News and Trends 15 May 2020 Synthetic Biology Could Lead to Clean Energy Using Light and Carbon Dioxide Researchers in Germany and France have combined synthetic biology with microfluidics to create artificial photosynthetic droplets, which could lead to the production of organic chemicals and clean fuels that is more efficient than nature can achieve alone. In a study recently published in Science, the research team developed an automated way to produce artificial versions […] May 15, 2020 - 3 minutesmins - By David Kirk Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 27 Apr 2020 Series A Round Boosts Swedish Synthetic Biology Player by €6.4M The Swedish synthetic biology company EnginZyme has raised a Series A funding round to the tune of €6.4M to develop its cell-free synbio technology for the sustainable production of plastic, rubber, and other synthetic materials. The latest investment, which was led by French venture fund Sofinnova Partners, brings EnginZyme’s total funding to more than €10M […] April 27, 2020 - 4 minutesmins - By Karen O’Hanlon Cohrt Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 17 Apr 2020 Is New Enzyme Technology Key to Solving Society’s Plastic Problem? A new type of enzyme developed by the French company Carbios can break down more than 90% of the plastic PET, commonly used to make plastic bottles, and the byproducts can then be recycled into new PET. But how far does this go towards solving our plastic waste problem? PET, or polyethylene terephthalate, comprises around […] April 17, 2020 - 4 minutesmins - By Helen Albert Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Interview 15 Apr 2020 Investing in the Microbiome in the Age of Covid-19 and Beyond For Isabelle de Cremoux, CEO and Managing Partner at Seventure Partners, 2020 was going to be an important year for microbiome research. However, the global coronavirus pandemic arrived, presenting one of the greatest unforeseen challenges in human history. I spoke to her about the microbiome field’s progress and the legacy of the Covid-19 pandemic going […] April 15, 2020 - 7 minutesmins - By Larissa Warneck-Silvestrin Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 27 Feb 2020 Scientists Recycle Agricultural Waste into Laundry Enzymes Scientists from the UK and India have recycled the byproducts of mustard oil production to develop an enzyme that can be used in commercial laundry detergents. Lipases are the second-largest commercially produced enzymes, with an estimated market value of more than €16B. They are used in various industries to produce fine chemicals, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and […] February 27, 2020 - 2 minutesmins - By Laura Cowen Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 25 Feb 2020 European Researchers to Make Light Bulbs using Bacteria A team of scientists from Austria, Spain, and Italy is working to make LED light bulbs out of proteins produced by bacteria. Light-emitting diodes, or LEDs, are widely seen as a key tool for making lighting eco-friendly because they are more energy-efficient than traditional bulbs. However, the coatings of these devices — designed to absorb […] February 25, 2020 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
In Depth 25 Feb 2020 Biotechnology Is Changing How We Make Clothes The fashion industry is seeing the beginnings of a biotechnological revolution: using biology to make clothing to make textiles better and more sustainable. Biotechnology already plays an important role in the textile industry. Enzymes are used routinely to wash and bleach textiles, to give jeans a denim look or to prevent wool from shrinking. A […] February 25, 2020 - 7 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 14 Feb 2020 Novozymes Launches Super Robust Yeast to Maximize Biofuel Production The Danish industrial biotech company Novozymes has announced the launch of its latest non-GM yeast technology, Innova Fit, which it says reduces biofuel production bottlenecks caused by conventional and basic yeast. Biofuels, including ethanol, are a renewable energy source being used as a replacement for fossil fuels, with substantially reduced CO2 emissions, particularly in the transport […] February 14, 2020 - 3 minutesmins - By External Contributor Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 10 Feb 2020 Meiogenix, Bayer Team Up to Boost Genetic Diversity in Crop Breeding Bayer and the French biotech company Meiogenix will work together to advance the development of Meiogenix’s plant breeding and genome editing technologies with the hope of improving food crops for farmers. For many years, the only way to improve characteristics such as yield and nutritional value of crops was through selective breeding, which can be […] February 10, 2020 - 3 minutesmins - By External Contributor Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 29 Jan 2020 Oxitec Unveils First Field Trial Results for Crop-Protecting GM Moths A study led by Oxitec has shown for the first time that diamondback moths genetically engineered to produce only male offspring can survive in the wild, a solution that shows promise for cutting populations of the crop pest. Caterpillars of the diamondback moth Plutella xylostella are one of the most destructive pests for growers of […] January 29, 2020 - 4 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
Startup Scout 24 Jan 2020 This Company is Using Moths to Make Vaccines Madrid-based company Algenex is using moths as natural bioreactors to improve the speed and scalability of making proteins used in vaccines and diagnostics. Mission: To harness nature for simple, scalable, and cost-efficient recombinant protein manufacture. While many proteins are manufactured using bacteria, some are made using insect cells because these cells are sometimes better […] January 24, 2020 - 4 minutesmins - By External Contributor Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email
News and Trends 17 Jan 2020 International Collaboration on Brink of Resurrecting Northern White Rhinos An international collaboration called BioRescue has taken a step forward in bringing back the Northern White Rhino with the creation of three embryos, which it hopes to bring to term in a surrogate in the coming months. The BioRescue team, including researchers based at the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Germany, extracted egg […] January 17, 2020 - 3 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith Share WhatsApp Twitter Linkedin Email