In Switzerland, researchers at ETH Zurich have developed the first fully functional biofuel cell whose biocatalysts (enzymes that play a critical role in power generation) directly self-assemble onto the electrodes. In about 5 minutes, enzyme-nanoparticle hybrids added to a biofuel cell solution selectively bind to either the anode or the cathode, and in doing so […]
In Arizona, with a $1.78 million grant from the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, researchers at the University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health seek to determine the extent to which using alternative fuel mixtures can reduce exposure to hazardous components of diesel engine exhaust in underground mines to […]
In California, researchers at University of California combine supercomputing with nano-imaging to reveal how to efficiently break down plant biomass and transform it into transportation fuels. In a leap forward that could be a game changer for understanding how plant biomass can be more efficiently broken down, the UC researchers joined forces with teams at […]
In California, the United States could produce enough energy each year by harnessing waste — from landfill refuse to cow manure — to power the states of Oregon and Washington, all while cutting the equivalent of 37 million cars’ worth of carbon. That’s according to research published in Nature Energy from UCLA. Researchers examined this variability […]
In China, researchers at the Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocesses Technology (QIBEBT) in China have made headway toward more sustainable and economic fuel production by developing a biochemical approach to allow more control over the conversion of natural gas into potable liquid fuel. Methane and propane, another component of natural gas, are organic molecules […]
In New York state, researchers at Boyce Thompson Institute have found that compounds from an unlikely source—microscopic soil roundworms—could protect crops from pests and pathogens without using toxic pesticides. As described in research published in the May 2019 issue of Journal of Phytopathology, these compounds helped protect major crops from various pathogens, and thus have […]
In Sweden, researchers at Uppsala University have successfully produced microorganisms that can efficiently produce the alcohol butanol using carbon dioxide and solar energy, without needing to use solar cells. This has been presented in a new study published in the scientific journal Energy & Environmental Science. The knowledge and ability to modify cyanobacteria so they […]
In Germany, a team from the Ruhr-Universität Bochum and the University of Oxford has found out how hydrogen-producing enzymes, or so-called hydrogenases, are activated during their biosynthesis. They showed how the cofactor – a part of the active center and at the same time the heart of the enzyme – is introduced into the interior. […]
In Michigan, new research from Michigan State University, and published in the journal eLife, presents evidence that algae could have piggybacked on fungi to leave the water and to colonize the land, over 500 million years ago. Researchers selected a strain of soil fungus and marine alga from old lineages, respectively Mortierella elongata and Nannochloropsis […]
In New Mexico, new DNA analysis by Los Alamos National Laboratory researchers has revealed surprising genetic diversity in a bacterium that poses a persistent threat to the algae biofuels industry. With the evocative name Vampirovibrio chlorellavorus, the predatory pest sucks out the contents of the algae cells (thus the vampire reference) and reduces a productive, […]
