Enlisting microbes to solve global problems

In the search for answers to the planet's biggest challenges, some MIT researchers are turning to its tiniest organisms: bacteria. The idea of exploiting microbial products is not new: Humans have long enlisted bacteria and yeast to make bread, wine and cheese, and more recently discovered antibiotics that help fight disease. Now, researchers in the growing field of metabolic engineering are trying to manipulate bacteria's unique abilities to help generate energy and clean up Earth's atmosphere...

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