All Things Biology

New year, new me…? But it is never going to be a new year, a new planet… So why are we treating it like that?

Carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions are a core driver of climate change and the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero has become common knowledge (1). A survey conducted by the UK government showed 87% of people were aware of net zero with 78% of people supporting net zero once it was fully explained to them (2).

Greenhouse gases (which include carbon dioxide and methane (3)) increase the surface temperature of the earth. This can have detrimental effects on the environment by increasing the rate at which the ice caps melt, leading to higher sea levels and increased flooding (4). In addition to this, high levels of greenhouse gases increase atmospheric pressure. This combined with higher temperatures results in increased energy in the atmosphere. This can result in more violent storms, unpredictable weather patterns and increased precipitation levels (4). Climate change also causes habitat change, putting significant pressure on the organisms that live within them. Though some species can shift their habitat ranges into higher altitudes or more northern regions, many will be unable to, resulting in increased extinctions and lower biodiversity.

Climate change also brings on the ability for tropical and infectious diseases to expand their range into previously unchartered territory (4). This is why scientists often talk about the number of pandemics increasing in the future…

So in the new year, how might you be able to shape your new year resolutions to make a difference?

There are tonnes of things individuals can do that reduce their carbon footprint. Some examples include driving less which can be achieved through walking, cycling, traveling by train, bus or car sharing. In addition to this, you can reduce, reuse and recycle, rewild your garden to enhance biodiversity (so throw away the pesticides) and try to buy your cleaning supplies, food, clothes and more from sustainable sources!

How are researchers in biology helping to reduce carbon emissions…?

One way in which researchers in biology are working to lower carbon emissions is through synthetic biology. Synthetic biology is ‘the design and construction of new biological parts, devices and systems and the re-design of existing, natural biological systems for useful purposes’ (5).

Synthetic biology is applied to many fields in biology but one of which it has huge potential for is in the production of alternative energy resources, like in microbial production of fourth-generation biofuels. Through synthetic biology methods bacteria can be modified to produce alkanes with the same fuel characteristics as petroleum. This has been done by the research group Exeter Microbial Biofuels Group led by Professor John Love in collaboration with Shell. By using this new method we rely less on the mining of fossil fuels, freeing up production space and making land available for rewilding, or food production (6). In addition to this, biofuels burn cleaner than gasoline, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and biofuels are also fully biodegradable (7)!

Ultimately, despite our best efforts, we still have a very long way to go until we reach net zero but with your effort and cutting-edge research, each day we are a little bit closer to a net zero world!

Written by Francesca Giannachi-Kaye

1. https://ourworldindata.org/co2-emissions
2. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/60d48d5d8fa8f50ab1d011fa/Climate_change_and_net_zero_public_awareness_and_perceptions_summary_report.pdf
3. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-58874518
4. https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/greenhouse-effect-our-planet/
5. https://www.nature.com/subjects/synthetic-biology
6. http://researchandinnovation.co.uk/microbial-production-of-fourth-generation-biofuels/