[GreenYes] new synthesis synthetic biology

[LWheeler45@no.address]

A new synthesis
One of the leading proponents of this method is Jay Keasling, of the  
University of California, Berkeley, who also believes that synthetic biology  will 
ultimately need standard, well-characterised parts if it is to  thrive. ,,,, 
Dr Keasling's project is to do biologically what no chemist has yet managed  
to accomplishâto synthesise an antimalarial drug called artemisinin  
cheaply......... 
Dr Keasling's project is not the only one to lay down artificial metabolic  
pathways. One goal of synthetic biology is to make what is known as cellulosic  
ethanol. At the moment, ethanolâwhether for wine, beer or fuelâis made by  
fermenting sugar or starch. But even in crops such as sugar cane and maize, (  
and MSW) which have been bred for their high yields, a lot of the plant is  
wasted. Although yeast cannot digest cellulose or lignin, the molecules that  
form a plant's skeleton, some bacteria and other species of fungi are able to do 
 the job. Identifying the genes for the enzymes that do this, modifying them 
and  assembling them into new pathways would produce systems that could digest 
the  whole plant and turn it into ethanol. Nancy Ho, of Purdue University, in 
 Indiana, has already worked out a way to enable yeast cells to ferment the  
sugars produced by breaking down celluloseâwhich natural yeast cannot do. 
This is important stuff. Cellulosic ethanol is the great  hope of many 
environmentalists since its carbon, unlike that in fossil fuels,  comes from the 
atmosphere and thus cannot make a net contribution to global  warming when it 
returns there............
There is  potentially some really serious money and BTU's in waste. 
Especially if you do  not inefficiently burn it.
 
leonard e.  wheeler jr



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