Kristala Prather: Biofuels of the future

Microbes, small living systems which take sugars and turn them into fuel, could help to solve the world¹s energy shortfall as well as cutting greenhouse gas emissions, explains Kristala Prather.

We have to be able to take ideas from a lab into the real world, she argues. Synthetic biology is used to custom design microbes that produce replacements for diesel and gasoline. If this work succeeds, we¹ll drastically reduce the consumption of oil, and emissions of greenhouse gases into the environment.

This video was first released on the World Economic Forum site. Kristala Prather is an Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

By: Kristala Prather, World Economic Forum (WEF)