Tech & Biz

Teaching bacteria to drink CO2 and belch methane

by azer | March 2, 2008 at 08:09 pm

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The highlighted article refers to a recent technology and design conference in California. Geneticist Craig Venter disclosed that he is working on a project involving modified bacteria. The goal is to increase the rate at which the bacteria can produce usable fuels from existing fuels - in this case consuming carbon dioxide and producing methane. He believes that the bacteria can be modified to produce enough fuel to meet demands:

"We have modest goals of replacing the whole petrochemical industry and becoming a major source of energy," Venter told an audience that included global warming fighter Al Gore and Google co-founder Larry Page.

"We think we will have fourth-generation fuels in about 18 months, with CO2 as the fuel stock."

Note that the geneticist did not make any claim regarding the creation of life. He very clearly specified that he was modifying existing organisms.