In the krone.tv interview with Conny Winiwarter, Viennese researcher Tara Shirvani gives fascinating insights into synthetic biology: “We can play with it like Lego blocks. With synthetic biology, we can grow anything we want in the lab.” This ranges from houses that can “heal themselves” to turbo trees and plastic eaters. What sounds like a utopia could be our last chance against climate change…
The new report from the Federal Environmental Service paints a bleak picture: Austria will clearly not meet its 2030 climate targets. For Shirvani, there is only one solution: “If we want to improve our lifestyle and standard of living, we have to get rid of fossil fuels.” This realization is of course not new. However, the game changer that the Viennese researcher has to offer does.
“I Know It Sounds Crazy”
In the talk on krone.tv, the scientist compares synthetic biology to Lego bricks and thus makes the complex field accessible to a wide audience. There are many examples, such as houses that can heal themselves.
“Climate protection must be possible without making sacrifices”
“With synthetic biology we can produce concrete in the lab, not in 1000 years, but in a day. And it’s environmentally friendly.’ This allows houses to ‘heal’ their concrete cracks themselves. For Shirvani, synthetic biology is a way to save the climate “without giving up”.
The US and China are investing billions
In America there are already 60,000 of the so-called turbo trees, or “poplars that are genetically modified in the laboratory so that they suck more CO₂ from the atmosphere”. US President Joe Biden wants to invest $ 280 billion over the next 20 years, China even “four times as much”. And Europe? Lags behind again: “There is too little knowledge about this beautiful new industry.” But we are also pioneers: companies in France use bacteria from the laboratory that have been bred so that they simply eat plastic.” : meal!
In the video above you can see many other fascinating details, such as what synthetic biology has to do with vanilla ice cream and the fashion label H&M and whether Austria even overestimates its role in climate protection.
What do you think? Will synthetic biology save our lives? Comment with us!
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Source: Krone
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