Sample6 wants to take the guesswork out of the equation and eliminate costly recalls that can severely damage a brand’s reputation. After conquering the food industry, the company has plans to develop similar detectors for health care, retail food chains, and water monitoring applications. Unfortunately, I have been told that a horse meat detector is not on the radar.
7. Biocatalytic carbon capture
Installing post-combustion carbon capture, or PCCC, systems in a power plant can be pretty cost-prohibitive, which puts those calling for increasingly tougher pollution and emissions regulations in a tough spot. Storing carbon dioxide underground can be even more expensive, besides the fact that it has been demonstrated at only relatively small scales.
Enzyme producers Codexis, Inc. (NASDAQ:CDXS) and CO2 Systems teamed up with Alcoa Inc (NYSE:AA) and the Department of Energy to pioneer a different approach. Codexis hijacked microbial genomes to increase the carbon capture ability of natural carbonic anhydrase by 2 million-fold, which could reduce scrubber column size by 95%, chemical use by 80%, and capital expenditures for a PCCC system by $146 million.
The technology not only reduces emissions and costs but also stores carbon in various alumina and fertilizer products — effectively turning CO2 into a revenue stream. Despite the program’s initial success, the group disbanded after determining that commercial deployment wouldn’t be possible by the Department of Energy’s mandatory funding date of 2014. Nonetheless, the project was hailed as one that “could fundamentally change the way the country uses and produces energy.” It’s not a question of if biocatalytic carbon capture is revived, but when.
8. Terraforming and colonizing Mars
Who said our newfound fascination with synthetic biology has to stay grounded on the third rock from the sun? Humans will one day make their way to the Red Planet, but bringing along enough supplies for a permanent presence would require impossible amounts of fuel and money.
By contrast, a test tube of frozen microbes could fit in an astronaut’s pocket. Cells brought along for the journey could be cultured using the abundance of elements and sunshine found on Mars to produce dietary supplements, building materials, and even biopolymer resins for 3-D printing factories. Photosynthetic algae and bacteria could even be spread across the planet to pump greenhouse gases and oxygen into the Martian atmosphere and create a habitable environment, albeit over the course of decades or even centuries. Ironically, our evolution into a multiplanetary species may very well hinge on our ability to work with bacteria.
Foolish bottom line
Synthetic biology has enormous potential to transform the world, but it also comes with a fair share of hurdles. Several of the technologies I’ve mentioned raise moral and ethical questions that will need to be sorted out for widespread adoption. However, I believe the reward side of the equation heavily outweighs the risks associated with many of these disruptive technologies. The only limits are our imagination and relatively limited understanding of biology.
The article 8 Projects Bringing Synthetic Biology to Your Doorstep originally appeared on Fool.com.
Fool contributor Maxx Chatsko owns shares of Codexis. Check out his personal portfolio, his CAPS page, or follow him on Twitter, @BlacknGoldFool, to keep up with his writing on energy, bioprocessing, and emerging technologies.The Motley Fool recommends Intel and Whole Foods Market and owns shares of Intel, Microsoft, Solazyme, and Whole Foods Market.
Copyright © 1995 – 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
