Chinese Scientists Turn CO2 Into Food In Major Scientific Breakthrough
The team at the Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology has developed an in vitro biotransformation (ivBT) system that synthesises sucrose from methanol, a low-carbon chemical that is derived from industrial waste or carbon dioxide. By utilising enzymes to convert methanol, researchers have presented a sustainable alternative to traditional agriculture.
"Artificial conversion of CO2 into food and chemicals offers a promising strategy to address both environmental and population-related challenges while contributing to carbon neutrality," the study published in the Science Bulletin highlighted.
The Tianjin researchers built on the work of scientists at the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, who developed a low-temperature method to convert carbon dioxide into methanol in 2021.
The team managed to achieve an impressive conversion rate of 86 per cent, which marks a significant milestone in the field of biomanufacturing, according to a report in the South China Morning Post. The system not only synthesises sucrose but also produces starch, using less energy than traditional methods.
"In vitro biotransformation (ivBT) has emerged as a highly promising platform for sustainable biomanufacturing. In this work, we successfully designed and implemented an [ivBT] system for sucrose synthesis from low-carbon molecules," the researchers said.
Based on the initial success, the researchers adapted the ivBT system to convert a variety of compounds, including fructose, amylose, amylopectin, cellobiose and cellooligosaccharides.
Excessive CO2 emissions have caused a global surface temperature increase of at least 1.1 degrees Celsius. With the global population expected to grow to 10 billion by the end of the century, the demand for food is expected to double.
However, the chemical reduction of carbon dioxide has opened up the possibility of using the captured greenhouse gas as a raw material for the sustainable biosynthesis of various chemicals.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
India Today
6 hours ago
- India Today
1% fall in test scores for every 1 degree rise in temperature in US schools: UNESCO
A new UNESCO report has raised concern over the impact of climate change on student performance in the United States. In schools lacking air conditioning, a 1 degree Celsius increase in average annual temperature led to a 1 percent drop in test scores, the report decline is especially worrying in the context of increasing heatwaves across the global UNESCO study on education and climate change found that rising classroom temperatures are directly affecting academic outcomes, especially in schools without adequate HEAT, FALLING SCORES UNESCO's 'Education and Climate Change: Learning to Act for People and Planet' report pointed out that temperature rises during the school year has a measurable impact on student learning.'In the United States, without air conditioning, a school year hotter by 1 degrees Celsius reduced test scores by 1%,' the report effects are not evenly distributed. Students from vulnerable communities -- particularly African American and Hispanic groups -- are more likely to be report highlighted that poorer infrastructure in these communities makes it harder to cope with extreme INEQUALITY IN EDUCATIONAL IMPACTVery hot school days disproportionately impacted African American and Hispanic students, the report said. 'Poor infrastructure conditions [in schools] account for roughly 5 per cent of the racial achievement gap,' the report means that while climate change affects all students, it deepens existing racial inequalities in educational outcomes. With heat exposure adding to the systemic challenges already faced by these communities, the gap in performance continues to INFRASTRUCTURE IN NEED OF URGENT FIXESThe report also flagged outdated infrastructure as a major concern. 'About half of public school districts need to update or replace multiple heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems,' it significant investment in upgrading school facilities, especially in low-income areas, students will continue to face heat-related disruptions to learning. The absence of climate-resilient infrastructure places them at a long-term disadvantage.A CLIMATE CALL TO ACTIONThe UNESCO report makes it clear: rising classroom temperatures are more than just discomfort -- they are a barrier to learning. As climate events become more frequent and intense, the urgency to adapt school environments grows in school infrastructure, particularly in marginalised communities, are not just about comfort -- they are critical for equity and educational success in a warming world.- Ends
News18
7 hours ago
- News18
US Bunker Buster's "Weak Spot" Revealed? China Finds Attack Tactic to ‘Stop' Bomb That Hit Iran
China claims to have found a "weak spot" in the U.S. GBU-57 bunker-buster bomb used in strikes on Iran, revealing that its heavily armored nose contrasts with much thinner, vulnerable side armor. Chinese military researchers suggest that anti-aircraft guns like the Swiss Oerlikon GDF—used by Iran—could potentially intercept the bomb mid-flight if fired from less than 1.2 km away and at angles below 68°, giving a 42% chance of destruction. 00:00 INTRODUCTIONHOW CHINA SIMULATES 'INTERCEPTION' OF GBU-57US TO 'IMPROVE' BUNKER BUSTERS AFTER IRAN STRIKES? n18oc_crux
India Today
8 hours ago
- India Today
Children may lose 1.5 years of schooling due to climate change: UNESCO
Children exposed to extreme heatwaves could lose up to 1.5 years of schooling, with climate change now directly impacting education systems and threatening to reverse decades of academic progress, according to a new global report from report, compiled by UNESCO's Global Education Monitoring (GEM) team, the Monitoring and Evaluating Climate Communication and Education (MECCE) project, and the University of Saskatchewan in Canada, warns of significant learning losses due to climate-related include heatwaves, wildfires, floods, droughts, storms, diseases and rising sea levels. The study revealed that most low-and middle-income countries experience climate-related school closures every year, increasing the risk of learning loss and student CLOSURES LINKED TO CLIMATE CHANGEOver the past 20 years, schools were closed in at least 75 per cent of extreme weather events affecting five million or more report linked heat exposure to reduced educational outcomes. In 29 countries studied between 1969 and 2012, higher temperatures during the prenatal and early life stages were associated with fewer years of schooling, especially in Southeast Asia.'A child experiencing temperatures that are two standard deviations above average is predicted to attain 1.5 fewer years of schooling than children experiencing average temperatures,' the Unesco report SCORES AND GRADUATION RATES AFFECTEDThe report cited how higher temperatures in China reduced high-stakes exam performance and lowered high school graduation and college entrance the United States, schools without air conditioning saw test scores drop by 1 percent for each additional 1 degree Celsius rise in American and Hispanic students, often studying in poorly maintained infrastructure, were disproportionately affected -- contributing to roughly 5 percent of the racial achievement also found that nearly half of all public school districts in the US need to update or replace multiple heating, ventilation, and air conditioning COMMUNITIES FACE GREATER RISKSIn Brazil's most disadvantaged municipalities -- also amongst those most exposed to heat -- students lose about 1 percent of learning each year due to rising report stressed that climate-induced education vulnerabilities are particularly severe for marginalised populations. Of the 10 countries most affected by extreme weather events in 2019, eight were low- or lower-middle-income the 33 countries classified as extremely high climate risk zones for children -- home to nearly 1 billion people -- 29 are considered fragile INEQUALITY AND DISASTER IMPACTSIn the United States, those with lower income or without a secondary school certificate are 15 percent more likely to live in areas projected to see increased childhood asthma from climate-driven air districts in the United States that received federal disaster recovery funds had higher proportions of students from socially vulnerable groups,' the report disasters have not only disrupted education but also caused loss of life and damage to Jakarta, floods in 2013 disrupted access to schools, converted them into emergency shelters, and forced several to shut due to 81 percent of schools that had disaster management plans in place found them effective during the FORWARD IN A WARMING WORLDThe report calls for urgent policy interventions to make education systems more resilient to climate include upgrading school infrastructure, incorporating climate education into curricula, and ensuring that disaster response plans are in place and extreme weather events grow more frequent and intense, safeguarding children's right to uninterrupted, quality education must become a global priority.(With inputs from PTI)- Ends
