In Florida, Miami University microbiologists Rachael Morgan-Kiss and Xin Wang received a $750,000 grant from the Department of Energy to research how Antarctic algae use an alternative pathway during photosynthesis. This pathway helps the algae to survive different environmental conditions such as light stress, high salinity and extremely low temperatures. Photosynthetic microbes such as algae […]
In Washington state, a Washington State University research team for the first time has developed a promising way to recycle the popular carbon fiber plastics that are used in everything from modern airplanes and sporting goods to the wind energy industry. The works, reported in Polymer Degradation and Stability and Green Chemistry, exemplify two efficient […]
In Brazil, researchers at the University of São Paulo’s Bioscience Institute have focused on studying the genes involved in sugarcane root cell separation with the aim of developing transgenic varieties of sugarcane in which the process occurs in other parts of the plant, such as the stem, where biomass and sucrose accumulate. The cell walls […]
In Washington state, fungi, algae, and cyanobacteria might not complain about jet lag. But like humans, their physiologies adhere to a roughly 24-hour cycle of behavioral patterns in the absence of external cues. Organisms that experience recurring day and night cycles have evolved a biochemical oscillator or circadian clock. This clock determines which activities, from […]
In Minnesota, a new study establishes that environmental damage caused by corn production results in 4,300 premature deaths annually in the United States, representing a monetized cost of $39 billion. The paper, published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Sustainability, presents how researchers have estimated for the first time the health damages caused by corn production […]
In Washington, D.C., new research prepared by the University of California-Davis, Kansas State University, and University of Wisconsin provides the most detailed and comprehensive assessment to date of the direct connection between U.S. biofuels policy and specific economic and field-level environmental changes following passage of the Renewable Fuel Standard 10 years ago, according to the […]
In Sweden, in recent years, researchers have tried to capture the electrical current that bacteria generate through metabolism. So far, however, the transfer of current from the bacteria to a receiving electrode has been highly inefficient. Now, researchers from institutions including Lund University have achieved a slightly more efficient transfer of electrical current. The results […]
In Australia, CO2CRC has been awarded funding to conduct important research into reducing greenhouse gas emissions in steel production. The year-long study has been made possible by a grant from the NSW Department of Planning and Environment (Coal Innovation NSW Fund). The project will explore pathways for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in steel production, including […]
In Pennsylvania, a new technique to spin starch fibers using Lego pieces could have future applications for lab-grown “clean” meat, according to a team of food scientists from Penn State and the University of Alabama. To produce fine starch fibers using electrospinning, electricity is applied to a starch solution as it dispenses from a nozzle. […]
In the UK, as the world is looking to combat the catastrophic effects of climate change, many hope that bio-based chemicals and fuels will help in the necessary move away from fossil fuels. The conversion of Acetone, Ethanol and Butanol (ABE) produced from sugar fermentation, into valuable chemicals through condensation reactions is seen as a […]
