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 project
Millie 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 read more, she realised that building a practical biofuel system was much more complicated.“I kept thinking about microalgae biofuel because it sounds so promising. Algae can grow quickly, absorb carbon dioxide, and produce oils that can be used as fuel. But then I learned that making a biofuel system actually work is much harder than just saying ‘use algae,” she says. According to her, this made the project even more interesting for her.“I wanted to focus on the hard part which is how to increase oil production without hurting growth. I wanted to test whether I could explain that idea clearly and make it matter to people who may not already know about microalgae or CRISPR.”
Using AI and CRISPR together
Millie’s project combines machine learning with CRISPR-Cas9, a gene-editing technology that makes targeted changes to DNA. Instead of carrying out gene-editing experiments one by one, her computational tool predicts which genetic changes could produce better results. This could help researchers identify promising approaches more efficiently before conducting laboratory experiments.Millie says she previously thought of DNA simply as information, but learning about CRISPR showed her that DNA could also be edited in a precise way. She says CRISPR is her favourite invention of the past 100 years because it changed the way scientists can work with DNA.According to her, its interesting that CRISPR was discovered by studying bacteria rather than being invented from scratch. “It shows how many useful ideas might already exist in nature, but we have to notice them first,” she adds.
Career in research and medicine
Millie hopes to become a physician scientist in the future, combining medical practice with scientific research.“In 15 years, I hope to be a physician scientist. I want to work with patients as a doctor, but I also want to keep asking research questions because I like the part of science where the answer is not obvious yet.”“I hope I am working on problems where medicine, biotechnology, and real human needs meet. I also hope I am still the kind of person who gets excited by a strange question and follows it further than I planned,” she adds.“A good invention starts when something promising still has a problem nobody has solved well enough,” Millie says.
