String Bio: Protein and Biotechnology Firms

string bio: Calysta Inc. in California and String Bio in the Indian city of Bangalore are among biotechnology firms that have separately discovered ways to turn methane into protein. ; Bacteria found in soil are fed a liquid containing the emitted gas, sparking a fermentation process similar to making beer, according to The Japan Times. Instead of alcohol, protein is released into the water, which is then dried into a brown powder. That's what some scientists are hoping for. The product is already being used in animal feed, the first step toward readying it for human consumption. String Bio, a startup which won 200,000 in Indian government grants, and Calysta, backed by investors including Japan's Mitsui & Co. and Cargill Inc., hope methane-made protein will become a sustainable food of the future. The companies are betting their products will help alleviate the strain of a growing global population on agricultural land and oceans while natural gas prices trade near the lowest level in almost two decades. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.