The invisible chefs: teaching microbes how to cook
Microbes have been used for thousands of years for the preservation and preparation of fermented foods. Modern biotechnology builds on these ancient methods to make products ranging from food ingredients to medicines.
In his inaugural lecture, Professor of Microbial Physiology and Evolutionary Engineering Herwig Bachmann will introduce his research group's work which is aimed at improving fermentation processes by harnessing and evolving microbial diversity. He will explore how microbes can be used to produce and remove flavor molecules in fermented foods, and how they interact with each other. Using novel laboratory techniques for microbial evolution, his team attempts to teach/evolve microbes to perform better, faster, and more sustainably.
Regularly nature itself offers solutions to evolutionary challenges so elegant, they easily outclass scientist’s attempts. So really, who is teaching whom?