Tucked away in the most extreme nooks and crannies of the Earth are biodiverse galaxies of microorganisms — some that might help scour the atmosphere of the carbon dioxide mankind has pumped into it.
One microorganism in particular has captured scientists’ attention. UTEX 3222, nicknamed “Chonkus” for the way it guzzles carbon dioxide, is a previously unknown cyanobacterium found in volcanic ocean vents. A recent paper in the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology found it boasts exceptional atmosphere-cleaning potential — even among its well-studied peers. If scientists can figure out how to genetically engineer it, this single-celled organism’s natural quirks could become supercharged into a low-waste carbon capture system.
Cyanobacteria like Chonkus, sometimes referred to by the misnomer blue-green algae, are aquatic organisms that, suck up light and carbon dioxide and turn it into food, photosynthesizing like plants. But tucked away inside their single-celled bodies are compartments that allow them to concentrate and gobble up more CO2 than their... Read more
