Little things that count - [manufacturing synthetic]

The use of chemical makeup found in single cell organisms to transform raw materials into environmentally friendly products is a novel approach to manufacturing but it is not as far-fetched as it appears. Imagine bacteria acting as a mini-manufacturing facility, creating products such as medicine, plastics and fuels. It may all sound like something from a Michael Crichton novel, but far from it. This science fiction is well on its way to becoming a reality, driven by work around the globe at research establishments. One of the leading hot-beds of this technology - dubbed synthetic biomanufacturing - is a group of Utah State University researchers in the colleges of science and engineering who have joined together to create the Synthetic Biomanufacturing Centre.