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Too much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere? Turn it into fuel!

A lot of effort is being put into carbon sequestration these days — removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and storing it away where it won't contribute to climate change — but what if we could turn that carbon dioxide into something useful instead?

Scientists at the University of Georgia have done just that, by genetically altering a microbe normally found in one of the most extreme environments on the planet. Pyrococcus furiosus (which apparently translates from the Greek as 'rushing fireberry') are single-celled organisms that live around hydrothermal vents at the bottom of the ocean, where temperatures hover around 100°C. The scientists altered the microbes so that they not only thrive at room temperatures, but they also consume carbon dioxide and produce useful chemicals.

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"Basically, what we have done is create a microorganism that does with carbon dioxide exactly what plants do — absorb it and generate something useful," said Michael Adams, according to Science Daily. Adams is a Professor of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology and Microbiology at the University of Georgia and Co-Director of the Center for Metalloenzyme Studies.

"What this discovery means is that we can remove plants as the middleman," Adams told Science Daily. "We can take carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere and turn it into useful products like fuels and chemicals without having to go through the inefficient process of growing plants and extracting sugars from biomass."

Adams and his team have only used P. furiosus to produce industrial chemicals so far, but it would only take a few more alterations to the microbe's genetic code for it to produce fuels.

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An important part of this discovery is that the fuel produced by these microbes is 'carbon neutral' — it releases the same amount of carbon dioxide that was consumed. That's not perfect (something that consumed CO2 and didn't release any would be perfect), but it's a substantial step forward from burning fossil fuels, which only release excess carbon dioxide that has been stored for millions of years.

(Photos courtesy: NOAA/ArchiMeDes)

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