BioFuels Journal

Jay Keasling pioneers the burgeoning field of synthetic biology, which can turn microorganisms into chemical factories for products ranging from medicines to clean fuels.

Already, research by the UC Berkeley professor of chemical engineering and bioengineering has led to a way to mass-produce, cheaply, the powerful anti-malarial drug, artemisinin.

Within the next two years, the drug could save many of the 1 million to 3 million people - mostly children in developing countries - who now die annually from malaria.

Mass-producing the drug is crucial, as the current plant-derived version of the drug will be in short supply.

Artemisinin, however, is only one step in a bigger effort, said Keasling at an Oct. 29 talk sponsored by the Office of Research and Graduate Studies at UCOP.

At the U.S. Department of Energy's Joint BioEnergy Institute, where Keasling is CEO, scientists are using the same techniques to make artemisinin to produce biofuels that could someday reduce greenhouse gases and dependence on oil.

The field of synthetic biology combines elements of engineering, chemistry, computer science and molecular biology, and scientists at the Lawrence Berkley National Laboratory-led JBEI turn well-known microorganisms, such as E. coli bacteria and yeast, into biological parts for churning out new chemicals and valuable products.

Keasling said synthetic biologists have improved the reliability and safety of engineered organisms by assembling standardized and well-studied organisms much as one might assemble a computer from standard components such as a hard drive, sound card, motherboard and power supply.

He has received numerous honors for his work, including the first Biotech Humanitarian Award (2009) for developing a simple and much less expensive means of making artemisinin, today's most powerful anti-malaria drug.

In 2006, Discover magazine honored Keasling as its first ever Scientist of the Year.

"Fighting malaria is just one part of Keasling's larger agenda to explore the staggering potential of synthetic biology," stated the magazine.

"In his laboratory, students are engineering microbes to break down pesticides, make biodegradable plastics, and create ethanol and other fuels from plants."

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• University of California-Berkeley

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