Posted on 03/01/2008 4:17:06 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
MONTEREY, California (AFP) - A scientist who mapped his genome and the genetic diversity of the oceans said Thursday he is creating a life form that feeds on climate-ruining carbon dioxide to produce fuel.
Geneticist Craig Venter disclosed his potentially world-changing "fourth-generation fuel" project at an elite Technology, Entertainment and Design conference in Monterey, California.
"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."
Simple organisms can be genetically re-engineered to produce vaccines or octane-based fuels as waste, according to Venter.
Biofuel alternatives to oil are third-generation. The next step is life forms that feed on CO2 and give off fuel such as methane gas as waste, according to Venter.
"We have 20 million genes which I call the design components of the future," Venter said. "We are limited here only by our imagination."
His team is using synthetic chromosomes to modify organisms that already exist, not making new life, he said. Organisms already exist that produce octane, but not in amounts needed to be a fuel supply.
"If they could produce things on the scale we need, this would be a methane planet," Venter said. "The scale is what is critical; which is why we need to genetically design them."
The genetics of octane-producing organisms can be tinkered with to increase the amount of CO2 they eat and octane they excrete, according to Venter.
The limiting part of the equation isn't designing an organism, it's the difficulty of extracting high concentrations of CO2 from the air to feed the organisms, the scientist said in answer to a question from Page.
Scientists put "suicide genes" into their living creations so that if they escape the lab, they can be triggered to kill themselves.
Venter said he is also working on organisms that make vaccines for the flu and other illnesses.
"We will see an exponential change in the pace of the sophistication of organisms and what they can do," Venter said.
"We are a ways away from designing people. Our goal is just to make sure they survive long enough to do that."
There’s a couple Liberals that could be test subjects...
Don’t plants turn CO2 into fuel?
So perhaps he’s breeding a new variety of petunia?
They turn CO2 into oxygen and sugars....
I'm sure we'll soon see an article about a big, evil, greedy oil company that bought up this startup company, as a way to "diversify" their capabilities to provide energy solutions to a grateful planet.
Master-Blaster had the methane thing down pretty well
If the trigger fails, I, for one, welcome our new biofuel-generating microscopic overlords.
Historically known as "trees", which yield "firewood".
Interesting. I’m a bit hesitant about making artificial lifeforms with voracious appetites just yet though. I think they know less that they think do concerning genetic information.
Newsflash - March 1, 2018
Mutant Fuel Breeders Release
Following the accidental release of Fuel Breeders last year, the Earth’s level of CO2 has decreased. Scientists believe the rate is logarithmic, and CO2 levels will reach a critical stage by 2020, with only the hardiest of creatures surviving.
“Famed geneticist creating life form that turns CO2 to fuel”
They are called trees.
What kind of tribute do you think they might want? Complex carbs?
This scientist has failed to recognize that liberals
only want symbolic solutions to metaphorical problems,
not real solutions to real problems.
The liberals appreciate the advance notice, however,
so that they can outlaw his technology.
Now, if his tech had exacerbated real problems,
while failing to be a symbolic solution to
metaphorical problems, that would be OK, as
long as there were non-liberal scapegoats to blame.
_____
And that’s the way it is.
Yep
Global Warming/Science Ping!
And that's all this is.
Not that it might be a good idea. It's just that he's not up to the task.
And when these life forms have eaten up all the CO2... How will Algore breath those billions and billions of cubic miles of methane gas?
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