The small tank of pink liquid bubbling away on a lab counter looks a little like a vat of Pepto-Bismol, CBC News reports.
Even if you didn't know if was full of Methylococcus capsulatus, a type of bacteria, you probably wouldn't be tempted to make a meal of the frothy soup. But it could make a tasty treat for a salmon.
"These are the organisms themselves — single cells — growing in very high density, so there's lots and lots of cells in that tank," says Lori Giver, vice-president of biological engineering at Calysta, a biotechnology company based in Menlo Park near San Francisco.
Normally, she says, you'd find these microbes in the wild munching on methane from decomposing vegetation.
In this lab researchers pipe methane into the tank to feed the bacteria. Then they kill them with heat and dry them, creating a fine pink powder.
The company shapes the powder into pellets, and there you have it: fish food.
"The problem with aquaculture" says Alan Shaw, Calysta's president and CEO, "is you have to feed fish other fish before we can eat them. That's not sustainable … we're basically tapping this planet dry."
Read the full article HERE.
Even if you didn't know if was full of Methylococcus capsulatus, a type of bacteria, you probably wouldn't be tempted to make a meal of the frothy soup. But it could make a tasty treat for a salmon.
"These are the organisms themselves — single cells — growing in very high density, so there's lots and lots of cells in that tank," says Lori Giver, vice-president of biological engineering at Calysta, a biotechnology company based in Menlo Park near San Francisco.
Normally, she says, you'd find these microbes in the wild munching on methane from decomposing vegetation.
 | ||
| Just add Methylococcus capsulatus (Image: Sean) |
The company shapes the powder into pellets, and there you have it: fish food.
"The problem with aquaculture" says Alan Shaw, Calysta's president and CEO, "is you have to feed fish other fish before we can eat them. That's not sustainable … we're basically tapping this planet dry."
Read the full article HERE.
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