Sunday, November 24, 2013

Marine Algae used for Biofuels


The Scripps Institute of oceanography at UC San Diego have developed ground breaking advances in a method to greatly enhance biofuel production in tiny marine algae. In order to obtain this feat they developed a method to genetically engineer a key growth component in biofuel production. These developments come from a need for everyone to depend on traditional bio fuels less. A large hurdle has been lipid production slowing advancements but Scripps has figured out a way to overcome that problem. They have used data of generic expression to target specific enzyme inside a group of microscopic marine algae known as diatoms. "These results demonstrate that targeted metabolic manipulations can be used to increase accumulation of fuel-relevant molecules. with no negative effects on growth," said Emily Trentacoste, a main developer on this. "We have shown that engineering this pathway is a unique and practical approach for increasing lipid yields." It is a huge scientific advancement. Just a few years ago it was said to be impossible to claim such a feat but it has been done now. As a main marine research institution in the US, it is fitting that Scripps is the school to develop such groundbreaking and innovative processes for the whole marine and fuel industry.



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