DailyDirt: Blooming Business For Algae

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

Growing fuel from algae is a goal that plenty of scientists have been working on for years. Creating an economically viable process for doing this would be a real game-changer, but so far, there are still some major challenges (and the price of oil is looking remarkably low nowadays, too). Still, progress for growing biofuels from algae is inching along, and here are just a few examples.

• One of the problems for using algae to produce biofuels is that these organisms normally produce lipid oils when they are starved for nutrients -- but they don't grow well under those conditions. However, engineering some diatoms to produce lipids without hindering their growth has been achieved. [url]
• An algae pilot plant in Alabama is making diesel and jet fuel -- and treating waste water at the same time. Algae Systems puts waste water, algae and CO2 into large plastic bags and lets the algae grow for a few days offshore in the sun. This process currently produces 3,000 gallons of fuel per acre per year and treats 40,000 gallons of water per acre per year, so it still needs to scale up before everyone is driving/flying around using this biofuel. [url]
• An algae-powered building in Hamburg relies on heat from growing algae to make the building (somewhat) self sufficient. This BIQ building sucks carbon dioxide out of the air, creating biomass, and uses traditional solar panels to augment its power needs. The upfront building costs are significant, but if it can continue to operate with minimal ongoing energy costs, the investment will pan out in the future. [url]

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Filed Under: algae, alternative energy, biodiesel, biofuel, biomass, energy, gmo, solar, sustainable, waste water
Companies: algae systems

DailyDirt: Fighting Cancer

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

The fight against cancer is a tough one, but new treatments are coming along that might put an end to more forms of it. For example, Google X (aka Google[x]) is working on a way to target cancer cells with nanoparticles and a wearable device. That sounds like pretty far out research, but there are a lot of different approaches to tackling cancer. Here are just a few promising ones.

• Genetically engineered T cells have been re-programmed to kill off other blood cells that might become cancerous. Patients with deadly leukemia have been treated with these modified T cells, and it looks like a promising treatment which could be modified to work against other cancers. [url]
• An experimental protein therapy might stop the metastasis of certain cancers and offer an alternative to chemotherapy. Modified proteins have stopped the spread of breast and ovarian cancers in lab mice, but testing has not yet been done in humans. [url]
• Some "zombie bacteria" (genetically modified anthrax) can be used as a drug delivery system for cancerous cells that are typically difficult to target. Cancer-fighting anthrax is being tested on mice, and this strategy might help expand the number of drugs available to treat recalcitrant tumors. [url]

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Filed Under: cancer, chemotherapy, drug delivery, genetically modified anthrax, gmo, health, leukemia, nanotech, protein therapy, tumor, zombie bacteria
Companies: google

DailyDirt: Test Tube Meat Fresh From The Lab

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

Some folks just don't like the idea of killing animals for food, but clearly there are plenty of people who don't have a problem with eating meat. Technology might have an answer -- if meat grown in a lab can be considered a humane way to treat living tissues. Here are just a few attempts at making fake meat.

• Modern Meadow is a biotech startup growing meat and leather in a lab. The company can grow a 1-square-foot, flawless (no scratches or stretch marks) piece of leather in about 6 weeks, and it's made some "steak chips" that will probably need to pass some complex regulatory hurdles before being ready for general human consumption. [url]
• Impossible Foods is a company that has made a veggie burger that almost bleeds because it contains iron-containing heme compounds similar to those in real red meat. The fake burger apparently tastes like a cross between beef and turkey, with a texture that is nearly like animal tissue (or at least not much like tofu). Still, it costs about $20 per burger patty, so there's a bit more work to be done. [url]
• Hampton Creek Foods is creating a vegan egg that could replace factory-farmed eggs. Beyond Eggs (and its fellow meat substitute competitors) need to find just the right proteins and emulsifiers that can fool the human palate and also maintain an eco-friendly and sustainable reputation. [url]

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Filed Under: biotech, fake meat, food, gmo, murderless meat, steak chips, vegan, vegan egg, veggie burger
Companies: beyond eggs, hampton creek foods, impossible foods, modern meadow

DailyDirt: Growing Better Strawberries

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

We've talked about how strawberries are actually not berries and about a few cool tidbits about growing them. If you like strawberries, here are just a few more links for your perusal.

• American strawberry farmers enjoy access to the strawberry breeding program at UC Davis which accounts for more than half of the ancestry of strawberries in our supermarkets. The proprietary strawberry breeds created in this program are generally sold to any grower that wants to use them, but potential changes to the university's program could make desirable strawberries harder to obtain. [url]
• The Marshall strawberry almost went extinct -- even though it had been called "the tastiest strawberry in America" -- in 2007. A single clone at the USDA's Germplasm Repository was re-grown among some strawberry enthusiasts (circa 2009), and a Kickstarter campaign is helping to create an organic strawberry farm dedicated to this variety. [url]
• The use of methyl bromide as a fumigant has been around for decades in strawberry fields, but it's an ozone-depleting chemical (and a possible carcinogen). Alternatives are being tested as methyl bromide is (slowly) phased out, and some disinfestation techniques appear to be promising replacements. (It should be noted that even some organic strawberry farmers get plants from nurseries that use methyl bromide, and new techniques to control disease organisms can use more water.) [url]

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Filed Under: disinfestation, farming, food, gmo, marshall strawberry, methyl bromide, organic, pesticides, strawberries
Companies: kickstarter

DailyDirt: Feeding More People Sustainably

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

The modern food supply isn't as efficient as it probably should be. People are over-fishing the oceans and relying too much on monoculture crops and artificial pesticides/fertilizers to keep up with the market demand for various kinds of food. But it's hard to convince a massive number of people to limit their intake of things like meat (and politically deadly as well). Technology will help boost food production for a while, and here are just a few links on some methods that farmers could adopt.

• Plant scientist Dr. Sanjaya Rajaram has been awarded the 2014 World Food Prize for his role in increasing world wheat production. Rajaram cross-bred wheat varieties to obtain hundreds of strains of wheat with significantly higher yields. His research is credited for increasing production by 200 million more tons of wheat each year, globally. [url]
• Agriculture might get a lot more automation with drones and crawling robots to monitor and tend to crops. Farming robots could help control pests and pathogens, operating round the clock to bolster crop yields. [url]
• Sustainable fisheries are developing, but aquaculture isn't easy, and domesticating various kinds of wild fish (eg. tuna) can take up a lot of space and water and attention. However, if we're going to try to keep up with our demand for seafood, catching wild fish isn't going to work for much longer. [url]

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Filed Under: agriculture, aquaculture, automation, drones, farming, food, gmo, sanjaya rajaram, seafood, wheat, world food prize

Open Source Seed Initiative: 'Free The Seed!'

from the protecting-the-commons dept

Last year we wrote about the idea of open-sourcing DNA for use in GMOs that were not subject to patent control -- a key problem with the technology, leaving aside other concerns about its application. The newly-launched Open Source Seed Initiative (OSSI) avoids the controversy surrounding GMOs by using traditional plant breeding, but still makes the results freely available. Here's how the OSSI describes its work:

The most distinguishing aspect of OSSI is the idea that genetic resources – in the form of seeds - are set aside for humanity to use in any way it sees fit. By attaching a free seed pledge to packets of open source seed, these genetic resources cannot be patented or otherwise legally protected, making them essentially available in perpetuity in a protected commons. If they were available only in a traditional commons, people could obtain them, breed with them, and restrict their use through patents or licenses. But in this commons they must remain free. Hence the phrase “Free the Seed!”

The free seed pledge is extremely simple:

This Open Source Seed pledge is intended to ensure your freedom to use the seed contained herein in any way you choose, and to make sure those freedoms are enjoyed by all subsequent users. By opening this packet, you pledge that you will not restrict others' use of these seeds and their derivatives by patents, licenses, or any other means. You pledge that if you transfer these seeds or their derivatives they will also be accompanied by this pledge.

The parallels with free software's GNU General Public License are clear:

the GNU General Public License is intended to guarantee your freedom to share and change all versions of a program -- to make sure it remains free software for all its users.

...

To protect your rights, we need to prevent others from denying you these rights or asking you to surrender the rights. Therefore, you have certain responsibilities if you distribute copies of the software, or if you modify it: responsibilities to respect the freedom of others.

For example, if you distribute copies of such a program, whether gratis or for a fee, you must pass on to the recipients the same freedoms that you received. You must make sure that they, too, receive or can get the source code. And you must show them these terms so they know their rights.

That's no coincidence, as an article on the University of Wisconsin's news site about the launch of OSSI explains:

Early on, inspired by the open source software community, which freely shares and collaborates to improve their products, OSSI members starting exploring how to develop open source licenses for seeds -- but came upon numerous roadblocks along the way.

This spring, eager to get things moving forward again, Goldman and Kloppenburg [two of the key people behind OSSI] convinced many in the group to embrace the simplest option they had discussed: the Open Source Seed Pledge.

Unlike the comprehensive open source licenses the OSSI group originally tried to develop, the pledge is very concise. It's so short it will be printed on all OSSI seed packets.

One question is how that pledge will be enforced: what happens if a company takes an open source seed and uses it to produce seeds that it then patents? Another is what impact the initiative will have. At launch, there are 29 new varieties of broccoli, celery, kale, quinoa and other vegetables and grains; one measure of OSSI's success will be how quickly this number grows. But in an article on the NPR Web site, the sociologist Jack Kloppenberg, who has been writing about the enclosure of the seed commons (pdf) and how to fight it (pdf) for nearly 30 years, is quoted as saying:

one important goal for this initiative is simply to get people thinking and talking about how seeds are controlled. "It's to open people's minds," he says. "It's kind of a biological meme, you might say: Free seed! Seed that can be used by anyone!"

The creation of free software 30 years ago has had a profound effect on computing, and helped fuel the rise of the Internet, with which it has a symbiotic relationship. Food and who controls it are arguably even more important issues for the world, and it would be nice to think that, despite its modest beginnings, the Open Source Seed Initiative might one day have as great an impact as its digital forebear.

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Filed Under: gmo, open source, open source seeds, seeds

DailyDirt: Kill All The Mosquitoes

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

Mosquitoes are a serious pest. They spread terrible diseases like malaria and dengue fever, and they're just generally annoying to people. So it's no surprise that quite a few methods have been developed to kill them off in significant numbers, if not entirely. There are actually thousands of different kinds of mosquitoes, and some of them are completely harmless to humans. But if we could target just the ones that spread diseases, we could prevent an enormous amount of death and suffering. Is it really safe to drive mosquitoes to extinction? Here are just a few ways we're trying to do it (regardless of whether we should).

• Mosquito-borne diseases kill about a million people each year and have killed more people than war, cancer or heart disease. Releasing a genetically modified mosquito could push these insects to near extinction, and this appears to be a very effective way to kill off mosquitoes. [url]
• DDT was once the weapon of choice for killing mosquitoes, but these bugs have developed a resistance to DDT and other chemical pesticides. Researchers are learning more about how DDT resistance develops in mosquito populations, but spraying different chemicals might not be the best solution for controlling mosquitoes. [url]
• For a few years, Nathan Myhrvold has been promoting a laser system to shoot mosquitoes. So far, this Death Star for mosquitoes doesn't seem to be very practical, but zapping insects with lasers is an entertaining idea at least. [url]

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Filed Under: ddt, diseases, extinction, gmo, health, lasers, medicine, mosquitoes, nathan myhrvold, pesticides

DailyDirt: Rediscovering Heirloom Plants

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

It turns out that many Americans aren't paying much attention to the ongoing battle over labeling genetically modified foods. A recent survey by researchers at Rutgers University found that half of Americans know very little or nothing at all about GM foods, while a quarter have never even heard of them. Furthermore, they found that many Americans are also confused about what types of GM foods are on the market. Meanwhile, heirloom fruits, vegetables, and grains are gaining popularity. These are plants that have been grown and passed down from one generation to another -- some for more than 100 years -- often selected for their superior flavor, as well as other characteristics such as productivity, hardiness, and adaptability. If you want to avoid GM foods, why not spend some time rediscovering heirloom varieties? Here are a few links to get you started.

• Glass Gem corn is a stunning variety of heirloom corn that's named for its multi-colored, gem-like kernels. You really have to see it to believe it. Glass Gem is the result of many years of selective breeding of corn that exhibited vivid, translucent colors.[url]
• Tartine Bakery in San Francisco has started incorporating heirloom and ancient varieties of grains into the bread they make. Apparently, these older varieties of grains -- rye, barley, einkorn, and emmer -- have a different gluten quality that makes them easier to digest. [url]
• In case of an apocalyptic disaster that destroys the world's crops, the Svalbard Global Seed Vault will make sure we can rebuild the global plant population. Built on the edge of the Arctic Ocean in Svalbard, Norway -- away from civilization -- the seed vault can hold up to 4.5 million different seed varieties and keep them safe from disasters caused by climate change, asteroid strikes, plant diseases, nuclear warfare, and even earthquakes. [url]

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Filed Under: biotech, bread, food, genetically modified foods, glass gem corn, gmo, grain, heirloom corn, heirloom varieties, plants, seeds, svalbard global seed vault

DailyDirt: Synthetic Biology Is Growing Up

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

Biology has inspired artists and scientists and engineers to create all kinds of things from velcro to still life paintings. Living organisms have a seemingly endless supply of tricks up their sleeves, so why not try to use some biological mechanisms to do our bidding? Scientists can already re-create some biology by growing organs that could be used for transplants and by creating an (almost) completely synthetic cell based on a bacterium that normally infects goats (search for J. Craig Venter). Synthetic biology still has a long way to go, but it's a field that is maturing quickly. Here are just a few links on this fast-growing biotechnology.

• Since 2004, synthetic biology startups have raised around $1.84 billion -- based on the promises of Lego-like biotech that would allow scientists to grow biofuels or custom medicines or even genetically engineered buildings. However, the ability to engineer custom living organisms hasn't (yet!) lived up to the hype. (The field is only about a decade old, folks.) [url]
• Before synthetic biology gets out of hand, there are a bunch of groups that want to regulate the creation of artificial organisms. Some folks are justifiably concerned that harmful genetically engineered organisms (or even non-living genetic material) could destroy our existing ecosystem -- or just create ethical abominations. [url]
• Engineers have developed a programming language to create synthetic DNA that could help design biological macromolecules for all kinds of uses. It's just a first step towards making biology more accessible to engineering students and tinkerers outside the field of biology. [url]

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Filed Under: artificial organisms, biology, biotech, genetic engineering, gmo, life, synthetic biology

DailyDirt: Better Tasting Fruits And Vegetables

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

If fruits and vegetables tasted even better, maybe people would include more in their diet. Part of what researchers at the U.S. Department of Agriculture are trying to do is to improve the taste and nutritional profile of specialty crops like fruits and vegetables, in the hope that Americans will adopt a healthier diet. For generations, humans have been inadvertently breeding the nutrients out of fruits and vegetables, by selecting varieties that are more palatable (i.e., higher in sugar and starch). Then, somewhere along the way, appearance became important, and farmers began breeding aesthetically pleasing varieties, often at the expense of taste. So, now we're stuck with some pretty bland products. Here are some more tasty links.

• For the past 70 years or so, people have been breeding tomatoes for a uniform red color, but in the process, a gene that increases sugar content in tomatoes was inactivated. The gene, SlGLK2, increases the formation of chloroplasts, which are responsible for producing sugars through photosynthesis. Researchers have shown that by re-inserting an intact copy of the gene into tomatoes, they could increase the amount of glucose and fructose by up to 40%, while still retaining the uniform color ripening trait. Too bad they weren't actually able to taste them (federal regulations prohibit sampling experimental crops). [url]
• Researchers have found that today's Fuji apples are mealier, less flavorful, and more susceptible to disease than they were in the 1970s. The culprit: climate change. Studies in controlled temperature environments have shown that higher temperatures have been linked to a decrease in taste and texture in apples. Who knows what other crops might also have been changed due to global warming? [url]
• University of Florida researchers have discovered that they can improve the taste of fruits by exposing them to far-red light. They were able to use specific wavelengths of light to manipulate the production of volatile compounds that control aroma and taste in fruits like tomatoes, strawberries, and blueberries. Imagine your produce tasting even better after being stored in your far-red-light-equipped refrigerator! [url]

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Filed Under: apples, breeding, climate change, crops, diet, farming, food, fruits, gmo, taste, tomato, vegetables
Companies: usda