Verenium: Extremophilic Enzymes for Biofuels Research

One company that is taking advantage of the thermophilic properties of extremophiles from the thermal vents of the ocean, is Verenium, of San Diego, CA. I met up with a former classmate of mine, from the University of Guelph, while in Chicago for the BIO World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioprocessing. I've always been very interested in protein engineering and enzyme optimization, so I am intrigued by this company that is using high throughput screening to find new thermal enzymes from organisms at the bottom of the ocean, for the production of biofuels and other industrial applications.