ENVIRONMENT

Protection of the environment is relevant to everyone, both for our present and for our future. Both our health and environmental safety depend on the progress made in scientific research. As we acquire knowledge about the mechanisms of life, we can understand how to protect it.

Living organisms have always used the energy provided by other organisms to feed, so why shouldn’t this energy be used to move our cars, too? Clean and renewable energy is one of our dreams. Now, some scientists are trying to make it real, using hydrogen-producing bacteria; this would lead to cars that do not cause air pollution: just try to imagine what it could mean for big cities!

Production of less polluting industrial waste and the possibility to detoxify water and soils are other important factors for a clean and livable environment. With the knowledge of natural phenomena and the use of modern biotechnology we are now able to change things: it is possible, for example, to purify polluted water and soils by exploiting the ability of some microorganisms to modify dangerous substances, making them harmless for the environment and for us.

And these are only some of the possible applications of biotechnology for the environment.