Biotech & Health
Engineered Microbes for Cleanup: How Synthetic Biology Targets Plastics and Gaseous Pollutants Differently
Synthetic biology engineers microbes as programmable tools for environmental cleanup, with distinct strategies for degrading solid plastics like PET versus assimilating gaseous pollutants like methane into useful products. These engineered microorganisms incorporate safety features like kill-switches for controlled deployment.
Lena Petrova·October 18, 2026