When Loren Looger walks into a room, he doesn't want recognition, he wants to make things that work. The creator of revolutionary, open-source tools that transformed how we visualize brain activity is increasingly turning his protein engineering expertise to formidable challenges in climate, including methane degradation. .
Methane sits at the heart of our climate crisis as a greenhouse gas 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide. Yet nature has evolved only a few enzyme scapable of breaking it down. Methane monooxygenase (MMO) is on eof these remarkable proteins existing in methanotrophs, specialized microbes that have evolved unique cellular structures specifically to process methane. Despite its discovery decades ago, MMO remains stubbornly mysterious, with scientists still uncertain about its basic biochemical requirements.
In this fascinating conversation, Looger describes how he's applying the same methodical approach that revolutionized neuroscience to this critical climate challenge. His project aims to create fluorescent biosensors that can reveal MMO's secrets—how it interacts with membranes, what metals it requires, and why it struggles to function when expressed in other organisms. The ultimate vision? Engineering plants that can express functional MMO, potentially transforming forests into methane-capturing systems.
What makes this story particularly compelling is Looger's journey—from a math-obsessed kid in Alabama who worked at NASA after school, to a biochemist who stumbled into neuroscience, to a climate biotechnologist driven by urgency. "We've got one last chance to save a planet where we can study neuroscience," he notes, explaining his pivot to climate work.
Throughout his career, Looger has championed a culture of scientific openness, freely sharing tools before publication—a philosophy he believes is essential for climate innovation. His approach reminds us that sometimes the most meaningful scientific contributions come not from flashy breakthroughs but from methodical improvements that make complex systems accessible to all researchers.
Ready to bring your expertise to climate challenges? Email Lauren directly—he welcomes collaborations from scientists willing to apply their skills to our planet's most pressing problems.

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