Biobeer: It may be some time before the beer is ready for consumption as the team are only part-way through their experiment.
Credit: iStockphoto
NEW YORK: American students have designed a genetically modified yeast that can ferment beer and produces the chemical resveratrol, known to offer some protection against developing cancer.
Resveratrol is a chemical found in high concentrations in grapes, berries, peanuts and pistachio nuts. It has received increasing attention since 1992, when researchers suggested that red wine containing large amounts of resveratrol might have cardiovascular health benefits.
Antioxidant effects
Mouse studies have shown that resveratrol has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects, and that it may stop several different stages of cancer cell development. While the benefits of resveratrol in humans remain unclear, it has become a popular health supplement.
The yeast which has been genetically modified to produce the chemical, currently contains unpalatable chemical markers, however, and is yet to be brewed into beer.
It is being developed for a student genetic engineering competition to be judged in Massachusetts, next week. Previous entries in the International Genetically Engineered Machine (iGEM) competition have included both bananas and bacterial cultures engineered to smell of mint.
The idea for the healthier beer, dubbed 'Biobeer', started out as a joke. "You could say that the inspiration for the project came from a student who really enjoys his beer," said Thomas Segall-Shapiro, a member of the team behind the project.
The team are mostly undergraduate students, based at Rice University in Houston, Texas, some of whom aren't yet old enough to legally drink alcohol in the U.S., where the limit is set at 21.
Segall-Shapiro, said that one problem with health supplements containing resveratrol is that many contain an oxidised form of the molecule, which is unlikely to be fully activated, and therefore effective, when consumed.
Active form
Once brewed, Biobeer will have active resveratrol contained in yeast, which has a much higher chance of remaining active.
However it may be some time before the beer is ready for consumption. The team are only part-way through their experiment, and though they have added one set of genes to the yeast in order to make resveratrol, another set of genes is needed to complete the operation.
Following that, the taste will need to be adjusted, and the final product would have to be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration before it could hit the market.
Karen Collins, Nutrition Advisor to the American Institute for Cancer Research, commented that the project "raises interesting questions." But she questioned whether the beer would contain enough of the molecule to be an effective cancer preventative, and cautioned that excess alcohol consumption in itself increases the risk of some cancers.
Age Limit 21
If these kids at Rice are capable of genetically engineering a beer that actively fights cancer, doesn't it seem a little absurd that our country seems to think that they are incapable of consuming alcohol simply because they are under the age of 21?
Anti-cancer beer
Finally, someone has devised the method of doing serious science while enjoying one of our nations favorite pastimes -the legitimate excuse for drinking for which we had all waited. Congratulation and cheers (hic).