DailyDirt: It's The Yeast I Can Do...
from the urls-we-dig-up dept
Genetically engineered organisms already produce some highly valuable products for us. Insulin used to be harvested from the pancreases of pigs, but now stockpiles of human insulin can be made using a fermentation process with bio-engineered bacteria. Various kinds of yeast can produce different kinds of breads and beers, but if we can modify these tiny organisms at will, yeast could produce an incredibly wide variety of products. Just check out these links on the versatility of yeast.- The next version of Breaking Bad won't need a desperate chemistry teacher, but maybe a biology undergrad and some genetically modified yeast. Brewing all kinds of pharmaceutical drugs with bioengineered yeast could make drug synthesis remarkably inexpensive... and hard to police. [url]
- Researchers have created a yeast that is sensitive to magnetic fields, and this work could lead to other kinds of organisms engineered to have magnetic sensing abilities. Magnetic yeast cells can grow into arbitrary patterns shaped by external magnetic fields, and this ability could be employed in advanced bio-engineering processes. [url]
- Under current FDA rules, if a flavor chemical comes from a plant, animal, or edible yeast, then it can be labeled "natural" on food packaging. How natural would flavors really be if they were produced by genetically engineered yeast? Designer yeasts can produce flavors such as vanilla, saffron, and grapefruit -- and more flavors and fragrances are being developed. [url]
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Filed Under: bacteria, chemistry, drugs, flavors, gmo, insulin, life, magnetic yeast, microbiology, pharmaceuticals, yeast
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
if we can modify these tiny organisms at will, yeast could produce...
There's always a downside and evil people will find it.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Better not
OK, maybe it's not so bad after all.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Yeast Is Yeast, And Zest Is Zest ...
Prove me wrong?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
All hail the King ..
[ link to this | view in chronology ]