Pollution:
Harnessing biotech’s atomic precision to fight pollution at scale.
Pollution:
Harnessing biotech’s atomic precision to fight pollution at scale.
The beauty of biotechnology is that it is atomically precise and infinitely scalable. Human society has used this power to engineer diagnostics, therapeutics, and preventatives that have transformed health care. Yet even with growing consensus that environmental exposures are a major driver of disease, we have few clinical-grade diagnostics for pollutants and almost no effective treatments to address their harm.
The Pollution Program is focused on reframing pollution as a molecular challenge that biotechnology is uniquely equipped to solve. If we can build platforms to detect and neutralize viruses, cancers, and pathogens, we can build them for toxic metals and industrial chemicals as well.
Pollution is made of molecules. Biotech is built for molecules.
We focus on catalytic projects that help reposition pollution as a solvable design problem. These efforts include:
• Defining technical product profiles for pollutant detection and intervention
• Exploring more accurate biomarkers to track exposure and risk
• Convening field-based workshops to bring research efforts into contact with environmental reality
Through this work, we aim to lower the barrier for biotech engagement in environmental health.
We start with one of the most well-known pollutants in the world: elemental lead (Pb²⁺). Lead is deeply studied and widely present in homes, soil, and infrastructure. It is also one of the most persistent threats to child development and community health. Yet many of the tools used to detect and respond to lead remain outdated or difficult to deploy.
Homeworld has collaborated with scientific partners to rethink how lead is measured. We have developed an improved target product profile (TPP) for lead diagnostics and examined the potential of alternative biomarkers that may offer greater accuracy and utility. Lead provides both a clear need and a high-impact entry point for biotechnology to engage.
On January 16, 2025, a fire erupted at the Moss Landing Power Plant, which houses one of the largest lithium-ion battery storage facilities in the world. The incident raised urgent concerns about toxic metal exposure, including cobalt, nickel, and manganese. These metals may have reached nearby wetlands, farmland, and residential communities in Monterey County.
In March 2025, Homeworld organized a site visit to Moss Landing. We engaged with marine ecologists at the Moss Landing Marine Lab and with local citizen scientists who had begun collecting and analyzing samples on their own. These conversations informed our thinking about exposure, risk, and the kinds of rapid, field-ready tools communities need to respond in real time.
Are you a researcher, funder, potential industry partner, or simply just interested to learn more about Homeworld’s pollution program? Contact us at pollution@homeworld.bio and become a part of our journey or let us help you on yours!