Brew That's Good for You

Leave it to a bunch of bright, beer-loving college students to set out to create the first brew that is actually good for you. A sextet of Rice University students is using genetic engineering to create specialty beer with resveratrol, the disease-fighting chemical that's been found in grapes, red wine and pomegranate and shown to reduce cancer and heart disease.

Once the group found research that supported their idea to modify yeast with resveratrol-related genes, they went to the lab. Their plan is to create a drink that has a more consistent level of resveratrol than wine (which varies according to each batch) by creating their own strain of modified yeast. In November, they'll enter their BioBeer in the International Genetically Engineered Machine Competition, the world's largest synthetic biology competition. To make sure it tastes good, they want to leave it in the hands of beer craftspeople, who they hope will buy this strain of yeast to add to their brews. It could take up to five years for this to happen, meaning that some of the student team members who currently are underage will have reached 21 by then.

0 comments