Many packaging, plastics, fibers, medicines, dietary supplements, building materials and everyday objects are based on petroleum. Derivatives of fossil fuels are even found in mattresses, toothbrushes and clothing. And if such products end up in the trash, they are usually burned; The carbon dioxide released ends up in the atmosphere.
A research team at the Charité Berlin wants to change this by specifically intervening in the metabolism of microorganisms. The Lindlich Lab under Dr. Steffen Lindner wants – in a figurative sense – to make gold out of dirt. The researchers are teaching microorganisms to produce higher-quality chemical building blocks from waste materials, with the aim of reducing the amount of petroleum as a raw material in the long term.