the key question: who goes in and fills that vacuum. so there it is. what sunni powers do we have to move into those areas. the free syrian army is primarily in the north and the south. it's not primarily in the eastern part of the country. tribes are naturally in that area. so it might not be a force going into the area, but they high spring up. they could be armed. the other player is it could be the assad regime tries the lash out from its bases in the center of the country, but their

capacity has been somewhat limited. >> woodruff: lash out at isis? >> lash out at areas formerly controlled by isis in the event they're decimated following an american air campaign. >> woodruff: i want to come back to you, joshua landis, on this khorasan group. again, we have not heard much about them, although the attorney general was out saying today that the administration's known about them for a couple of years, known what they were up to. it was just when this threat became imminent or immediate that they decided to act. how much of a complicating factor is it or not? >> well, you know, america's put down marker here. because we could have just gone after isis. there are, according to the c.i.a., about 1,500 armed militias in syria amongst the sunni rebels. and they span across a long spectrum, too. the american friendly so-called moderates at one end to islamist groups in the center getting more jihadists up to al qaeda on the right.

some of the al qaeda groups have alliances with our pro-american groups. so we're putting dunn a marker and letting the rebels know, anybody who messes with the jihadists and the groups we have designated as terrorists are not going to be able to cooperate with the united states. so that's an important lesson to send, but obviously they're pitching this as al qaeda in syria organizing to hit america. and we are... this is self-defense. america is defending its homeland by taking out these foreign terrorists. i think that speaks to the legitimacy question in this entire thing of what are we doing in syria and are we defending america. and this sort of underlines, yes, we're defending america. >> well, as we heard at the pentagon today, this is only the beginning and this is a beginning of our analysis. we thank all three of you for joining us, colonel derek harvey, andrew tabler and joshua landis. >> thank you, judy. >> thank you.

>> thank you. >> woodruff: the president made a call for more ambitious action on climate change today, one that he said must be led in part by china as well. chinese officials said they recognized their responsibility. but there's still a divide between the u.s., china and many developing countries over how to proceed. jeffrey brown has the story. >> there's one issue that will define the contours of this century more dramatically than any other. that is the urgent and growing threat of a changing climate. >> brown: hours after ordering air strikes in syria, president obama was in new york, to address a very different threat: climate change. he headlined a summit with more than 120 world leaders, and he pledged to work with other nations, but said the u.s. won't work alone. >> we recognize our role in

creating this problem. we embrace our responsibility to combat it. we will do our part and we will help developing nations do theirs. but we can only succeed in combating climate change if we are joined in this effort by every nation-- developed and developing alike. nobody gets a pass. >> brown: the summit came a day after findings that carbon pollution increased last year, by the most in 20 years with the u.s., china and india accounting for much of the damage. the leaders of china and india chose not to attend the summit today. overall, the gathering was meant to gin up political momentum for negotiating a global agreement by december 2015 to reduce greenhouse gases. u.n. secretary ban ki-moon urged all to do their part. >> we need all public finance institutions to step up to the challenge. we need to bring private finance

from the sidelines, we must begin to capitalize a green climate fund. >> brown: ban also called for putting a price on carbon, something the united states has rejected. but president obama did announce he's ordered federal agencies to consider climate change in international development programs. and french president francois hollande pledged $1 billion over the next few years to help poor nations adapt to the effects of a warming climate. >> ( translated ): the french parliament at this very moment is discussing a law on energy transition. not only do we need to show by example, not only are we hosting this conference, but we also have to be capable of making the gestures and doing what is necessary on behalf of france. that is why the green fund for us is a new prospect that needs to be well equipped. >> brown: the climate summit follows sunday's mass march in new york and rallies around the world, demanding the u.s. and

other developed nations do more. the next phase of negotiations will begin in lima, peru in december working toward a potential international agreement at a conference in paris next year. but some of the challenges in reaching such an agreement were on display even today. brazil, for example, said it would not sign a plan to halt deforestation by 2030. and china's vice premier maintained that his country and others need to be allowed to release more pollution for the time being. earlier this afternoon i talked about the summit and the challenges with mary robinson. she's the former president of ireland, now serving as the u.n. secretary general's special envoy on climate change. mary robinson, thank you for joining us. this is not a summit intended to result in a specific new agreement, correct? so what is the purpose of this gathering? >> the main purpose was to bring climate action up to heads of state. we need leadership and ambition in order to get a climate agreement in paris in 2015.

in december 2015. the secretary-general recognized that we needed to have a strong leadership and mobilization, and this is what the climb summit has really done. i think in an extraordinary way, first of all, we have the climb march with more people going out into the street, not just in new york, but all around the world. then heads of state have come in bigger numbers than ever before, more than 120. there were only 94 in copenhagen a few years ago, and we're much better prepared now. and the announcements that have been made and are being made on a whole range of issues, on climate smart agriculture, green bonds, forestry, cities coming together, energy efficiency, support for after cash support for small island states are really mobilizing people to believe this is a moment where we are changing direction in favor of a renewable energy world that would be better for everyone. >> brown: and yet the old rift between developed and developing countries over who should bear the burden of changes in energy

use hasn't been resolved. is there a specific movement. you see that could clear the way to a meaningful agreement? >> i think we've made progress on that. the durbin conference came out with the durbin-enhanced platform and said all countries must take action on climate change. of course, the bigger emitters and the countries that benefited for longer from fossil fuel, like the industrialized countries, they must move further and they should move first, but there's less of a divide, i believe. i sat in on a meeting of an alliance of the progressive states who got the durbin agreement together, and the mood was actually quite positive. but the poorer countries and the small island states are saying, we want some more evidence of financing to help usdant, and we have heard announcement, even today at the summit. we had an announcement from germany of $1 billion for the green climate fund. france has promised $1 billion. korea, denmark have promised money.

countries are coming in and we're hearing them as i speak. >> brown: speaking of the biggest emitters, the heads of state of two of the top three, china and india, are rather pointedly not attending this summit. does that suggest an unwillingness to move toward any kind of new agreement? >> my understanding is it's not actually very pointed. china believes that a very senior representative is coming, the vice premier, the third in the chinese establishment and the first on climate and development issues. they regard that as being very senior. in the case of prime minister modi, he's coming to the general assembly, and i'm sure he'll reference climate later, but he has a state visit to the united states at the end of the week, and he couldn't with away from his country for all of that time. both the communications from both have been that we do want a climb agreement, we're very serious about it. so i don't take it as being negative in that sense. we're incredibly proved by the numbers that are here and the numbers that have come out in the streets to mobilize their

leaders. i think the secretary-general played it absolutely right in having this climate summit. it has made a huge difference to everybody's deadlines and planning and it has helped us on the road, first of all, to peru to, lima this december, where we see a text of a climate agreement and then negotiations for the year that will take us up to paris. >> among industrial countries, as you say, there have been pledges for more action and pledges for new money, and yet even here in the u.s., there is little sign of a political consensus on the size of the problem or the policies needed. >> and yet i was just talking to jerry brown, the give of california, here in new york. and hearing from him, the steps that california has taken. so cities are moving and states are moving within the united states, and i think people, especially young people, really do get how important it is that the united states gives leadership on this because it's going to be good for their economies. there was a new economy... a new

climate economy report saying that all countries should now take climate action because it's good for future sustainability. get out of fossil fuels as rapidly as possible and interrenewables. i believe coming from a climate justice perspective we have to do that fairly. we have to realize that even large emerging economies have very large poor populations and poor countries don't have good energy at the moment and are worried about trying to move so rapidly into renewables. they need to have some space to work it out, but they need our help to do it as rapidly as possible. >> finally, you said going in that this gathering should not repeat the mistakes of copenhagen. how do you define that and how exactly will you measure success from this gathering? >> we've learned the lessons from copenhagen. it was astonishing that heads of state would go to copenhagen without knowing what the outcome would be. then they cobbled together the copenhagen accords. we have time to prepare and the preparation is much more rigorous. there will be a draft next in

lima. there will be a year. it has to be inclusive because it's the u.n. system. everybody has to be prepared to step up to the plate. leaders now are talking very seriously about how climate is already affecting their countries. so they need this climate agreement. and we need pathway that keeps us below two degrees celsius. i don't say i'm an optimist, but i borrow what archbishop desmond tutu says. i'm a prisoner of hope. i'm very hopeful that we're on the right course at last,. i want civil society everywhere, in this country and all over the world to, keep up the pressure on the leaders because we need to change course an we are taking course to get a safe world for our children and grandchildren. it's as important as that. >> brown: mary robinson, former president of airline and now u.n. special envoy on climate change, thank you so much for joining us. >> thank you. >> woodruff: imagine a world where mushrooms can be turned

into furniture, algae can be used to conduct electricity, and glowing plants can replace street lights. those are examples of what's become known as bio-hacking, a diverse movement that is gathering steam, converts and controversy. newshour special correspondent spencer michels explains. >> reporter: in private and university labs, students and volunteers are messing with biology. they are engaged in what's become known as biohacking. stanford bioengineering professor drew endy. >> hacking is a positive term, and it means learning about stuff by building, and trying to make things, and seeing what happens. >> reporter: that's what they're doing at berkeley biolabs. biohackers here are delving into biological systems, trying to figure out how the d.n.a in plants is controlled, how to build an inexpensive photometer for biological research and how to use algae to make batteries.

>> you're not making electricity, you're storing electricity that you can recover later. >> reporter: this is one of a growing number of biohacking locations, mostly off campus, where biology has become a citizen sport, a place where anyone with or without training can do hands-on biology, and perhaps change the world. it is a new, less formal way of practicing biology than in many university or commercial labs. ron shigeta, a ph.d. chemist and biologist, co-founded the lab a year ago. >> biohacking is sort of the ability to walk into a space, like ours, and follow your curiosity, and sort of not have these limits of someone coming and saying to you, like, you know, you can't do that, you're not an expert, you don't know anything about this. you can come in, and you can look at bacteria, you might take a little piece of plant and grow the plant up and try to change its properties, you can even take your food apart and look at the biological things that are living in the food, and making it tasty and nutritious.

>> we're a team of citizen scientists and biohackers. >> reporter: one group of hackers has posted video online to raise money so they can produce a vegan cheese made from re-programmed yeast. >> he genetically modified yeast will produce cheese protein as it grows... >> reporter: what started as a fringe science has become almost mainstream. stanford university has constructed a new lab dedicated to synthetic biology, a formal term for biohacking. staffed by a combination of ph.d.s, and undergraduates volunteering their time, it's run by professor endy, one of the leaders of the movement. >> as an engineer working with biology, i view biology not as a science, but as a platform for making, for manufacturing i want to figure out how to partner with life to make the things we need, in a way that's sustainable and beautiful. >> this is a locally grown, organic mushroom chair. >> reporter: endy points to san francisco artist philip ross, a

former cook, as a biohacker who is using biology to make art works and sustainable building materials. ross takes common reishi mushrooms, feeds them sawdust or other cellulose waste like peanut shavings, and produces a new, recyclable material he shapes into chairs or bricks. >> i'm able to transform them into something that doesn't look at all like what we're familiar with as a mushroom. it could be seen as biohacking in that i'm taking an organism, and i'm making it do things that might not be immediately obvious or apparent. >> reporter: ross has founded a firm, myco works, to produce and market his products. >> in pretty short order i expect to be producing millions of tons of fungi on the planet earth. >> reporter: not all biohackers are having the success ross has had, but in makeshift labs like this one hundreds of would-be scientists are working toward that ah-ha moment.

biohackers like to compare the biological revolution they believe they are part of to the development of the computer a at first only a few people, insiders, could tinker with computers, but as they became more commonplace, they changed the entire society. now biologists think they are part of a revolution similar to the computer. endy is convinced the natural world-- forests and oceans and deserts-- provide models for man. flourishing biosystems that generate huge amounts of power, hackable systems that will teach us to be more productive and creative. >> what happens if we could do something like grow a cell phone using a mushroom, to physically make electronics. >> reporter: literally grow the entire cell phone, or grow some parts of it that you put into a cell phone? >> obviously we'd start with figuring out how to grow parts, and then we'd see how far we could take it. >> reporter: the biohackers at "glowing plant" in san francisco

are shooting for a more modest goal. using this video, they raised around half a million dollars to research how to make a normal plant glow in the dark using d.n.a from a squid. >> what if we used trees to light our streets instead of electric street lamps? >> reporter: antony evans, not a biologist but a marketing specialist is co-founder. >> bioluminescence is the process by which biological organisms make light from their d.n.a. so we go online, we download the genes responsible for making a bacteria glow we put them on our software and we press print. it's nearly as simple as that. >> reporter: so far, the glowing plant is very dim: but in two years evans expects tens of thousands of times more brightness. and even now, people are investing in the technology and buying the plants. the glowing plant was pioneered at biocurious, a biohacking lab in silicon valley where the

hackers-- all ages, all disciplines-- are now experimenting with bioprinting. that's a technique that uses a modified ink jet printer to produce biological results. biocurious founder eri gentry sees the possibility of printing body parts. >> what if you could take stem cells from your own body and have these be differentiated into heart cells that are placed on a scaffold that's printed for pennies, maybe a few dollars, grow enough and then transplant it back into your own body, with our own materials. and the way the hackers think is hey, that's not so hard, i can do that. >> reporter: but biohacking has plenty of detractors. critics who warn that unregulated biology poses dangers to the environment and to humans. one of those skeptics is dana perls who is an activist with friends of the earth. >> do we really think that reprogramming life in garages is not going to encounter some sort

of mistakes, some sort of problem? this has to be taken really seriously, we're not talking about people who are entirely trained. >> reporter: perls says the field of biohacking to too new to be allowed free reign. >> if and when these organisms escape into the environment, we won't know how to recall them or clean them up. this is a very new field of technology about which we know very little. it's unregulated, it's virtually unassessed, and we need to be sure that we have national and international regulation, safety assessments, and safety precautions. >> reporter: but endy counters that biohackers do observe safety rules, even though those rules aren't entirely clear at this point. and, he says, law enforcement is working with the community to develop safe practices. >> just because you're not at an institution when it comes to biohacking, it doesn't mean

there aren't any rules, and you might be surprised, for example the f.b.i field office in san francisco has field agents who are in charge of making sure that the local so-called biohacking community is operating responsibly. >> reporter: the debate over the ethics and legality of biohacking has just begun. it will be played out as do-it- yourself biologists hack their way into natural systems-- not sure what they will find. >> woodruff: spencer has more online, including how one ambitious bio-hacker tinkers with his own body in the hope of improving himself physically and mentally. >> woodruff: finally tonight, new details and fresh questions following a major security breach at the most famous residence in america. the amateur video taped by a

tourist captured a man running across the white house lawn friday evening. omar gonzalez allegedly jumped the fence and made it through the executive mansion's unlocked front door with a three-inch knife before being stopped. >> folks-- everybody turn around and head out the gate here. let's go, let's go. you're going to have to go to 17th street please. >> woodruff: the first family had left for camp david just minutes before, but the incident still prompted a partial evacuation of the white house. federal prosecutors revealed yesterday that gonzalez, an army veteran from texas, had 800 rounds of ammunition, a machete and two hatchets in his vehicle. he'd also been arrested in july in southwestern virginia with a car full of weapons and a map with the white house circled. and last month, officials stopped gonzalez as he walked by the white house with a hatchet in his belt. after friday's incident, the secret service immediately increased surveillance and foot

patrols near the white house. but the episode also brought renewed criticism. republican congressman peter king of new york appeared on "fox news sunday". >> this demands a full investigation as to what happened and why it happened, and what's being done to make sure it never happens again. >> woodruff: a house hearing is scheduled next week, amid reports the public might be moved farther back from the fences. but d.c.'s delegate to congress, eleanor holmes norton, has objected to that proposal. in a letter to secret service director julia pierson, she asked that public access not be further restricted. for his part, president obama expressed confidence in his security team yesterday during a white house event. >> the secret service does a great job and i'm grateful for all the sacrifices they make on my behalf and my family's behalf. >> woodruff: still, this wasn't the first black eye for the secret service. in 2012, agents were disciplined over allegations they used

prostitutes in colombia, south america. and last year, three agents were sent home for drinking during the president's trip to europe. the security breach is raising a lot of questions about the secret service, its ability to protect the president, and what changes might be made in and around the white house. joining us is carol leonnig, a reporter for "the washington post," who has been following this story closely. welcome to the program. >> thanks, judy. >> woodruff: so what more do we know, carol, about why this man got as far as he did, opened the door of the white house and was about to go in? >> it's kind of stunning. you know, the previous problems the service have suffered you could put in a category of misconduct, personal misbehavior, but this one is kind of on another... it's in a whole other category because it raises questions about the tactical performance of the secret service. there are a number of rings of security around the white house to protect the complex and the president, of course, but to

protect this central beacon of our government, and all of those rings are reporting as showing failed. you know, the alarm bell sounded. guys are supposed to swarm the area. a dog is supposed to be let loose if uniformed officers can't collar that intrudeer. an emergency response team is supposed to go into action to basically jump all over this person. a host of things are supposed to happen that didn't happen. that door is supposed to be locked and it was open. >> why did all this happen? do you have answers no these questions? >> this whole event is under investigation by the secret service. they've been very mum about that and in making any early prola nations, but what we've learned from people close to some of the evidence is there are serious questions about whether or not the dog and the canine handler, a fail-safe way of stopping the intruder, whether they were in position at the right time on the north lawn or whether they were sort of out of position. there are also a lot of concern,

and we can't attribute this to what happened necessarily friday night, but there are a lot of concerns about severe staffing shortages among the division, the uniform division of the secret service that is responsible for protecting the grounds. you know, you see the protective detail for the president usually on television, but this is sort of the hard core back of the kitchen group of the secret service that makes sure the grounds are safe. and that group has been understaffed for the last two and a half years. >> woodruff: that's documented that they haven't been for budget reasons getting the money? what's the explanation? >> the secret service said hard decisions had to be made during continuing resolutions and budget tightening and they decided the best way the handle that and cover all their other costs was to go down a little on the number of officers in the uniformed division. they say that has not impaired their security parole -- protocol, but a lot of people inside the agency has it has

endangered it. it has burned out officers. it has required them to come in on off days routinely and it has created a really low morale and probably has led to a couple posts not being monitored. again, i stress, it doesn't mean that's the reason this happened, but it is part of the background. >> woodruff: decision making on this goes to the very top. we mentioned julia pierson. she's been there a year and a half. what role is she playing in all of this in. >> she's taking it very seriously. i think she's extremely cognizant of how embarrassing this is an understand debt. former senior secret service agents are coming out saying that this is humiliating for the agency they love, and she says she's going to do a top to bottom review, were protocols violated, is the problem with training, is it about staffing, is it about how they communicate the officers? she also says she'll share with this with the secretary of the department of the homeland

security. we don't know what parts of it will be public. i doubt that much of it will. >> woodruff: so based on the people you've talked to outside, government inside people who have served in the secret service before, how confident are they that this is going to get fixed? >> they're a bit worried i think. they've seen sort of a number of incidents that worry them, but this is a new low and they wonder if perhaps the agency has become a little complacent, a little too reactive rather than creative in thinking about the new world of security. i can't speak to that. that's not my expertise, but listening to them, i hear a real anxiety about the agency they love. >> and at a time when the threats against the president, against the white house are not lessning. >> no, increasing actually in this administration. >> woodruff: carol leonnig with the "washington post," thank you. >> thank you, judy.

>> woodruff: again, the major developments of the day. president obama declared last night's air strikes on "islamic lessning state" targets in syria are only the first and he said the participation of five arab states shows "this is not america's fight alone." pentagon officials also said other air strikes hit an al- qaeda group in syria before it could attack the u.s. or europe and at a u.n. climate summit the president called for a new "global compact" on limiting greenhouse gases. on the newshour online right now: dallas artist gabriel dawe starts with a concept and 60 miles of thread. then he weaves massive geometric installations that transform entire spaces. see some of those creations, filmed by our partners at north texas's k.e.r.a, on our art beat page. all that and more is on our web site, newshour.pbs.org.

>> woodruff: and again, to our honor roll of american service personnel killed in the afghanistan conflict. we add them as their deaths are made official and photographs become available. here, in silence, are three more. >> woodruff: and that's the newshour for tonight. on wednesday, margaret warner reports from the united nations general assembly where president obama will lead a meeting of the security council. i'm judy woodruff. we'll see you online and again here tomorrow evening. for all of us here at the pbs newshour, thank you and good night. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by:

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