In Sweden, drug molecules and biofuels can be made to order by living cell factories, where biological enzymes do the job. Now, researchers at Chalmers University of Technology have developed a computer model that can predict how fast enzymes work, making it possible to find the most efficient living factories, as well as to study […]
In the UK, researchers have developed floating ‘artificial leaves’ that generate clean fuels from sunlight and water, and could eventually operate on a large scale at sea. The researchers, from the University of Cambridge, designed ultra-thin, flexible devices, which take their inspiration from photosynthesis – the process by which plants convert sunlight into food. Since […]
In the UK, funding for researchers at Cranfield University to look at new ways to generate hydrogen energy from biomass has been announced by the Government. The technology would allow biomass – organic products such as wood, grasses or used brewery hops – to be used to generate hydrogen while capturing CO2 emissions at the […]
In Japan, ethanol can help plants survive in times of drought says a new study conducted at the RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science in Japan. Researchers show that adding ethanol to soil allows plants, including rice and wheat, to thrive after two weeks without any water. As ethanol is safe, cheap, and widely available, […]
From Washington comes news that the U.S. Department of Energy will make more than $540 million in awards for university- and National Laboratory-led research into clean energy technologies and low-carbon manufacturing. The goals Earlier this year, the DOE SC program in Basic Energy Sciences (BES) announced its interest in receiving new applications from single principal […]
In North Carolina, when heat waves hit, they don’t just take a toll on people — the plants we depend on for food suffer too. That’s because when temperatures get too high, certain plant defenses don’t work as well, leaving them more susceptible to attacks from pathogens and insect pests. Now, Duke University scientists say […]
In South Korea, organic solar cells (OSCs) are considered the future of photovoltaics due to their beneficial features like light weight, flexibility, and high conversion efficiency. But, most OSC electrodes use indium tin oxide (ITO), which is too costly and fragile to enable large-area, flexible OSCs. Now, researchers from the Gwangju Institute of Science and […]
In Nebraska, Nebraska researchers are studying how to make ethanol production more environmentally sensitive by reducing the amount of water and energy required to produce it and cutting the air emissions that result. The Nebraska Environmental Trust is helping fund this University of Nebraska–Lincoln research — $155,663 this year and $44,232 in a second year. Ethanol fermentation […]
In China, a research group led by the Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology (QIBEBT), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), has revealed that biological nanofibrils could efficiently extract valuable metal elements from water. Their findings were published in ACS Nano on August 15. In recent years, the group has carried out a lot of […]
In Australia, the University of Queensland announced that the Australian Research Council (ARC) Industrial Transformation Training Center for Bioplastics and Biocomposites, will carry out research on ‘green’ plastic initiatives. The new center will be located at the University of Queensland’s School of Chemical Engineering. Center director, Associate Professor Steven Pratt said scientists will work toward […]
