El profesor \u00a0Daniel G. Nocera, modific\u00f3 \u00a0gen\u00e9ticamente \u00a0bacterias, \u00a0 para que absorban \u00a0 hidr\u00f3geno y di\u00f3xido de carbono y los conviertan \u00a0en \u00a0alcohol.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A gran escala podr\u00eda solucionar el exceso de CO2 en la\u00a0atm\u00f3sfera\u00a0y la necesidad \u00a0de \u00a0combustibles .<\/p>\n
The chemist\u00a0who gave us the artificial leaf has genetically engineered bacteria to absorb hydrogen and carbon dioxide and convert them into alcohol fuel.<\/p>\n
When\u00a0Harvard Professor of Energy Daniel G. Nocera announced he was working with bacteria last year, other scientists cautioned it would be difficult to achieve a productive level of efficiency. At the time, Nocera was aiming for 5 percent efficiency\u2014about 5 times better than plants. This month at the University of Chicago, he announced\u00a0his bug, dubbed by his colleagues\u00a0the \u201cBionic Leaf,\u201d converts\u00a0sunlight ten times\u00a0more efficiently than plants.<\/p>\n
\u201cRight now we\u2019re making isopropanol, isobutanol, isopentanol,\u201d he said in a lecture to the Energy Policy Institute at Chicago. \u201cThese are all alcohols you can burn directly. And it\u2019s coming from hydrogen from split water, and it\u2019s breathing in CO2. That\u2019s what this bug\u2019s doing.\u201d<\/p>\n