24th April 2011. Making the Deserts Bloom with Greener Biofuel from Metabolically Enhanced Cyanobacteria

From the deserts of Arizona, home to the Grand Canyon, meteor crater and the Apache and Navaho Indians, has come to us Dr Sawsan Hamad, to present her research on sun-loving photosynthetic bacteria, which she genetically engineered to deliver higher yields of biofuel during her research in the School of Life Sciences at Arizona State University.
 
Her presentation, as a guest lecturer at our weekly faculty and student journal club, outlined:
 
the socio-economic benefits of cyanobacteria as a source of biofuel, which offers an alternative to food-based sources, thereby relieving added pressure on rising global food prices.
 
strategies for genetically modifying cyanobacteria.
 
results of her modulation, by gene transfer, of genetic pathways in cyanobacteria to increase yields of biofuel precursors.
 
Her presentation to staff and M.Sc. students of the Biotechnology Research Center was greatly appreciated by all, and we wish her continued success as a Fulbright scholar in her recent appointment as a faculty member of the department of Biology and Biochemistry at Birzeit University.