In Denmark, researchers at the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability (DTU Biosustain) at the Technical University of Denmark shed light on how bacteria and baker’s yeast generate and use their energy to grow and how it is possible to evoke a shift in the metabolism from fermentation to respiration of E. coli and baker’s […]
In the UK, a new study, co-authored by scientists from the Sustainability Research Institute at the University of Leeds, has calculated the EROI for fossil fuels over a 16 year period and found that at the finished fuel stage, the ratios are much closer to those of renewable energy sources – roughly 6:1, and potentially […]
In France, a team of researchers affiliated with French several institutions has found a way to improve the conversion of CO2 into fuels by mimicking the behavior of the diving bell spider. In their paper published in the journal Nature Materials, the group describes using captured air bubbles to improve the conversion efficiency of carbon […]
In the UK, the molecular machinery used by ‘superbugs’ to resist chemicals designed to kill them could also help produce precursors for a new generation of nylon and other polymers, according to new research. Scientists from the University of Leeds have collaborated with Australian researchers to identify ancient protein pumps that make infectious bacteria tough […]
In Michigan, researchers at Michigan State University has created a synthetic nano-sized factory, based on natural ones found in bacteria. This research could someday lead to new medical, industrial or bioenergy applications. Natural nanofactories are found in bacteria all over the planet. Some make nutrients. Others sequester toxic materials that would otherwise make the bacteria […]
In Germany, researchers at the Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB) have developed a new strategy for the design of light-sensitive proteins. Such proteins, also called optogenetic tools, can be switched on and off by light pulses, thereby triggering targeted cellular processes. With their help, it is possible, for example, to study in living organisms and to control […]
In New Jersey, scientists have discovered how diatoms – a type of alga that produce 20 percent of the Earth’s oxygen – harness solar energy for photosynthesis. The Rutgers University-led discovery, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, could help lead to more efficient and affordable algae-based biofuels and combat climate […]
In Serbia, local press reports that after two years of work, researchers from the University of Belgrade’s Institute for Multidisciplinary Research have developed a way to boost lipid content in microalgae to around 30% by stressing the organisms. The increased oil content could have a major impact in the economic viability of algae as a […]
In Louisiana, an assistant professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at Tulane University, is the recipient of a National Science Foundation Early Career Award. The $507,000 award will allow the researcher and his team of graduate students to continue their work on a type of bacteria with potentially important applications in biofuels, carbon capture and […]
In Japan, researchers from the Tokyo Institute of Technology and colleagues investigated the conditions under which the model microalga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii produces more of the storage molecule triacylglycerol (TAG), found in microscopic algae. In an attempt to find conditions under which C. reinhardtii both produces more TAG and grows well, the team of researchers gave […]
