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Metabolic
Engineering is a new
approach to understanding and using metabolic processes. As the
name implies, ME is the targeted and purposeful alteration of
metabolic pathways found in an organism in order to better
understand and use cellular pathways for chemical
transformation, energy transduction, and supramolecular
assembly. Knowledge acquired from this research will benefit
society in a number of ways, including the ability to modify
biological pathways to produce biological substitutes for less
desirable chemical processes; allowing greater agricultural
production, permitting more efficient and safer energy
production, and; providing better understanding of the metabolic
basis for some medical conditions that could assist in the
development of new cures.