Engineered cyanobacteria turn carbon dioxide into petrol substitute

An image showing a colony of blue green algae in culture medium plate

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Strategy transforms wild photosynthetic organism into a system that could reduce humanity’s reliance on fossil fuels

Scientists in Sweden have engineered cyanobacteria that can photosynthesise the petrol substitute butanol out of carbon dioxide. The microorganisms could not only provide a way to make transportation fuels that don’t depend on fossil fuels, but they could also remove carbon dioxide already present in the atmosphere.