Bacterium that ‘eats’ CO2 discovered

This is an essentially new field of research, and one of considerable interest in the challenge of finding effective methods – even better if they come from nature itself – to reduce greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
In the case of bacteria, moreover, combining microbiology with genetic engineering could produce great results.
Suitably modified bacteria, besides trapping CO2, could also perform other functions, such as producing useful chemicals: for example biofuels, pharmaceutical compounds or bioplastics.

In fact, in this field we are not exactly at year zero. There are already companies, such as the US-based LanzaTech, that are able to use bacteria to convert CO2 into commercial fuels and chemical products.

Elon Musk could not be missing from the roll call either: with CyanoCapture, a British company set up by the Tesla magnate together with Shell, he is exploiting cyanobacteria to produce biomass and biological oils.

And the horizon of research widens by the day. Recent is the discovery of some bacteria found in caves that can turn CO2 into minerals. Other scientists aim to use bacteria to reduce CO2 emissions from cement production. The way is open.