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What is your project about?

Synthetic biology assumes a future for modified organisms beyond the lab. Biofuel research is
currently focusing on genetically engineered algae to produce gasoline, with the goal of one day being
commercially distributed. This objective has created a network of open-ponds for algae production,
dispersed across the southwest of the United States. As synthetic biology moves out of the lab into the
wild, what are the ecological effects associated with the release of a modified organism?

Car Pools is a series of simulations that examine potential ecological effects associated with the public
release of modified algae for biofuel production. The project draws on current open-pond algae production
methods to imagine a future fuel-pool infrastructure for Los Angeles, a metropolis built for cars and where
there are more than 43,000 swimming pools. The project plays out different scales of interaction, the home,
the neighborhood, and the city, to imagine future ecosystems.

THE TEAM

Jasmin Blasco

Marcus Guttenplan

Kristina Ortega

Jenny Rodenhouse

Xiaochen Yang

Who will your project help?

Tell your audience how your project will help the environment, science, medicine or everything else.

Why did you choose this project?

What motivated you to work on this project? Tell us what inspires you.