{"id":615745,"date":"2024-04-05T12:55:11","date_gmt":"2024-04-05T09:55:11","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2024-04-05T12:55:11","modified_gmt":"2024-04-05T09:55:11","slug":"fabricnanos-cell-free-biotech-could-make-microplastics-a-thing-of-the-past","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/fabricnanos-cell-free-biotech-could-make-microplastics-a-thing-of-the-past\/","title":{"rendered":"#FabricNano\u2019s cell-free biotech could make microplastics a thing of the past"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3df4d55f69b\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3df4d55f69b\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/fabricnanos-cell-free-biotech-could-make-microplastics-a-thing-of-the-past\/#The_beauty_of_biology\" >The beauty of biology<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/fabricnanos-cell-free-biotech-could-make-microplastics-a-thing-of-the-past\/#Getting_rid_of_the_biotech_%E2%80%98factories\" >Getting rid of the biotech \u2018factories\u2019<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/fabricnanos-cell-free-biotech-could-make-microplastics-a-thing-of-the-past\/#Elegant_but_ephemeral_enzyme_machinery\" >Elegant but ephemeral enzyme machinery<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/fabricnanos-cell-free-biotech-could-make-microplastics-a-thing-of-the-past\/#Protein_immobilisation\" >Protein immobilisation<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/fabricnanos-cell-free-biotech-could-make-microplastics-a-thing-of-the-past\/#Journey_to_market\" >Journey to market<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/fabricnanos-cell-free-biotech-could-make-microplastics-a-thing-of-the-past\/#The_importance_of_a_shared_deeptech_vision\" >The importance of a shared deeptech vision<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<div id=\"article-main-content\">\n                            <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When researchers revealed the results of a study on the prevalence of microplastics in human placentas earlier this year, the findings were profoundly disturbing. Researchers analysed 62 placental tissue samples \u2014 and <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/hsc.unm.edu\/news\/2024\/02\/hsc-newsroom-post-microplastics.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">found microplastics in all of them<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the words of the lead author of the study, \u201cIf we are seeing effects on placentas, then all mammalian life on this planet could be impacted.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The world desperately needs to quit its addiction to fossil-based fuels and other fossil-based chemicals, for the sake of both planetary and human health (which are inextricably linked). This is where synthetic biology, or synbio, could have a significant part to play.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Imagine a world where we could replace every single harmful synthetic chemical and fossil-based plastic with entirely natural and biodegradable compounds. This would translate to less loss of biodiversity, fewer greenhouse gas emissions \u2014 and fewer microplastics floating around in our bloodstreams. Companies like <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/fabricnano.com\/\">FabricNano<\/a> are trying to make this a reality.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_beauty_of_biology\"><\/span>The beauty of biology<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<div class=\"inarticle-wrapper latest channel-cta hs-embed-tnw\">\n<div id=\"hs-embed-tnw\" class=\"channel-cta-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"channel-cta-img\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"js-lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/events.tnw\/hardfork-2018\/uploads\/visuals\/tnw-newsletter.png\"\/><\/div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/events.tnw\/hardfork-2018\/uploads\/visuals\/tnw-newsletter.png\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"channel-cta-input\">\n<p class=\"channel-cta-title\">The &lt;3 of EU tech<\/p>\n<p class=\"channel-cta-tagline\">The latest rumblings from the EU tech scene, a story from our wise ol&#8217; founder Boris, and some questionable AI art. It&#8217;s free, every week, in your inbox. Sign up now!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many startup founders want to believe that they are on to the next big thing in tech. (I have lost count of all the \u201crevolutionary\u201d and \u201cgroundbreaking\u201d promises in press releases, mostly with little regard for the actual definitions of the words.)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But every now and then, there are startups that could actually boast such de<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">script<\/a>ions of their <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/technology\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"4\" title=\"Technology\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">technology<\/a>. FabricNano not only wants to help us consciously decouple from our toxic relationship to plastics, but transform the chemical industry as a whole \u2014 one cell-free biobased enzyme at a time.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIf you walk into a forest, you see trees \u2014 there\u2019s bark, there\u2019s leaves, there\u2019s all these materials. When you look at your own body, you see soft skin, you see delicate hair, but also very hard nails. All of these materials come from biology, and are manufactured from chemicals,\u201d Grant Aarons, FabricNano\u2019s founder and CEO, tells TNW.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Getting_rid_of_the_biotech_%E2%80%98factories\"><\/span><strong>Getting rid of the biotech \u2018factories\u2019<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The chemicals Aarons refers to are made in cells \u2014 human skin cells, plant cells, etc. The materials they produce are the result of a transformation of an input chemical to a different chemical, via proteins inside of the cell.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The first version of synthetic biology and biomanufacturing was getting cells like yeast to take sugar and instead of producing alcohol on the other side, changing some of the proteins inside so that they take the sugar and they make a plastic instead.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cell-based biomanufacturing uses living cells as factories to produce biologically active products, for instance pharmaceuticals, chemicals, enzymes, and other biomolecules. While a cornerstone of the biotech industry, it is susceptible to contamination, and requires precise control of growth conditions to ensure cell health, productivity, and genetic stability.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<figure class=\"post-image post-mediaBleed aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1405467 js-lazy\" alt=\"Photo of Grant Aarons sitting on a bench outside talking to two people\" width=\"1280\" height=\"854\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/04\/FN_23_TEAMS_010.jpeg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/04\/FN_23_TEAMS_010.jpeg 1280w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/04\/FN_23_TEAMS_010-280x187.jpeg 280w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/04\/FN_23_TEAMS_010-202x135.jpeg 202w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/04\/FN_23_TEAMS_010-405x270.jpeg 405w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/04\/FN_23_TEAMS_010-796x531.jpeg 796w\"\/><figcaption><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"#\" data-url=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Feditorial.thenextweb.com%2Fdeep-tech%2F2024%2F04%2F05%2Ffabricnano-cell-free-biotech-startup-microplastics%2F&amp;via=thenextweb&amp;related=thenextweb&amp;text=Check out this picture on: Grant Aarons founded FabricNano in 2018. Credit: FabricNano\" data-title=\"Share Grant Aarons founded FabricNano in 2018. Credit: FabricNano on Twitter\" data-width=\"685\" data-height=\"500\" class=\"post-image-share popitup\" title=\"Share Grant Aarons founded FabricNano in 2018. Credit: FabricNano on Twitter\"><i class=\"icon icon--inline icon--twitter--dark\"\/><\/a>Grant Aarons founded FabricNano in 2018. Credit: FabricNano<\/figcaption><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1405467\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/04\/FN_23_TEAMS_010.jpeg\" alt=\"Photo of Grant Aarons sitting on a bench outside talking to two people\" width=\"1280\" height=\"854\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/04\/FN_23_TEAMS_010.jpeg 1280w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/04\/FN_23_TEAMS_010-280x187.jpeg 280w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/04\/FN_23_TEAMS_010-202x135.jpeg 202w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/04\/FN_23_TEAMS_010-405x270.jpeg 405w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/04\/FN_23_TEAMS_010-796x531.jpeg 796w\"\/><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is also expensive, and different enzymes of the cell can compete with each other for energy. But when taking the e<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">nzymes out of the cells, the reactions and productions can still proceed, which means that the living microbial factories are not always necessary.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201c<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In fact, enzymes that are taken out of the cell can do the job at conditions where any cell would have ceased to do anything, such as high temperatures, in the presence of toxic compounds, or under extreme pH,\u201d <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dr Volker Sieber, professor of chemistry of biogenic resources at the Technical University of Munich, explains via email. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is also easier to engineer an enzyme to make it fit for the task at hand than it is to engineer an entire microorganism, Dr Sieber adds.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Elegant_but_ephemeral_enzyme_machinery\"><\/span><strong>Elegant but ephemeral enzyme machinery<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Extracting the enzymes from the cells to do chemistry is means you are doing <em>cell-free<\/em> biomanufacturing, as you are no longer using the cells \u2014 only the protein.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThe beauty of nature is that we have trillions of proteins,\u201d Aarons says. Each of these proteins can take a very unique starting molecule and convert it to a different outcome molecule. Aarons describes them as \u201ca very elegant and evolved machinery that can do pretty much any transformation you can imagine, using bio-based input.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, proteins are incredibly perishable. Once you pump it outside of a cell, it is viable for about one hour. Then it unravels and loses both its three-dimensional shape and its function.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Considering that it costs around $100 to extract one kilogram of protein for such a limited period of use, the technology has not been viable on an industrial scale. This is where FabricNano comes in.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Protein_immobilisation\"><\/span>Protein immobilisation<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The company\u2019s technology takes a protein that\u2019s sitting outside of the cell and, instead of a mere hour, makes it last for half a year, using a process called protein immobilisation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWe take proteins like processors or transistors \u2014 imagine like in the semiconductor world \u2014 and we put them on top of a surface. If we bind them in just the right way, they sit on the surface and they keep doing their function, and they last for six months before they actually fall apart,\u201d Aarons says.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The tricky bit, Aarons adds, is finding the right surface to match with the right protein to create these \u201cbiocatalysts.\u201d To do that, FabricNano studies data points from \u201chundreds of thousands of proteins on different physical materials \u2014 things that look like beads, glass, coffee beans, anything you can imagine that is big and circular.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The company then runs the data points through an AI model that tells it how to connect the pieces.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Journey_to_market\"><\/span><strong>Journey to market<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are some clear early commercial applications. For instance, bioplastics from tree bark, cellulose, and lignin and biodiesel from vegetable oils. However, according to Aarons, \u201calmost everything is on the table.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This includes commodity chemicals, fuels, plastics, drugs, and different healthy sugars for better foodstuffs. \u201cYou can name pretty much anything under the sun, and I\u2019ll tell you it\u2019s possible with biology. But it doesn\u2019t work unless that protein lasts long enough. And so we solve this stability problem, this robustness problem.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But the process is not a quick solution. FabricNano builds its products bespoke and from scratch, which means that the startup sometimes needs to go on what Aarons describes as a five-year journey with a chemical company.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure class=\"post-image post-mediaBleed aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1405470 js-lazy\" alt=\"Portrait of Eliza Eddison, VP of operations at FabricNano\" width=\"1280\" height=\"854\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/04\/FN_23_OFFICE_001.jpeg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/04\/FN_23_OFFICE_001.jpeg 1280w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/04\/FN_23_OFFICE_001-280x187.jpeg 280w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/04\/FN_23_OFFICE_001-202x135.jpeg 202w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/04\/FN_23_OFFICE_001-405x270.jpeg 405w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/04\/FN_23_OFFICE_001-796x531.jpeg 796w\"\/><figcaption><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"#\" data-url=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Feditorial.thenextweb.com%2Fdeep-tech%2F2024%2F04%2F05%2Ffabricnano-cell-free-biotech-startup-microplastics%2F&amp;via=thenextweb&amp;related=thenextweb&amp;text=Check out this picture on: Eliza Eddison is FabricNano\u2019s VP of operations. Credit: FabricNano\" data-title=\"Share Eliza Eddison is FabricNano\u2019s VP of operations. Credit: FabricNano on Twitter\" data-width=\"685\" data-height=\"500\" class=\"post-image-share popitup\" title=\"Share Eliza Eddison is FabricNano\u2019s VP of operations. Credit: FabricNano on Twitter\"><i class=\"icon icon--inline icon--twitter--dark\"\/><\/a>Eliza Eddison is FabricNano\u2019s VP of operations. Credit: FabricNano<\/figcaption><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1405470\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/04\/FN_23_OFFICE_001.jpeg\" alt=\"Portrait of Eliza Eddison, VP of operations at FabricNano\" width=\"1280\" height=\"854\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/04\/FN_23_OFFICE_001.jpeg 1280w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/04\/FN_23_OFFICE_001-280x187.jpeg 280w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/04\/FN_23_OFFICE_001-202x135.jpeg 202w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/04\/FN_23_OFFICE_001-405x270.jpeg 405w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/04\/FN_23_OFFICE_001-796x531.jpeg 796w\"\/><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Where the startup could have more impact early is where it could service a ready market today. One example is longer-lasting enzymes used in washing detergents, which means more bio-based instead of petroleum-based products, and less powder needed for the same degree of stain-removal capacity.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.insightaceanalytic.com\/report\/global-next-generation-biomanufacturing-market-\/1261\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to Insight Ace Analytics<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the next-generation biomanufacturing market was valued at $22.76bn last year, and is predicted to hit $48.27bn by 2031. FabricNano, founded in 2018, has thus far raised just under $25mn, with funds from, among others, VC firm Atomico and celebrity angel investor Emma Watson.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The company currently employs 30 people, many of whom work in its lab facilities in Euston, London. While Aarons believes there is much more biotech talent in London than pretty much anywhere else in the world, it has not been as specialised as in most established biotech hubs, for instance the pharma-heavy area around Boston in the US.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_importance_of_a_shared_deeptech_vision\"><\/span><strong>The importance of a shared deeptech vision<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Aarons is bullish about the potential impact of his startup\u2019s technology. Professor Sieber would agree, confirming that <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">using cell-free enzymes, either free in solution or immobilised for higher process stability and reusability like FabricNano, for biomanufacturing holds \u201cgreat promise.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While FabricNano is working on chemical synthesis with big corporations, the closer-term projects are consumer products, and other means of contributing to environmental solutions \u2014 such as bio-based carbon sequestration through <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/climatescience.org\/advanced-enhanced-weathering\">enhanced rock weathering, or ERW<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<figure class=\"post-image post-mediaBleed aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1405468 js-lazy\" alt=\"The whole team of FabricNano posing for a group shot\" width=\"1280\" height=\"854\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/04\/FN_23_TEAMS_038.jpeg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/04\/FN_23_TEAMS_038.jpeg 1280w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/04\/FN_23_TEAMS_038-280x187.jpeg 280w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/04\/FN_23_TEAMS_038-202x135.jpeg 202w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/04\/FN_23_TEAMS_038-405x270.jpeg 405w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/04\/FN_23_TEAMS_038-796x531.jpeg 796w\"\/><figcaption><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"#\" data-url=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Feditorial.thenextweb.com%2Fdeep-tech%2F2024%2F04%2F05%2Ffabricnano-cell-free-biotech-startup-microplastics%2F&amp;via=thenextweb&amp;related=thenextweb&amp;text=Check out this picture on: FabricNano currently employs 30 people. Credit: FabricNano\" data-title=\"Share FabricNano currently employs 30 people. Credit: FabricNano on Twitter\" data-width=\"685\" data-height=\"500\" class=\"post-image-share popitup\" title=\"Share FabricNano currently employs 30 people. Credit: FabricNano on Twitter\"><i class=\"icon icon--inline icon--twitter--dark\"\/><\/a>FabricNano currently employs 30 people. Credit: FabricNano<\/figcaption><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1405468\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/04\/FN_23_TEAMS_038.jpeg\" alt=\"The whole team of FabricNano posing for a group shot\" width=\"1280\" height=\"854\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/04\/FN_23_TEAMS_038.jpeg 1280w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/04\/FN_23_TEAMS_038-280x187.jpeg 280w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/04\/FN_23_TEAMS_038-202x135.jpeg 202w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/04\/FN_23_TEAMS_038-405x270.jpeg 405w, https:\/\/cdn0.tnwcdn.com\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/1\/files\/2024\/04\/FN_23_TEAMS_038-796x531.jpeg 796w\"\/><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hearing the FabricNano CEO<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> speak you\u2019d think he was a biologist or chemist by trade. But <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Aarons began his career working at the Federal Reserve in New York. When he came to the UK to do a PhD in econometrics, he first wanted to found a fintech company. However, he says, he couldn\u2019t find anyone who really wanted to work on it. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Then, he learned about biology and cell-free biotechnology, which was where he \u201ccould see that the world was lighting up,\u201d and that people were interested in working on this specific problem. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI think that can\u2019t be overstated when you\u2019re thinking about starting a very difficult deeptech company. Does the vision actually resonate with all your employees and your customers?\u201d<\/span>\n                        <\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMN63nwsw68G3Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/news\/fabricnano-cell-free-biotech-startup-microplastics\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When researchers revealed the results of a study on the prevalence of microplastics in human placentas earlier this year, the findings were profoundly disturbing. Researchers analysed 62 placental tissue samples \u2014 and found microplastics in all of them.\u00a0 In the words of the lead author of the study, \u201cIf we are seeing effects on placentas,&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-615745","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/615745","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=615745"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/615745\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=615745"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=615745"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=615745"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}