Virginia teen uses AI and CRISPR to boost biofuel from microalgae

A fourteen-year-old teen in United States has developed a computational tool with the help of machine learning and CRISPR gene editing to improve biofuel production. Millie Pradawong is one of the ten finalists in the 3M Young Scientist Challenge this year.Her project is called MACRO (Machine Learning-Augmented CRISPR Reprogramming Optimisation). MACRO predicts how gene editing could change the way microalgae use energy. It aims to increased oil production while maintaining healthy growth of the algae.Microalgae are tiny organisms that grow quickly, absorb carbon dioxide and naturally produce oils that can be converted into fuel. Scientists see them as a possible source of cleaner energy. However, increasing oil production often slows algae growth, making large-scale biofuel production more difficult.Millie's project focuses on solving that challenge by finding ways to improve oil production without reducing the algae's ability to grow.Why she chose the projectMillie says she wanted to develop an idea that had been on her mind for some time. "I entered the completition because I wanted to take an idea stuck in my head and turn it into something more serious," Yong Scientists Lab quoted her as saying.The little girl explains that microalgae biofuel first caught her attention because algae grow quickly, absorb carbon dioxide and can produce oils that are used as fuel. But as she