Famed geneticist creating life form that turns CO2 to fuel

Yahoo! News ^ | February 28, 2008

[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."

[2ndDivisionVet]

Comments?

[wastedyears]

There’s a couple Liberals that could be test subjects...

[SampleMan]

Don’t plants turn CO2 into fuel?

[highlander_UW]

It’d be hilarious to see the liberals have to call for INCREASED Co2 production for fuel purposes. Maybe we can hook a pipe up to Gore’s house...that things’s a beast.

[kc8ukw]

So perhaps he’s breeding a new variety of petunia?

[G8 Diplomat]

They turn CO2 into oxygen and sugars....

[willgolfforfood]

LOL! Since the first oil panics of the early 1970's, I've heard that big, evil, greedy oil companies take turns buying up engines that get 100 MPG's.

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.

[NonValueAdded]

Master-Blaster had the methane thing down pretty well

[dead]

Scientists put "suicide genes" into their living creations so that if they escape the lab, they can be triggered to kill themselves.

If the trigger fails, I, for one, welcome our new biofuel-generating microscopic overlords.

[DuncanWaring]

...a life form that feeds on climate-ruining carbon dioxide to produce fuel.

Historically known as "trees", which yield "firewood".

[kinoxi]

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.

[geopyg]

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.

[BGHater]

'carbon dioxide to produce fuel.' Dunno about the specifics of the life form, I would hope it wouldn't get out or is safe outside in our environment. I hope they know what they are doing.

[Hacklehead]

“Famed geneticist creating life form that turns CO2 to fuel”

They are called trees.

[sauropod]

If the trigger fails, I, for one, welcome our new biofuel-generating microscopic overlords.

What kind of tribute do you think they might want? Complex carbs?

[Boundless]

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.

[Matchett-PI]

"Master-Blaster had the methane thing down pretty well"

Yep

[2ndDivisionVet]

Global Warming/Science Ping!

[Regulator]

Venter hasn't made anything worth keeping in his entire career. He's mostly a blow-hard who makes overblown claims and then ends up dissembling in an attempt to explain away his failure.

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.

[Bender2]

Re: The next step is life forms that feed on CO2 and give off fuel such as methane gas as waste, according to Venter.

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?

[Mr. Lucky]

Kindo of disappointing that it took 3 posts before someone called this article into question.

[Argus]

life forms that feed on CO2 and give off fuel such as methane gas as waste

Why don't we just cut out the middleman and bottle the CO2 and run our cars on that?

[KTM rider]

sorry, God already invented it.

It even has a name.

It's called vegetation. It uses CO2 and you can make ethanol with it or burn it in those things the cave men called fire

[Right Wing Assault]

Oh, no! What if they escape and eat ALL the CO2 and we freeze to death from global cooling?

[plain talk]

Scientists put "suicide genes" into their living creations so that if they escape the lab, they can be triggered to kill themselves.

"No, I'm simply saying that life, uh... finds a way. "

[facedown]

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

bookmarked

[AZLiberty]

If it keeps getting colder, sequestering CO2 will soon be seen as a crime against humanity.

[chiller]

The article went on to say the same gentleman is simultaneously working on a project to turn cowsh*t into gold.

[Hacklehead]

Craig needs to take a microbiology course. There are plenty of bacteria that convert CO2 and hydrogen into methane, they are called methanogens. The problem is that methane is also a deadly planet killing, polar bear drowning, greenhouse gas and when it is burned as a fuel, is converted back to CO2. Doesn’t really make sense does it?

[dr_lew]

This whole scheme bears an eerily disturbing resemblance to Vonnegut’s ICE-9 scenario in Cat’s Cradle.

[mamelukesabre]

...and sugar is what? Anyone? Anyone?

Fuel.

[SampleMan]

They turn CO2 into oxygen and sugars....

Whatever they do with it, it burns well in my fireplace.

[JustDoItAlways]

We have to very careful with genetically modified organisms and especially, completely engineered ones.

Even today, we have absolutely no way of controlling bacteria. They live on every surface from the 50kms up to 5 kms under the earth. Until 200 years ago, we didn’t even know they existed.

Viruses, well that is another story.

I don’t think we should be engineering a potentially dangerous bacteria, especially for a completely made-up problem.

[beezdotcom]

Don’t plants turn CO2 into fuel?

Yes, in the form of sugars and oxygen.

So, it's gonna be really great if this organism gets created, gets out into the environment and starts to compete with plants. Then, plant life takes it on the chin, and we all starve. That's SUPER.

[ml/nj]

an audience that included global warming fighter Al Gore

All you need to know.

ML/NJ

[2ndDivisionVet]

Aren’t the things that cause mad cow disease (can’t recall the term for them) neither bacteria nor virus?

[neverdem]

Thanks, but I’ll take an energy independence ping.

[JasonC]

Idiots monkeying with things they don't remotely understand...

[Truth29]

"Oh, no! What if they escape and eat ALL the CO2 and we freeze to death from global cooling?"

Well, at least the enviros won't be able to complain then - athough they may try from the afterlife.

[Gondring]

Scientists put "suicide genes" into their living creations so that if they escape the lab, they can be triggered to kill themselves.

Yeah, and genes mutate.

[ATOMIC_PUNK]

So he’s gonna starve and kill all the trees and plant life ?

[G8 Diplomat]

For plants, yeah. Try putting that in your gas tank.

[Hacklehead]

“Aren’t the things that cause mad cow disease (can’t recall the term for them) neither bacteria nor virus?”

Correct. They are called Prions and are made up of protein only.

[kinoxi]

They don’t know enough to do this. What has been considered ‘junk DNA’ in the past has been found to have uses as our tools improve. The arrogance is scary.

[TenthAmendmentChampion]

GW ping

Isn’t methane a worse greenhouse gas than CO2?

[Richard Kimball]

I actually thought of Deep Space Nine and the Jem Haddar. They were genetically designed to die if they didn’t receive a constant supply of some kind of drug.

[Hacklehead]

“I actually thought of Deep Space Nine and the Jem Haddar. They were genetically designed to die if they didn’t receive a constant supply of some kind of drug.”

I’m like that with beer.

[NoLibZone]

This will upset the Apple cart.

"Please to be making no efforts to diversify and researching various non Arab.. I meaning non Fossil fuels energy"

[muawiyah]

Sounds like you've been up against him. What did you do?

(NOTE: Guys who challenge Venter's credentials must put their own on the line first).

[bert]

Alge farts oxygen and water while developing gall diamonds