After so many years of learning how microbes work, researchers are now digitally recreating their inner workings to tackle challenges ranging from climate change to space colonization.
In my work as a computational biologist, I research ways to get microbes to produce more useful chemicals, such as fuels and bioplastics, that can be used in the energy, agricultural, or pharmaceutical industries. Traditionally, researchers have to conduct several trial-and-error experiments on Petri dishes in order to determine the optimal conditions microbes need to produce high amounts of chemicals.
Instead, I am able to simulate these experiments all from behind a computer screen through digital blueprints that replicate the inside of microbes. Called genome-scale metabolic models, or GEMs, these virtual labs significantly reduce the time and cost required to figure out what researchers need to do to get what they’re looking for. With GEMs, researchers cannot only explore the complex network of metabolic pathways that allow living organisms to function but also tweak, test, and predict how microbes would behave in different environments, including on other planets.
As GEM technology continues to evolve, I believe these models will play an increasingly important role in shaping the future of biotechnology, medicine, and space exploration.
