In Australia, an A$4.5 million initiative to boost Australia’s synthetic biology capabilities will be built by The University of Queensland and CSIRO, helping drive advances in areas such as manufacturing, industrial biotechnology, environmental remediation, biosecurity, agriculture and healthcare research. The CSIRO – UQ Synthetic Biology Initiative involves a close collaboration between the CSIRO Synthetic Biology […]
In Delaware, the U.S. Department of Energy has awarded Eleftherios (Terry) Papoutsakis a three-year, $1.5 million grant to study the production of clostridium bacteria as platforms for biofuels. Papoutsakis, the Unidel Eugene du Pont Chair of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Delaware, will uncover fundamental insights about metabolism and environmental signaling in […]
In Mexico, falling a recent call by a researcher at one Mexican university to find ways to create value out of the sargassum algae that are polluting the Caribbean and Mexican coasts, a researcher at the Renewable Energy Unit under of the Center for Scientific Research of Yucatán announced he had been working to use […]
In Arkansas, a University of Arkansas biologist is developing methods that could make the production of biofuel — ethanol and diesel made from sources such as plant material — more efficient and environmentally sound. He will use a protein derived from microorganisms that live in acidic geothermal pools and springs to enhance the process of […]
In the United Kingdom, University of Kent researchers in the School of Biosciences teamed up with other university researchers in England to develop a new method that manipulates organelles to create cell factories for biofuels and vaccine production. “To create the reproductive cell factories, the researchers improved on systems within cells that enable the synthesis […]
In Finland, Aalto University and VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland signed a collaboration agreement on the CERES flagship program and took a concrete step towards a joint innovation ecosystem in the field of bioeconomy. The aim is to develop materials from renewable resources in order to safeguard a sustainable future. The Academy of Finland […]
In France, by studying a particular fungus, scientists in the EU-funded ZYBIOM project have discovered a family of enzymes that can double the amount of glucose extracted from wood. Although biofuels are the most immediate application, as their production from glucose is already well understood, the new enzymes could also have a part to play […]
In South Dakota, an associate professor in the chemical and biological engineering department at the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology has received a $2.16 million grant from the Department of Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office to research and demonstrate cost-effective ways to turn waste from biorefineries, such as ethanol plants, into valuable products. The […]
In Mexico, Xinhua news agency reports that a researcher from the National Autonomous University of Mexico has warned climate change over the last decade has led Sargassum seaweed to invade beaches around the Caribbean, creating a threat to local ecosystems, but at the same time some believe the plant could be a good feedstock for […]
In Washington, D.C., the U.S. Department of Energy announced new findings that help maximize mixed-linkage glucan production which is helpful for biofuel refineries that depend on glucose from grasses as feedstock. MLG is found within the cell wall of grasses and is a source of glucose that can be converted to biofuels and bioproducts. Researchers […]
