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Team:Brown-Stanford/PowerCell/Introduction
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== '''Introduction''' == | == '''Introduction''' == | ||
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Mars introduces a number of challenges that must be overcome before a human colony can be established. We believe that cellular engineering will address these problems in time, but this solution raises a problem of its own--the burden imposed by synthetic systems raises the already significant metabolic requirements of these organisms. It may be feasible to draw from a stored cache of growth nutrients for some time, but the basic requirements must be extracted from in situ resources if a colony is to persist in a self-sustained manner. | Mars introduces a number of challenges that must be overcome before a human colony can be established. We believe that cellular engineering will address these problems in time, but this solution raises a problem of its own--the burden imposed by synthetic systems raises the already significant metabolic requirements of these organisms. It may be feasible to draw from a stored cache of growth nutrients for some time, but the basic requirements must be extracted from in situ resources if a colony is to persist in a self-sustained manner. | ||
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| - | By producing two of the macromolecules essential to bacterial growth, PowerCell will form a metabolic foundation for the biological systems which will eventually enable Martian colonization. Other biological systems producing oxygen, heat, food, light, and other necessities will follow, and in time, a complete biogenic life support system will be assembled, all fueled by PowerCell. | + | PowerCell is our solution to this unavoidable obstacle; by engineering cyanobacteria to excrete sugar compounds photosynthesized from atmospheric CO2, PowerCell will provide other bacterial cultures with a complex carbon source, a basic requirement for biomass and synthetic compound production. In addition, our cyanobacterial system is able to fix atmospheric N2 and release it in a form accessible to bacteria, providing a basic requirement for protein synthesis and other crucial biological functions. |
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| + | By producing two of the macromolecules essential to bacterial growth, PowerCell will form a metabolic foundation for the biological systems which will eventually enable Martian colonization. Other biological systems producing oxygen, heat, food, light, and other necessities will follow, and in time, a complete biogenic life support system will be assembled, all fueled by PowerCell. | ||
{{:Team:Brown-Stanford/Templates/Foot}} | {{:Team:Brown-Stanford/Templates/Foot}} | ||
Revision as of 22:01, 17 August 2011
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REGObricks
Intro--------------------- ISRU--------------------- Biocement--------------------- S. pasteurii--------------------- Balloon
Flights--------------------- Transforming--------------------- Biobrick2 -
PowerCell
Intro--------------------- Cyanobacteria--------------------- Mars--------------------- Nutrients -
FRETcetera
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Lab
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Partners
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Outreach
SB5.0--------------------- NASA--------------------- Lunar Science--------------------- Maker Faire--------------------- BBC--------------------- CBricks--------------------- Ethics--------------------- Regional
Jamboree
Introduction
Mars introduces a number of challenges that must be overcome before a human colony can be established. We believe that cellular engineering will address these problems in time, but this solution raises a problem of its own--the burden imposed by synthetic systems raises the already significant metabolic requirements of these organisms. It may be feasible to draw from a stored cache of growth nutrients for some time, but the basic requirements must be extracted from in situ resources if a colony is to persist in a self-sustained manner.
PowerCell is our solution to this unavoidable obstacle; by engineering cyanobacteria to excrete sugar compounds photosynthesized from atmospheric CO2, PowerCell will provide other bacterial cultures with a complex carbon source, a basic requirement for biomass and synthetic compound production. In addition, our cyanobacterial system is able to fix atmospheric N2 and release it in a form accessible to bacteria, providing a basic requirement for protein synthesis and other crucial biological functions.
By producing two of the macromolecules essential to bacterial growth, PowerCell will form a metabolic foundation for the biological systems which will eventually enable Martian colonization. Other biological systems producing oxygen, heat, food, light, and other necessities will follow, and in time, a complete biogenic life support system will be assembled, all fueled by PowerCell.
