The award-winning Jordanian biologist Hanan Malkawi says it may be possible to cultivate the Dead Sea.
Malkawi, who was recently honoured by Jordan’s King Abdullah II for her work in biotechnology and nanotechnology, told Al-Fanar Media that in her recent research she had isolated bacteria that live in the highly saline environment of the Dead Sea.
“If these organisms can live, that means there are genes that produce enzymes that are resistant to salinity,” she said. And if these genes can be transferred from bacteria to plants, “we can cultivate the Dead Sea to turn it from a barren area into an environment suitable for cultivation.”
Malkawi, who has published more than 70 papers in international journals and obtained a number of patents, previously won the 2014 Asian Education Leadership and Innovation Award for outstanding leaders in international education.
Leave a Reply