In China, current sugarcane breeding methods, involving a lengthy 10- to 12-year multistage selection process, have resulted in slower yield improvements compared to other major crops. The main obstacles in the breeding process include the extended cycle, challenging phenotyping due to substantial biomass, and limited heritability of crucial traits. These issues, particularly the logistical challenges in […]
In South Korea, a research team from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) has successfully developed high-performance microbial strains producing a variety of compounds, including succinic acid, biodegradable plastics, biofuels, and natural products using systems metabolic engineering tools and strategies. The research team predicted that if bio-based polyamide production technology, which is […]
In Lithuania, Lithuanian scientists discovered a way to reduce the cost of biodiesel production by adding the by-product of cigarette waste recycling. The high production cost of biodiesel remains a major barrier to its wider applicability, and, depending on the biomass source, using it may cause pollution. Adding a blender such as a triacetin compound, […]
In Illinois, Midwest Bioprocessing Center (MBC), a leading producer of biobased chemicals for human health, nutrition, and personal care announced that it has been awarded a $1.8MM grant from the National Institutes of Health entitled “Production of Natural Deoxysugars for Use in Chemical Synthesis of Glycosides.” The technology being developed will allow the company to […]
In California, Berkeley Lab reported that a recent study by researchers from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and Sandia National Laboratories revealed which crop-based feedstocks offer the greatest potential for a cost-competitive, renewable alternative to petroleum-based jet fuel, while also maximizing atmospheric carbon removal. The scientists conducted the […]
In Wisconsin, University of Wisconsin–Madison researchers have engineered bacteria that can produce two chemical products at the same time from underutilized plant fiber. And unlike humans, these multitasking microbes can do both things equally well. The discovery, detailed in a paper in the December issue of the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology, could help make […]
In China, image-based plant phenotyping has become crucial in understanding plant biology and agriculture. However, distinguishing relevant biological structures from the background remains a challenge, particularly in low-contrast situations. While deep learning has enhanced feature extraction in computer vision, its application in plant phenotyping is hindered by the need for extensive image annotation. To address this, […]
In Massachusetts, Ginkgo Bioworks announced that a Ginkgo-led team — including partners from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Colorado School of Mines, and Global Algae Innovations — has been awarded funding through the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO). The scope of the project will be to develop a new approach to […]
In Delaware, the U.S. Department of Agriculture recently awarded two DSU researchers a three-year just under $300,000 grant for a project that could leverage the properties of microalgae toward energy and cancer treatment purposes. The technical title of the project is “A Multiple-Stage Cost Effective Smart Farming of Engineered Microalgae for Simultaneous Production of High-Value Molecules […]
In the UK, Bdaily News reported that two Teesside University academics have received funding for research investigating how to reduce the carbon footprint from waste-to-energy plants. Professor Dawid Hanak, in collaboration with Professor Kumar Patchigolla, has been granted funding from the UK Carbon Capture and Storage Research Community’s (UKCCSRC) Flexible Funding call to look at […]
