In Dallas, cosmetics giant Mary Kay has awarded grants to aspiring young scientists at the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair, including a second-place award for an innovative bioplastic made from chitosan. Madalena Filipe and Frederico Mauritty of Lisbon, Portugal came in second with HidroQapa, a waterproof bioplastic made from chitosan extracted from shrimp shell […]
In New York, a company converting seafood waste such as shrimp shells into leather alternatives has raised $4.15 million. Founded by textile researcher and designer Uyen Tran, TômTex’s material can be used in place of leather, suede, latex and vinyl. The funds will be used to increase production and add employees. Investors included Happiness Capital, […]
In the Netherlands, flexible spheres of the biomolecule chitosan, made from shrimp waste, can be used for catalysts that generate hydrogen gas from borohydride salts. In a paper in Green Chemistry, a research team at the University of Amsterdam (UvA) shows how the spheres can “breathe out” hydrogen bubbles without breaking. This is an important […]
In New York, designer Peter Do included clothing made from shrimp and mushroom waste in his Spring Summer 2023 collection’s Fashion Week debut. The material—sourced from TômTex—was used in “glossy wide-leg trousers and rounded-neck tank tops, with one look featuring camel hues and the other a black finish,” according to design publication dezeen. TômTex’s material […]
In California, a manufacturer of a biobased alternative to Styrofoam has added Leonardo DiCaprio and Ashton Kutcher to its roster of investors. The two A-listers will also serve as advisors to Cruz Foam, which will use the unspecified funds to scale up production of its certified-compostable biopolymer foams and shift from development to commercialization. “Cruz […]
In this week’s Top 8 Innovations, there may be a rumbly in your tummy after hearing that Dokdo shrimp was cultivated in a lab for the first time ever, Singapore regulators okayed the second cultivated meat product for human consumption, and news of Future Meat’s whopping $347 million in funding to bring lab-grown meat to […]
In South Korea, Dokdo shrimp has been cultivated in a lab for the first time. CellMEAT says it has created several prototypes with different sizes and shapes, and all were produced with serum-free culture medium. The company will now work to scale up production and lower costs. Currently, CellMEAT can produce about 5 kilograms of […]
In Finland, researchers at VTT Technical Research Center of Finland have created a cellulose-based nanocomposite inspired by the ultra-strong clubs shrimp use to pulverize prey such as clams. VTT says the material, made from a mixture of birch-cellulose and genetically engineered proteins, can be used to make dental implant crowns. Being stronger but much lighter […]
The race for biobased innovations is on! But first, take a seat like Formula One racing major McLaren is doing – on lightweight flax fiber composite seats which provide the requisite strength and low weight for a race car while creating 75% less carbon dioxide to make. While your at it, put on a cool […]
In Vietnam, designer Uyen Tran has developed a renewable, leather-like material from food waste amid growing concern for the environmental and human health impacts of tanneries. Dubbed Tômtex, the material is made from waste shrimp cells and coffee grounds and, like animal leathers, is durable and soft. “I grew up in the city of Da […]
