Genetic engineering and synthetic biology are making it easier to create everything from food ingredients to scents using unexpected sources.

That's where genetically engineered yeast comes in. A recent article in the New York Times explored its larger implications and how companies like Amyris continue to push the scope of what engineered yeast can produce.

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Amyris found that it can create not only ingredients for cosmetics products but also artemisinin, a compound used in drugs to treat malaria. Artemisinin normally comes from sweet wormwood, harvested by both Asian and African farmers, as The Guardian reports. Though the artificial creation of the important compound means good news in one sense, some see it as an indication that genetically engineering it could jeopardize the livelihood of harvesters.

Amyris co-founder Jay Keasling told the New York Times that the process is "just like brewing beer, but rather than spit out alcohol, the yeast spits out these products."

Evolva also experimented with genetically engineered yeast and found that it could produce synthetic vanillin, sometimes used as an alternative to the standard, natural vanilla extract.

Vanillin could be used for everything from fragrances to dairy products. As the company's site explains, vanilla and vanillin are used in many products and therefore created at a collectively large rate, but "only a small fraction of this volume contains natural vanilla, with the vast majority being synthetic vanillin."

Yet, as the New York Times article reports, other groups see problems with the artificial creations, questioning the idea of integrating engineered ingredients into everyday foods.

In the meantime, Amyris plans to work with Michelin to produce a rubber product and will likely continue to create other partnerships for future experiments.

Image: Flickr, Nabeelah