Dr. Craig Venter shook the scientific world and sparked a fresh debate over bio-ethics when he announced on Thursday that his team had successfully created the first synthetic cell. According to a New York Times report, scientists “synthesiz[ed] an entire bacterial genome and use[d] it to take over a cell.”
In addition to its potential applications to manufacturing vaccines, cell synthesis technology can and will be used by Dr. Venter’s company, Synthetic Genomics, to improve biofuel production from algae. From the Times:
Synthetic Genomics has a contract from Exxon to generate biofuels from algae. Exxon is prepared to spend up to $600 million if all its milestones are met. Dr. Venter said he would try to build “an entire algae genome so we can vary the 50 to 60 different parameters for algae growth to make superproductive organisms.”
While producing biodiesel and other biofuels from algae has some drawbacks, it is widely regarded as the most promising feedstock for large-scale biofuel production due to its resilient and fast-growing nature. In February, the Department of Defense’s DARPA agency announced that it would soon produce bio-jet fuel from algae at the cost of just $3 per gallon. The synthetic cell advancement could lead to the synthesis of algae cells that produce more plant oils than nature-made algae, boosting the per-acre biofuel yield of the feedstock.
Synthetic Genomics’ partnership with Exxon began just a few months ago, and was characterized as “an aggressive program” by an Exxon executive. With the huge economic resources of Exxon behind it, the biofuel applications of the synthetic cell technology will likely receive all the support needed to produce commercially viable algae-based biocrude in just a few years.
A new scientific boost to biofuel manufacturing is great news for heating oil dealers and consumers alike. As the technology for producing biodiesel (the biofuel that can be used as a drop-in replacement for petroleum-based heating oil) improves and the cost of the fuel drops, it will become more affordable and more widely available, providing heating oil users around the country with a cleaner and more sustainable heating fuel.
Watch a video report on Dr. Venter’s announcement from the UK’s Sky News below:
Best Regards to
No comments:
Post a Comment