LAUSR

One promising way for humans to sustainably produce energy is to ask photosynthetic organisms to do it for us. Many researchers are searching for naturally occurring algal strains that produce high levels of compounds that can be directly used as biofuels. Whether these strains are used to produce hydrogen gas or liquid products like ethanol, it is important that the cultivation of these strains can be optimized to maximize fuel production. One limitation on the commercial growth of algae is that they are often cultivated outdoors, making them subject to changing weather and temperature conditions (Béchet et al. 2017). In order to understand how a given strain might respond to such temperature changes out in the real world, it is important to first see how they respond in the laboratory.