Is it possible that such a small organism like algae can be the solution to the modern age problems? Well a scientist called J. Craig Venter may have a solution. He specializes in plants and genetic modification, and he is one of the people that saw the huge potential in algae as a species. He believes that the future of agriculture, meat industry, even the future of the fuel industry lies in the study of synthetic biology and it’s continuous improvements. The basic aim is to be able to rewrite the genetic codes and get the cells do what we want them to do. The problem is finding pure clusters of algae that are robust and that can endure industrial conditions on a commercial basis. Also, to do all of that would take lots of time and money, so currently they are literally playing with algae and putting different genes in them to see what the outcome will be and finding the right combination of genes. They own the Exxon company, with a complex of Exxon refineries, and half of the money they earn, they use for lab experiments on algae. Venter has quite an interesting vision that’s in theory quite productive: "It takes 10 kilograms of grain to produce one kilogram of beef, 15 liters of water to get one kilogram of beef, and those cows produce a lot of methane," another potent greenhouse gas” and why not get rid of cows.” According to Venter thanks to synthetic biology we could get our meet in test tubes from microbes.
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