The Problem
Heavy metals and oil from industry effluents are intoxicating our soil and water bodies
The textile industry, and automobile parts industry are the primary contributors to heavy metal contamination, accounting for 75% of the whole pollution in Yamuna, a major Indian river and the primary source of water for 57 million people in India
Diseases due to heavy metal exposure are a pandemic which is silentely eating the world.
62.5% Of Developmental Intellectual Disability caused by lead exposure (IHME, 2019). The effects of heavy metal poisoning are visible too late; Direct elimination of metals from the body is inconvenient.
Chemical Surfactants are doing more harm than good.
Linear Alkylbenzene Sulphonates (LAS) is a commonly used surfactant in treating industrial waste, but it has been found to cause harm to fish gills and disrupt the swimming patterns of blue mussels, among other negative effects on aquatic wildlife.
Marine Ecology and Natural Vegetation are adversely affected in direct and indirect ways
Heavy metal pollution can lead to catastrophic adverse effects such as declines in species diversity, disruptions in food chains, and damage to sensitive habitats like coral reefs. Moreover, heavy metal pollution is linked to diseases in marine organisms, such as "Minamata disease" in fish and "Coral Bleaching Syndrome" in corals, further threatening biodiversity.
We embarked on a mission, building on last year's foundation: crafting a comprehensive solution to combat heavy metal pollution effectively
Facing the challenges of existing chemical treatments both their harsh environmental impact and economic constraints
We introduced a biochemical approach last year in the form of lead binding protein expression to effectively remediate the metal from our surroundings.
After deeper analysis, we identified three significant shortcomings in current biochemical solutions
Limited specificity to a single metal ion.
Inefficacy in extracting organometallic complexes, the predominant form of many heavy metals.
Direct exposure of genetically modified organisms to the environment.
We identified a product that could counter these issues while being useful for universal heavy metal remediation -
Biosurfactants!
Thus we embark on a journey to open doors for enhancing their production by producing them in a model organism like ecoli.
Learn more about different parts of our project
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