From brewing beer to making energy – Oh microbes, how could we live without you!
Oct 9, 2018
About the Topic
Microbes, or bacteria, have been around for more than 3.5 billion years. We normally associate them with diseases – how unfortunate. They are the first life form to walk (swim) on earth and make the organic molecules – a sign of life on other planets that we are actively exploring. Microbes have shaped the earth we live in. They make the oxygen we breathe in and the food we enjoy (cheese, wine, beer, sauerkraut). Microbes are our ancestors and our daily companions. Our body contains trillions of bacteria, i.e., the microbiome, that keep us healthy. No two human microbiomes are the same. In this presentation, I will touch up on how we can now crack the genetic codes and harness these little creatures’ innate ability to make (transform) energy and chemicals for us, using sunlight, waste organic materials, and even electricity. Output of these microbial conversions are hydrogen (Japanese put hydrogen in the beer), biofuels, biodegradable plastics, and high-value chemicals which are either direct drop-in or precursors to renewable fuels and chemicals. Oh microbes, our future and the entire human race depend on you for survival!!
Bio
Pin-Ching Maness has degrees in Microbiology and Computer Information Systems. She is a Principal Scientist and Group Manager of the Biosciences Center at the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) in Golden, Colorado. She is also a Research Fellow at RASEI (The Renewable and Sustainable Energy Institute), a joint institute between NREL and the University of Colorado, Boulder. Her research activities are focusing on using modern day genetic tools (including CRISPR) to modify the genetics of various bacteria and redirect their metabolism toward yielding renewable fuels and chemicals. The diverse microbes she has developed include: photosynthetic bacteria (cyanobacteria, aka blue-green algae) that can capture sunlight and fix carbon dioxide (the fizz in your beer), or microbes that can utilize waste organic biomass, and most recently microbes that can fix carbon dioxide in the dark using electricity, indirectly.