by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) How can a public biofoundry develop and demonstrate capabilities that enable commercially-relevant biomanufacturing of a wide range of bioproducts by both new and established industrial hosts? The ABF has operated as a BETO-supported project since 2016.
synthetic biology
Back TO HOMEEmbedding Ethics into the Engineering Biology Pipeline
by Danielle Hamm (Nuffield Bioethics) Engineering biology is not new, some would say it is synthetic biology rebranded. But whether you agree with this, or not, there is no denying that the current interest in engineering biology is palpable. And that a clear driver
July 11, 2024 Read Full Article
Deconstructing Synthetic Biology across Scales: a Conceptual Approach for Training Synthetic Biologists
by Ashty S. Karim, Dylan M. Brown, Chloé M. Archuleta, Sharisse Grannan, Ludmilla Aristilde, Yogesh Goyal, Josh N. Leonard, Niall M. Mangan, Arthur Prindle, Gabriel J. Rocklin, Keith J. Tyo, Laurie Zoloth, Michael C. Jewett, Susanna Calkins, Neha P. Kamat, Danielle
June 28, 2024 Read Full Article
The ABCDE Chain: Acetogens, the Baltic forests, Clean fuels, Dorpat, the Enlightenment
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ... If you have gleaned from earlier editions of The Digest that acetogens can make the useful chemical acetate from waste carbon and green hydrogen, you’ve remembered it well. If recall is sketchy, may I recommend All
June 10, 2024 Read Full Article
Circe Bioscience Licenses Technology to Decarbonize Industry with Microbes Developed at Wyss Institute at Harvard University
by Lindsay Brownell (Wyss Institute at Harvard Office of Technology Development) Novel gas fermentation approach enables engineered microbes to eat greenhouse gases and produce valuable products for multiple uses -- The Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University announced that Circe,
May 21, 2024 Read Full Article
Fermbox Bio Introduces EN3ZYME: A Global Solution Transforming Agricultural Waste into Renewable Biofuels and Sustainable Synbio Products
(Fermbox Bio/PR Newswire) Fermbox Bio, a synthetic biology research and manufacturing company, announces the launch of EN3ZYME, a cutting-edge enzyme cocktail designed to enhance both the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of transforming pre-treated agri-based residues into fermentable, cellulosic sugars. These sugars pave
May 16, 2024 Read Full Article
AI is Accelerating Materials Science Discovery and Synthesis Exponentially
by Kent Goeking (LEC Partners/Biofuels Digest) One of the key barriers to the economic and technical success of many advanced energy technologies is the sub-optimum performance of critical inorganic materials used as catalysts, electrodes, dielectrics, and photovoltaics. Oxide materials in particular,
April 08, 2024 Read Full Article
Strengthening the EU’s Bioeconomy Strategy with Four Policy Recommendations
(European Commission/CORDIS) From policy briefs to social media campaigns, PROMICON points the way to a sustainable bio-based economy. -- The EU-funded PROMICON project has released its first policy brief supporting the 2018 EU Bioeconomy Strategy’s goal to create a sustainable, circular and
March 28, 2024 Read Full Article
The Digest’s 2024 Multi-Slide Guide to Synonym
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Synonym is a financing and development platform for essential biomanufacturing infrastructure. Based on a team of cross‑functional experts, they are partnering with synthetic biology companies and capital providers to enable fermentation at scale. CIO Brentan Alexander took
March 27, 2024 Read Full Article
Biomass to Liquid Fuels: We Need Commercial Scale Gen 2 Success
by Doug Rivers (Lee Enterprise Consulting/Biofuels Digest) ... And while advances have been made in the materials handling and pretreatment of these feedstocks, commercial scale attempts produce ethanol have been met with multiple and highly visible failures measured in at least hundreds
December 04, 2023 Read Full Article
Bio Products: Green Materials for an Emerging Circular and Sustainable Economy (De Gruyter Stem)
by Bhima R. Vijayendran (Redwood Innovation Partners) The book is focused on Bio Products derived from renewable resources processed by conventional catalytic thermochemical processes and or emerging bioprocessing techniques including fermentation and synthetic biology. It highlights some of these developments—from discovery,
November 21, 2023 Read Full Article
Amyris’ Bankruptcy Filing: Complete Details
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Here follows the complete Amyris statement with respect to its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing. Amyris, Inc. (Nasdaq: AMRS) (“Amyris” or the “Company”), a leading synthetic biotechnology company accelerating the world’s transition to sustainable consumption through its Lab-to-Market™
August 11, 2023 Read Full Article
Synthetic DNA Could Help Scientists Modify Genes and Create New Biofuels
(University of Surrey/Newswise) According to quantum biologists from the University of Surrey, the unlocking of the immense potential of laboratory-designed DNA, commonly referred to as synthetic DNA, is poised to revolutionize various fields with groundbreaking advancements. Diverging from naturally occurring DNA, synthetic
June 05, 2023 Read Full Article
Evogene Receives Grant to Develop Oilseed Crops with High CO2 Assimilation
by Alex Martin (Seed World) Evogene’s Ag-Seed Division received the EU Horizon grant of €1.2 million euros to support the creation of oilseed crops with high carbon dioxide assimilation and enhanced drought tolerance, according to a release. Evogene will be part of
May 17, 2023 Read Full Article
Science & Tech Spotlight: Synthetic Biology
(Government Accountability Office) ... This Science & Tech Spotlight describes some of the benefits of synthetic biology and the challenges ahead. For example, while it could be used to engineer living cells that treat disease from within the body, it
May 01, 2023 Read Full Article
Meet 10 Women Who Are Leading The Synthetic Biology Revolution
by John Cumbers (Forbes) ... These ten powerful women are shaping our world as company leaders, biosecurity experts, policymakers, and philanthropists focused on charting a new course to a more sustainable, equitable, clean, and safe future. Emily Leproust, CEO & Co-founder,
April 17, 2023 Read Full Article
The Digest’s 2023 Multi-Slide Guide to USDA Efforts in Support of the Bioeconomy
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The Inflation Reduction Act provides nearly $40 billion for USDA over the next 10 years to improve life and livelihoods in rural communities. Specific investments include: $19.3 billion for climate-smart agriculture on farms, ranches, and
February 24, 2023 Read Full Article
NREL Launches Synthetic Biology Project to Advance Biofuels
(National Renewable Energy Laboratory/Ethanol Producer Magazine) The pathway that leads us away from unsustainable fossil fuel consumption is not straight and narrow but filled with many branches of possibilities. One of those branches—carbon-negative production of biofuels and biochemicals—is the focus of
February 22, 2023 Read Full Article
Funding Opportunity Announced through Collaboration Between NSF and DOE DEADLINE April 18, 2023
(U.S. Department of Energy and National Science Foundation) The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) announced a collaborative funding opportunity, “Accelerating Innovations in Biomanufacturing Approaches through Collaboration Between NSF and the
January 19, 2023 Read Full Article
Synbio Powerlabs Secures € 6.6 Million Funding to Build a Revolutionary Biotechnology Plant for Precision Fermentation
(Nutrecon/NewsWires) Synbio Powerlabs Oy ("Synbio Powerlabs" or the "Company"), a leading Biotech company catalyzing the DNA-Economy by enabling the development of disruptive biotechnologies with precision fermentation, from lab-scale experiments to large scale pilot runs, is pleased to announce it has secured
December 30, 2022 Read Full Article
The Digest’s 2022 Multi-Slide Guide to Ginkgo Bioworks’ Impact on the Bioeconomy
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Ginkgo Bioworks—a synthetic biology company—is the leading horizontal platform for cell programming. The mission is to make biology easier to engineer. Customers across industries leverage Ginkgo’s platform to solve some of the world’s most challenging
December 27, 2022 Read Full Article
The Digest’s 2022 Multi-Slide Guide to Ginkgo Bioworks
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Ginkgo Bioworks—a synthetic biology company—is the leading horizontal platform for cell programming. Our mission is to make biology easier to engineer. Customers across industries leverage Ginkgo’s platform to solve some of the world’s most challenging
December 20, 2022 Read Full Article
Launching High School Bioengineers on their Paths to College and Careers from BioBuilder --- December 15, 2022 --- ONLINE
BioMADE EWD Webinar Series: BioBuilder and STEMconnector -- Authentic scientific experiences spark engagement. This BioMADE project is supporting a biomanufacturing track within the BioBuilderClub program – allowing high school students throughout the country to carry out meaningful research with industry-grade
December 08, 2022 Read Full Article
K-State Scientists Receive Collaborative Grant to Advance Biofuel Production and gricultural Economy
(Kansas State University) Kansas State University researchers are part of a five-year collaborative grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to improve oilseed crops for use as biofuels and other bioproducts. Timothy Durrett, associate professor of biochemistry and molecular biophysics, and Ruth Welti, university
November 17, 2022 Read Full Article
NextChem Kicks Off the Engineering Phase of Rome Hydrogen Valley (IPCEI HY2USE) and Awards LanzaTech the Process Design Contract for the Circular Ethanol Unit
(LanzaTech/Globe Newswire) The contract relates to the syngas fermentation section of NextChem Hydrogen Valley to produce circular ethanol as initial co-product together with Circular Hydrogen™ -- Maire Tecnimont S.p.A. announces that NextChem, through its subsidiary MyRechemical, has kicked off the engineering
October 25, 2022 Read Full Article
BOTTLE Project Outlines New Two-Step Process for Turning Mixed Plastic Waste into Valuable Bioproducts
(U.S. Department of Energy) Combining chemical and biological processes is a promising new strategy for the valorization of mixed plastic waste, according to researchers from the Bio-Optimized Technologies to keep Thermoplastics out of Landfills and the Environment (BOTTLE) Consortium. BOTTLE is a collaboration
October 21, 2022 Read Full Article
Agile BioFoundry Selects New Collaborations
(U.S. Department of Energy) Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) and the Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences and the Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental and Transport Systems at the National Science Foundation (NSF) announced the
October 13, 2022 Read Full Article
LanzaTech Produces Ethylene from CO2, Changing the Way We Make Products Today
(LanzaTech/Globe Newswire) Breakthrough Discovery to Replace the Barrel with Synthetic Biology, Addressing One of the Largest Carbon Emitters in the Chemical Industry -- LanzaTech NZ, Inc. (“LanzaTech”), an innovative Carbon Capture and Transformation (“CCT”) company that transforms waste carbon into materials such
October 12, 2022 Read Full Article
Husker-Led Team Exploiting Oilseeds’ Potential in Biofuels, Bioproducts
by Tiffany Lee (University of Nebraska) A University of Nebraska–Lincoln researcher is leading a team working to unlock the full potential of two oilseeds that may help meet the escalating demand for renewable fuels, industrial chemicals and other bioproducts. The team
September 16, 2022 Read Full Article
DOE Announces $178 Million to Advance Bioenergy Technology
(U.S. Department of Energy) 37 Projects Will Develop New Technologies That Engineer Plants and Microbes into Bioenergy and Improve Carbon Storage -- The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced $178 million for bioenergy research to advance sustainable technology breakthroughs that
September 15, 2022 Read Full Article
With a €43M EU Grant and €1.2M from a VC, This Startup Plans to Turn CO2 Emissions into Gold
by Mike Butcher (Tech Crunch) Now Copenhagen-based biotech company SecondCircle thinks it also has a novel approach. It claims to be able to capture CO2 from industrial emitters at the point of emission using “synthetic biology” to develop biocatalysts (bacteria). These then convert the
August 17, 2022 Read Full Article
Meeting: Biomanufacturing for Bio-Advantaged Fuels --- August 16, 2022 --- ONLINE
Join the U.S. Department of Energy Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) for a meeting on “Biomanufacturing for Bio-Advantaged Fuels,” August 16, 2022, 12–1:30 p.m. ET. Biofuel molecules commercialized to date primarily rely on high-flux metabolic pathways
August 08, 2022 Read Full Article
The Digest’s 2022 Multi-Slide Guide to Twist Bioscience
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Welcome to the absolute starting point of the bioeconomy – strain development means manufacturing synthetic DNA and investing in DNA products — that’s the world of Twist. It’s powering everything from pharma to fuels. Here
August 04, 2022 Read Full Article
Phytonix: Converting CO2 Emissions into Sustainable Solar Chemicals & Fuels
by LeeAnne Yu (SCI Innovation) Winner of the 5th China (Shenzhen) Innovation & Entrepreneurship International Competition -- Bruce Dannenberg founded his company Phytonix in 2009 after having worked in the renewable energy industry for many years. Familiar with a variety
July 21, 2022 Read Full Article
LanzaTech, with the Support of Danone, Discovers Method to Produce Sustainable PET Bottles from Captured Carbon
(LanzaTech/Globe Newswire) Proof of concept for direct production of monoethylene glycol (MEG), a key building block in sustainable PET production, completed at lab scale -- A consortium, including LanzaTech and Danone, led to the discovery of a new route to monoethylene
May 27, 2022 Read Full Article
Task Force on Synthetic Biology and the Bioeconomy Releases Landmark U.S. Bioeconomy Report
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The Task Force on Synthetic Biology and the Bioeconomy has released its report — THE U.S. BIOECONOMY: CHARTING A COURSE FOR A RESILIENT AND COMPETITIVE FUTURE”. The report contains recommendations and a strategy to help realize the potential
April 18, 2022 Read Full Article
Competitive Edge: Codexis, Inc.’s Enzyme Engineering
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ... Codexis is a world-leading enzyme engineering company, enabling the promise of synthetic biology across multiple industries – from the sustainable manufacturing of pharmaceuticals, food and industrial products, to the expansion of life science tools and
April 08, 2022 Read Full Article
SHV Energy and LanzaTech Announce Partnership to Pioneer Renewable Propane
(SHV Energy) SHV Energy and LanzaTech announced a new strategic partnership to employ LanzaTech’s Carbon Capture and Transformation (CCT) technology to bring renewable propane and other sustainable fuels to the market via existing and novel pathways. The collaboration will further expand LanzaTech’s
March 31, 2022 Read Full Article
Turning Carbon Dioxide into Sustainable Fuel: United and Oxy Low Carbon Ventures Announce Collaboration with Biotech Firm to Create New Fuel Sources
(United Airlines/PR Newswire) Houston-based Cemvita Factory's synthetic biology process has the potential to create a new way to produce sustainable fuel for aviation; United has invested in more SAF production than any other airline -- United Airlines Ventures (UAV) and Oxy
March 29, 2022 Read Full Article
Six Carbon Capture and Utilisation Technologies for a Sustainable Chemical and Fuel Production Nominated for the Innovation Award “Best CO2 Utilisation 2022”
(nova-Institute) Carbon Capture and Utilisation (CCU) Innovations of the Year 2022: A lot of technologies are in place and in development to face the challenges of a sustainable chemicals and fuels production based on the utilisation of captured CO2 from industrial off-gases
March 25, 2022 Read Full Article
Three Partners, Two Problems, One Bioenergy Research Article Published
by Valerie Sarisky-Reed (U.S. Department of Energy) ... The journal Nature Biotechnology recently published a paper featuring cutting-edge work funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO). The article details a carbon-negative platform that uses microorganisms to convert carbon captured
March 24, 2022 Read Full Article
Converting CO2 to Fuels: The Digest’s 2022 Multi-Slide Guide to Phytonix
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Bruce Dannenberg, CEO of Phytonix shared this illuminating slide guide at ABLC Connect highlighting how Phytonix utilizes cyanobacteria engineered via synthetic biology to produce 1-butanol and potentially other higher alcohols. And there’s a sister company,
March 22, 2022 Read Full Article
ABLC 2022 – State of the Industry
by Helena Tavares Kennedy (Biofuels Digest) ABLC’s theme of “Dawn of Net Zero” and hundreds of delegates from organizations all over the world grappling with the immense opportunities and supply chain challenges posed by the world’s rapid turn towards charting
March 17, 2022 Read Full Article
To the (Climate) Rescue: From First Blip in Chromatogram to Deployment at Industrial Pilot Scale
by Fungmin Eric Liew (Lanza Tech/Nature Bioengineering Community) Industrial waste gas can serve as feedstock to manufacture fuels and chemicals through gas fermentation. Our work describes a collaborative and multidisciplinary team effort to engineer gas-utilizing microbe to produce acetone and
March 08, 2022 Read Full Article
Artificial Intelligence Predicts Algae Potential as Alternative Energy Source
by Blair Fannin (Texas A&M University/AgriLife Today) Jet fuel, animal feed among potential products from algae -- Texas A&M AgriLife Research scientists are using artificial intelligence to set a new world record for producing algae as a reliable, economic source for
March 07, 2022 Read Full Article
Postdoctoral Researcher Spotlight: Balendra Sah
by Mary Riker (Great Lakes Bioenery Research Center) ... After I completed my Ph.D., I was looking for a lab where I could do further research in metabolic engineering and synthetic biology, and I found the Landick lab as a suitable
February 23, 2022 Read Full Article
Synthetic Biology Spotlight: Amyris
by Chris Calvey (National Renewable Energy Lab/Biofuels Digest) ... Simply put: synthetic biology is a revolutionary new field of science which involves genetically modifying lifeforms – usually simple ones like bacteria or yeast – and redesigning them to do something interesting
February 01, 2022 Read Full Article
Microbial Production of Fourth-Generation Biofuels
(University of Exeter) Bacteria modified to produce fuel on demand have been produced by University of Exeter researchers in collaboration with energy and petrochemicals group Shell. Academics led by Professor John Love have found a way to get the organisms to produce fuel nearly identical
January 16, 2022 Read Full Article
Enabling Commercial Success of Industrial Biotechnology
by Bradley W. Biggshal, et al. (Science Magazine) The industrial biotechnology sector—commercial-scale manufacturing of chemical products by use of cellular or molecular biocatalysts—lies at a crossroads. Metabolic engineering aided by tools of systems and synthetic biology has expanded the scope
December 29, 2021 Read Full Article
Recycling CO2: The Digest’s 2021 Multi-Slide Guide to LanzaTech
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Dr. Sean Simpson, CSO at LanzaTechshared this illuminating slide guide on CO2 pathways to products, how the LanzaJet platform works, how they integrate engineering with biology and AI, why we need to rethink carbon and
December 29, 2021 Read Full Article
Expanding Molecular Building Blocks: The Digest’s 2021 Multi-Slide Guide to Checkerspot
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Biological applications could unlockan estimated $2 trillion to $4 trillion in annual direct global economic impact in 10-20 years, said Checkerspot’s CEO and Co-Founder Charles Dimmler at the ABLC in San Francisco. Check out his
November 23, 2021 Read Full Article
LanzaTech: Radically Rethinking Industrial Business Models
by Erik Kobayashi-Solomon (Forbes) A visit this summer to New Zealand-American synthetic biology company, LanzaTech, opened my eyes to what the term “paradigm shift” means. LanzaTech is an industrial chemicals company that leverages innovations in biology, artificial intelligence, and precision
November 12, 2021 Read Full Article
Calyxt Expands End Markets for PlantSpring and BioFactory Tech
by Helena Tavares Kennedy (Biofuels Digest) In Minnesota, Calyxt, Inc., a plant-based synthetic biotechnology company, announced a new strategic direction to provide sustainably produced plant-based synthetic biology solutions to an expanded group of end markets and diversified base of customers, leveraging its proprietary
November 08, 2021 Read Full Article
ADM Further Expands Microbial Science and Technology Innovation Capabilities with Investment in Precision Fermentation Leader Acies Bio
(ADM) Partnership will help build on ADM’s world-class R&D capabilities and broad portfolio of innovative, responsibly-produced products and solutions -- ADM (NYSE: ADM), a global leader in nutrition and agricultural origination and processing, announced today that it is making a leading
October 25, 2021 Read Full Article
SynBio: The Science behind LanzaTech’s Success
by Erik Kobayashi-Solomon (Forbes) As I explained in my first overview article in this series, LanzaTech is an industrial chemicals business. But to describe it as merely another commodity chemicals producer misses the point entirely. At its heart, LanzaTech is a cutting-edge synthetic biology or
September 27, 2021 Read Full Article
Green Plains, Clean Sugar Tech, BioCampus: The Digest’s 2021 Multi-Slide Guide to Fluid Quip Technologies
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) You may know Fluid Quip Technologies from their work in ethanol, corn wet milling and biochemical industry, but did you know they have a partnership with Green Plains, BlackRock and others? Get a look at
September 06, 2021 Read Full Article
Hurry up, Scale up: The Digest’s 2021 Multi-Slide Guide to the U.S. DOE Agile BioFoundry
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Enabling biorefineries to achieve 50% reductions in time to bioprocess scale-up, as compared to the current average of 10 years, is what the U.S. Department of Energy aims to do by establishing a distributed Agile
September 03, 2021 Read Full Article
One-of-a-Kind Course Aims to Build the Bioeconomy Workforce
by Emily Scott (Advanced Biofuels and Bioproducts Process Development Unit) ... He (Jason Ryder, an adjunct professor in UC Berkeley’s College of Chemistry) knows we have the tools to solve these problems: biotechnology and bioprocessing — using the power of
July 21, 2021 Read Full Article
A Tweaked Yeast Can Make Ethanol from Cornstalks and a Harvest’s Other Leftovers
by Nikk Ogasa (Science News) The process could tap underused sources of renewable fuels -- ... But by tweaking a gene in common baker’s yeast, researchers have engineered a strain that can defuse those deadly by-products and get on with the
July 08, 2021 Read Full Article
The Energy Department Pursues Cleaner and More Efficient Biofuel
by Tom Temin (Federal News Network) One way or another, bio-fuel will be part of the country’s energy future, especially to power ships and airplanes. That’s why the Energy Department’s ARPA-E is spending some $35 million in grant dollars to improve
June 21, 2021 Read Full Article
I Got 99 Problems but Product vs. Platform Ain’t One: Introducing Microbes-as-a-Service
by Moji Karimi (Cemvita Factory/Biofuels Digest) Any SynBio (synthetic biology) company is faced with three principal questions right off the bat: 1. Product or platform? A) Product: develop the microbe, build the plant, and sell the product. The end molecule is the revenue
May 13, 2021 Read Full Article
Oxy Low Carbon Ventures, Cemvita Factory Announce Plan to Develop Pilot Plant for Innovative CO2-to-Bio-Ethylene Technology
(Oxy Low Carbon Ventures/PR Newswire) Oxy Low Carbon Ventures (OLCV), a subsidiary of Occidental (NYSE: OXY), and bio-engineering startup Cemvita Factory today announced a plan to construct and operate a one metric ton per month bio-ethylene pilot plant, applying a jointly developed
April 07, 2021 Read Full Article
Green Plains Announces Clean Sugar Project in Nebraska
(Green Plains/Ethanol Producer Magazine) Green Plains Inc. and Ospraie Management today announced that recently acquired Fluid Quip Technologies is engineering and constructing a fully scalable commercial Clean Sugar Technology production facility at the Green Plains York Innovation Center. This technology effectively
January 26, 2021 Read Full Article
The Tri-Fecta – Machine Learning, Synthetic Biology and Automation: The Digest’s 2020 Multi-Slide Guide to Joint BioEnergy Institute
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Synthetic biology produces fabrics, food, biofuels, health products and more, but we need better predictive power. Machine learning can help and be used to design pathways or choose promoters to optimize production for example. Hector
December 21, 2020 Read Full Article
Watch: The Role of the Bioeconomy in Ending the COVID-19 Pandemic and Preventing the Next One.
by Luke Upton (BioMarket Insights) The Global Health Security Seminars from Georgetown University, are looking at some of the biggest challenges that the scientific world is facing, and has recently focussed on this year’s dominant issue – COVID-19. This new era of
November 27, 2020 Read Full Article
The NEXT 50 Companies to Disrupt the World* (*in a really great way) for 2020
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Florida, The Digest announced the NEXT 50, “the 50 Next Companies to Disrupt the World”, for 2020. The NEXT 50 are companies whose emerging technology promises to disrupt markets (or is already doing so) and
November 19, 2020 Read Full Article
Advanced Fuels Production from Engineered Biology: The Digest’s 2020 Multi-Slide Guide to Seawater-to-Fuels
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) As part 2 of the seawater-to-fuels discussion from DigestConnect last week, get an insider look at the breakthroughs the U.S. Navy project to produce renewable fuels from seawater using synthetic biology, as shared by Professor
November 18, 2020 Read Full Article
Fuels from Seawater: The Digest’s 2020 Multi-Slide Guide to Office of Naval Research
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ... Check out the U.S. Navy’s new gambit and get an inside look at the U.S. Navy’s breakthroughs to produce renewable fuels from seawater using synthetic biology. How does the technology work? What’s the future?
November 13, 2020 Read Full Article
Movements at Ginkgo BioWorks, Pacific Ethanol, Lygos, LanzaTech Show Where the Bioeconomy Is Heading
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) So many re-naming and brand extension efforts are underway this week, let’s look at those to see what’s working, what’s popular, when it comes to building trusted brands. ... The Re-Branding: Pacific Ethanol This past week we
November 04, 2020 Read Full Article
The Digest’s 2020 Multi-Slide Guide to Amyris & Cannabinoids
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) If you missed Amyris COO Eduardo Alvarez and Sr. VP, R&D Sunil Chandran at last week’s DigestConnect webinar, then check out their slide guide where we asked, is there an opportunity for pure, consistent cannabinoid
October 19, 2020 Read Full Article
Machine Learning Takes on Synthetic Biology: Algorithms Can Bioengineer Cells for You
by Julie Chao (Berkeley National Laboratory) If you’ve eaten vegan burgers that taste like meat or used synthetic collagen in your beauty routine – both products that are “grown” in the lab – then you’ve benefited from synthetic biology. It’s a field
October 15, 2020 Read Full Article
NAWCWD, Amyris Collaborate to Develop, Test High-Energy Biosynthetic Fuel
(Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division/NAVAIR News) What do bread and liquid jet fuel have in common? Yeast. At least they can, if you’re talking about the biosynthetic research being done in China Lake, California, by Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division and
October 07, 2020 Read Full Article
New Tech Converts Natural Gas to Hydrogen at Scale Anywhere and Plastic-Eating Enzyme ‘Cocktail’ Heralds Hope for Plastic Waste
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ... In today’s Digest, how Florida-based Transform Materials is literally transforming the petrochemical industry’s ability to convert flared natural gas often emitted at hydraulic fracking wellheads into hydrogen and acetylene using microwave plasma technology, and
September 29, 2020 Read Full Article
LanzaTech Eyes Two More Spin-off Companies
by Kirstin Korosec (TechCrunch) LanzaTech CEO Jennifer Holmgren said Tuesday on the Disrupt 2020 virtual stage that the carbon capture technology company is planning to use its core technology to create two other businesses. LanzaTech captures waste gas emissions and uses bacteria
September 18, 2020 Read Full Article
The Rocket’s Glare: Impossible Foods, Moderna, Phillips Are Three Strands of a Single, Driving Braid of Opportunity
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ... One of the most astute observers on the energy scene, Tammy Klein, wrote earlier this summer: There has been a high degree of focus by policymakers, the media, NGOs and others on technologies such as
September 01, 2020 Read Full Article
Follow the Money: The Digest’s 2020 Multi-Slide Guide to Industrial Bioeconomy Revolution
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Will Canada transform? Or stand on the sidelines?That’s the question asked by Jeff Passmore, CEO of Passmore Group who shared this illuminating “Follow the Money” slide guide that asks how tenable is fossil fuel’s future?
August 24, 2020 Read Full Article
Air Force Research Laboratory $1M Synthetic Biology Challenge
(Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative) The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and the Wright Brothers Institute are partnering together to sponsor the second of three $1 million Air Force Challenges. AFRL has been researching the viability of improving performance in composite
August 12, 2020 Read Full Article
Department of Energy Selects New Projects to Accelerate Innovation and Growth in the Biomanufacturing Sector
(U.S. Department of Energy) Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced the selection of eight projects totaling over $5 million to conduct research and development (R&D) needed to accelerate the US biomanufacturing sector. Part of the Agile BioFoundry (ABF) consortium, these
July 10, 2020 Read Full Article
The Bio Revolution: Innovations Transforming Economies, Societies, and Our Lives
(McKinsey Global Institute) Advances in biological sciences, combined with the accelerating development of computing, data processing, and artificial intelligence (AI), are fueling a new wave of innovation that could have significant impact in sectors across the economy, from healthcare and
July 07, 2020 Read Full Article
Amid Oil Price Crash, a New Hope for Biofuels
by Tina Casey (Triple Pundit) ... (T)there are reasons to be optimistic about the future of biofuels, as the field continues to evolve remarkably from where it was a decade ago. ... Rather than letting the rest of the plant go to waste, the
May 19, 2020 Read Full Article
Greenprint for Biomanufacturing and Sustainable Supply Chains: The Digest’s 2020 Multi-Slide Guide to Biostrategy 2020 in a Post-COVID World
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) As biology ravages the global economy, we have a once-in-a-lifetime, trillion-dollar opportunity to help shape how biology will also rebuild it, reports Synbiobeta. We can redefine the economy, supply chains, and manufacturing at local, state, national,
May 18, 2020 Read Full Article
Silicon-based DNA Synthesis: The Digest’s 2020 Multi-Slide Guide to Twist Bioscience’s DNA Writing
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) DNA is changing the world. That’s what Twist Biosciences is focusing on with synthetic DNA being the future of chemicals, food, therapeutics, diagnostics and even data storage. From next-gen sequencing to synthetic biology, Twist Biosciences envisions a
April 30, 2020 Read Full Article
Vale Male: Big Changes at the BioEnergy Technologies Office
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ... If you’ve noticed that DOE is taking on a much more fundamental bit of science than we’ve seen in the past decade — a move away from catalyzing demonstrations and scale-up and towards more fundamental
April 30, 2020 Read Full Article
Where Are We? March 2020 Digest Data Dashboard, The Bioeconomy, By the Numbers
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The past few weeks have been a roller coaster ride and here are the numbers to visualize what is going on. In today's Digest, a graphic look at Dow Jones Industrials, biodiesel operating margins, ethanol operating margins,
March 19, 2020 Read Full Article
How Asia’s Smartest Businessman Plans To Power A Clean Planet With Synthetic Biology
by John Cumbers (Forbes) ... At the head of Reliance is Mukesh Ambani. As chairman, managing director, and largest shareholder of Reliance, he’s the richest man in Asia, with a reputation as a shrewd investor. He is also a self-described
March 03, 2020 Read Full Article
Improving Algal Strains with Genomics: The Digest’s 2020 Multi-Slide Guide to Genetic and Synthetic Biology Tools for Algae Productivity
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Wild type algal strains don’t have the productivity and robust growth characteristics needed to push algae forward as a biofuel feedstock, but researchers are working on changing that. Stephen Mayfield from the University of California
March 03, 2020 Read Full Article
Ag-Chemicals, Ag-biologicals, Ag-seeds: The Digest’s 2020 Multi-Slide Guide to Multi-Slide Guide to Evogene’s Artificial Intelligence and Biological Big Data
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Revolutionizing the product development process in life-science based markets through the use of Computational Predictive Biology platform – sounds like a big mission, but for Evogene, it’s just what they do. They utilize artificial intelligence
February 10, 2020 Read Full Article
2020 Bioeconomy M&A Deal Review & Outlook
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The Digest published today a 2020 Deal Review and Outlook Bioeconomy M&A visual guide that looks at the slurry of recent mergers and acquisitions in the bioeconomy like Lygos and Librede, NuSeed and Agrisoma, FinCo Fuels
February 05, 2020 Read Full Article
#1 Biggest Barrier to Bioeconomy: The Digest’s 2020 Multi-Slide Guide to Bioeconomy Bottlenecks
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) What are the bottlenecks that prevent technologies from fueling the bioeconomy? Is it government? Is it lack of public acceptance or perception? Is it lack of access to capital? How about lack of market pull?
January 28, 2020 Read Full Article
The New Carbon Economy: The Digest’s 2020 Multi-Slide Guide to Waste Carbon Utilization and Management
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Electrification and batteries can’t remove the need for carbon,and a more sustainable economy is not a low-carbon economy as much as it will be a renewable carbon based economy, according to Ian Rowe, Technology Manager at
January 27, 2020 Read Full Article
Top Industrial Biotechnology Trends in the U.S. – The View from Europe
by Mark Warner (Warner Advisors LLC/Biofuels Digest) ... Housed in a region with significant historic chemical operations, including the home of where buna rubber was first commercialized, Eastern Germany is similar to parts of the industrial midwestern United States. The area
January 08, 2020 Read Full Article
Cracking the Code of Bacteria: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to MicroByre’s Engineered Bacteria
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) “Working with only E.coli is like feeding dogs grass to make milk,” said Dr. Sarah Richardson during this presentation given at ABLC NEXT in San Francisco. With a background in genomes, she shared insight into
January 07, 2020 Read Full Article
The Digest’s 10 Top Advanced Bioeconomy Markets & Predictions for 2020
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) A mere “The Year in Rewind” as we sail into 2020? Not the good ship Digest! Instead, we dust off our crystal ball and offer our predictions for the year ahead. As the sunset of 2019 gives
January 02, 2020 Read Full Article
Methane Bioconversion: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to iMicrobes’ Methane to Chemicals
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Methane is proving to be a pretty valuable waste after all. iMicrobes is using their synthetic biology approach with industrial microorganisms to convert methane into methanol and their first product is 3HP, a key intermediate
December 26, 2019 Read Full Article
Confessions of a Biorefiner: Green Plains’ Journey into the Land of High-Value Proteins, and the Who, What and Why of That
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) This week news came out of a partnership between Novozymes and Green Plains to use biological technology to extract more value from corn protein, at what used to be known as corn ethanol plants, but with
December 19, 2019 Read Full Article
Conversion Technologies: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to BETO’s Carbon-Based Fuels and Co-Products
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Why is working with biomass so challenging? Jonathan Male, Director at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) set out to answer that question at ABLC NEXT in San Francisco. Check out his illuminating
December 17, 2019 Read Full Article
Simplifying Biology for Biochemicals: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to DMC’s Metabolic Engineering Tech
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ... Digital biology, synthetic biology and metabolic engineering are not all the same – just ask Matt Lipscomb, CEO and Founder of DMC who shared this presentation at ABLC NEXT in San Francisco. Check out
December 13, 2019 Read Full Article
Cemvita Factory Rockin’ It: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to Cemvita’s CO2 Utilization
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Earlier this week we talked about making protein and meat out of air, so taking CO2 and utilizing it seems right in line. C+C Music Factory’s song from the early 90’s “Everybody Dance Now” comes to
November 29, 2019 Read Full Article
Exclusive Expert Insights from Day One and Day Two of SynBio Markets 2019.
by Liz Gyekye (BioMarket Insights) ... Another era has started today with the launch of Bio Market Insight’s first SynBio Markets conference, which has kicked off with a bang. Set in the quirky ewerk location in Berlin, Germany, industry heavyweights have taken part in keynotes,
November 29, 2019 Read Full Article
The Magic behind the Molecules and Materials: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to Checkerspot’s Synthetic Biology
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) “The measure of how disruptive Synthetic Biology is lies in the applications, the use cases and relevance to consumers,”according to Checkerspot which uses biology and chemistry to generate novel building blocks. Their ingredients include custom oils
November 26, 2019 Read Full Article
Oh So Sweet! Amyris’s Look at Farnesene Production from Sugars: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to MegaBio and Farnesene
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Amyris is working on a MegaBio goal. Mega because it’s a big goal – develop a fully integrated and scalable process to produce farnesene from cellulosic sugars at $2 per liter in the U.S. Quinn Mitrovich from Amyris
November 25, 2019 Read Full Article
Catch & Kill: The Velocys, Oxy, Cemvita, Carbon Engineering, BHP, Ginkgo Chase to Catch Waste, Kill Emissions, Armed with New Organisms to Liberate Value
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Mississippi, Velocys’ Bayou Fuels project has signed with Oxy Low Carbon Ventures to capture carbon dioxide from Velocys’ planned Bayou Fuels biomass-to-fuels project in Natchez, Mississippi, and securely store it underground in a geologic
October 11, 2019 Read Full Article
Investing in Australian Biomanufacturing
(Office of the Department of Education; the Hon Dan Tehan MP, Minister for Education; the Hon Karen Andrews MP Minister for Industry, Science and Technology; John Alexander OAM, MP, Member for Bennelong ) The Morrison Government is investing in the development of
October 09, 2019 Read Full Article
Synthetic Fuels Could Shrink Carbon Footprint
by Vicky Just (University of Bath/Phys.org) Synthetic fuels, made using carbon captured from the air, farm waste or biomass, could help the transport sector reduce its reliance on fossil fuels and meet "net-zero" greenhouse gas emission goals. A policy briefing by the
October 01, 2019 Read Full Article
The NEXT 50 Companies to Disrupt the World
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In Florida, The Digest recognized the NEXT 50, “the 50 Next Companies to Disrupt the World”, bioeconomy companies that are just now reaching commercial scale with an emerging technology, or earlier in their journey to commercial
September 24, 2019 Read Full Article
Replacing the Barrel: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to Conversion Technologies
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Developing efficient and economical biological and chemical technologies to convert biomass feedstocks into energy-dense liquid transportation fuels, such as renewable gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel, as well as bioproducts, chemical intermediates, and biopower is the primary goal
September 18, 2019 Read Full Article
EUSynBioS Symposium --- September 30-October 1, 2019 --- Brno, Czech Republic
The fourth EUSynBioS Symposium is coming this year to the rising biotech hub Brno in the Czech Republic, bringing together the young European synthetic biology community. Together with the Biomania student association the symposium will take place from the 30th
September 13, 2019 Read Full Article
How Synthetic Biology Can Help Build Sustainable Cities
by John Cumbers (Green Biz/SynBioBeta) Sustainability is in vogue, with businesses and cities jostling to improve their public image and produce goods and services using renewable sources. Yet cities exponentially swell and carbon emissions continue to increase. Global CO2 emissions rise
September 09, 2019 Read Full Article
Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Receives Gift of HK$500m to Set up Synthetic Biology Institute.
by Liz Gyekye (BioMarket Insights) “It is fascinating that a humble yeast is the superstar of the next industrial revolution.” -- Hong Kong-based plastics and real estate mogul Li Ka-Shing has announced a donation of HK$500 million (USD$64 million), via his Li
September 06, 2019 Read Full Article
The Advanced Bioeconomy Report Q2 2019 Earnings: The Year of Living Endangeredly
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) In hand we now have the latest earnings reports from what you might call the 8 Pathfinders – eight publicly traded stocks whose second quarter results offer insights into the health and performance of the advanced
September 03, 2019 Read Full Article
Tulane Researcher Working to Turn Waste to Fuel Wins NSF Career Award
by Barri Bronston (Tulane University) Nicholas Sandoval's lab at Tulane works on the development and application of advanced synthetic biology tools for microbes and other model cell lines for the purpose of therapeutics and sustainable fuel and chemical production. -- Nicholas
August 14, 2019 Read Full Article
Biomanufacturing 2.0 Cell-Free: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to Invizyne Technologies
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Invizyne Technologies is making chemicals the cell-free way using synthetic biology and metabolic engineering. By inputting sugar and using engineered microbes, they can result in useful compounds and commodity chemicals, biofuels, fuel additives, fragrances, and pharmaceuticals. James
June 13, 2019 Read Full Article
Demise of the Diva: The New Organisms Are Workhorses Not Show Ponies, but They Do the Most Amazing Tricks.
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ... What we would like to train our focus on is two-fold, the advances in systems biology — elsewhere, you’ve heard it described as synthetic biology, but it’s really all a part of systems biology, which
June 13, 2019 Read Full Article
Algae and Synthetic Ecology: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to New Mexico Consortium
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) New Mexico Consortium is non-profit corporation formed by 3 NM universities to facilitate research collaborations for universities, industry & Los Alamos Laboratory. They are looking to algae as a solution where cell factories could produce energy
May 21, 2019 Read Full Article
Power of Biology for Algae Biofuels: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to Synthetic Genomics
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Synthetic Genomics is a San Diego biotechnology company harnessing the power of living cells — nature’s most efficient machines — to create transformative medicines and bio-based products. Their teams of data and biological engineers have developed the
April 29, 2019 Read Full Article
ABLC 2019 Round-Up
by Helena Tavares Kennedy (Biofuels Digest) ... ABLC 2019 kicked off on Wednesday with about 540 delegates in Washington, D.C. at the U.S. Department of Agriculture building complete with secret service protection and escorts for some big-name super star speakers, with
April 08, 2019 Read Full Article
Methane to Chemicals: The Digest’s 2019 Multi-Slide Guide to iMicrobes
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Industrial Microbesupgrades methane to various multi-carbon chemicals using synthetic biology. Noah Helman, CSO and Co-Founder of iMicrobes gave this illuminating overview of methane as a feedstock, the breakthrough in active MMO in E.coli that has allowed easier methane
March 21, 2019 Read Full Article
Harnessing Synthetic Biology to Co-Produce High-Value Terpenoid Biomaterials and Biofuel in Plants
(Michigan State University/Phys.Org) Michigan State University scientists have developed synthetic biology tools to co-produce high-value compounds in plants. The study is published today in the journal Nature Communications. Terpenoids form the largest class of natural products in plants and have been used
March 05, 2019 Read Full Article
Scale-Up From the Microbes Perspective
by Mark Warner (Warner Advisors LLC/Biofuels Digest) On a biotechnology project years ago, one of the team members responsible for biological advancement referred to themselves as the microbial organisms “shop steward”, a reference to union representation. While it was somewhat in jest,
January 09, 2019 Read Full Article
Expanded Centre for Synthetic Biology Launches at Imperial
by Hayley Dunning (Imperial College London) The Centre brings together researchers using synthetic biology to solve challenges such as in healthcare, biomaterials and sustainable energy. Synthetic biology is the application of engineering principles to biology; designing and creating biological components and systems
January 03, 2019 Read Full Article
Tapping the Genetic Power of Algae: The Digest’s 2018 Multi-Slide Guide to Algenol
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Algenol is a global, industrial biotechnology company that is commercializing its patented algae technology platform for production of ethanol and other biofuels, chemicals and biobased materials. Formed in 2006, and headquartered in Fort Myers, Florida with an
November 26, 2018 Read Full Article
New Report on Cell-Free Synthetic Biology and Biocatalysis!
(U.S. Department of Energy) Cell-Free Synthetic Biology and Biocatalysis Listening Day Summary Report Published -- The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE’s) Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) hosted a listening day in Denver, Colorado, last year to discuss research and development opportunities related to
October 26, 2018 Read Full Article
Redesigning Poplar Trees to Take the Drought ... and the Salt and the Heat
by Laura Shields (Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory) Improving poplar biomass production under stress conditions -- ... Stresses, such as high temperatures and a lack of freshwater, can cause reduced crop growth or even complete loss. The rising frequency of these
October 08, 2018 Read Full Article
Industrially Important Molecules: The Digest’s 2018 Multi-Slide Guide to Constructive Biology
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Berkeley legend Jay Keasling gave this illuminating overview of the promise and progress of a new company in the Keasling universe, Constructive Biology. READ MORE
September 24, 2018 Read Full Article
New Synthetic Biology Initiative to Boost Bio-Economy
(University of Queensland) A $4.5 million initiative to boost Australia’s synthetic biology capabilities will be built by The University of Queensland and CSIRO, helping drive advances in areas such as manufacturing, industrial biotechnology, environmental remediation, biosecurity, agriculture and healthcare research. UQ
September 07, 2018 Read Full Article
Proteins and Synthetic Biology: The Digest’s 2018 Multi-Slide Guide to Codexis
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Codexis is a leading protein engineering company that applies its technology to the development of biocatalysts for the commercial manufacture of pharmaceuticals and fine chemicals. Codexis’ proven technology enables implementation of biocatalytic solutions to meet customer
September 05, 2018 Read Full Article
Closing the Applications Gap: Checkerspot Closes $5M Seed Financing in Pursuit of High-Performance Biomaterials
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ... (C)onsider this venture about Making the Right Stuff — that is, how you translate an entire generation of innovation in digital biology, biobased chemical engineering and advanced fabrication into actual stuff. Or, how you
June 26, 2018 Read Full Article
Hot Tech for Fuels: The Digest’s 2018 Multi-Slide Guide to the Joint BioEnergy Institute
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) JBEI’s mission is to convert biomass to biofuels. The goal is to provide the nation with clean, renewable transportation fuels identical to gasoline, diesel and jet fuel. Inside JBEI’s Emeryville laboratories, researchers are using the latest tools
May 22, 2018 Read Full Article
The Scientist Still Fighting for the Clean Fuel the World Forgot
by James Temple (MIT Technology Review) In the closing weeks of 2008, the US Department of Energy invited politicians and press to a dedication ceremony for the Joint BioEnergy Institute in Emeryville, California. The state-of-the-art lab, backed by $125 million in
May 16, 2018 Read Full Article
The Digest’s 2018 Multi-Slide Guide to the Biorefinery of the Future
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) What will biorefineries look like, accomplish and cost in the future? Daniel Lane of Saille Consulting and Lee Enterprises Consulting looked at that topic in this illuminating overview of the promise and prospects for the technological
May 10, 2018 Read Full Article
‘Augmented Biology’: Exploring New Avenues in Biofuel Production
(University of Bristol) Researchers in the Schools of Biochemistry and Chemistry are working to boost cellular productivity of biofuels at a fundamentally scientific level in order to create innovative, sustainable solutions to our global energy needs. ... Collaborating with scientists from the University
May 01, 2018 Read Full Article
The Digest’s Top 10 Innovations, 3.28.18 Release
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) According to BIO, the global economic value today of the biobased economy – including industrial biotechnology, renewable chemicals and polymers, biofuels, enzymes and biobased materials – is $355.28 billion. And looking at the new USDA Indicators report
March 30, 2018 Read Full Article
Biorefineries: Our Synthetic Biology Future
by Bob Kodrzycki (Encompass Biotech LLC/Lee Enterprises Consulting/Biofuels Digest) ... Opportunity, such as the availability of a new feedstock or the possibility of combining technologies can lead to very interesting outcomes. ... Technology alone is usually not enough to develop a market. But combined
February 09, 2018 Read Full Article
Innovators Dilemma Revisited in Renewable Chemicals and Materials
by Daniel Lane and Joel Stone (Lee Enterprises Consulting, Inc./Biofuels Digest) ... These disruptive technology innovations have happened many times throughout history and are discussed in the popular book The Innovator’s Dilemma, by Clayton Christensen. He coined the phrase in describing a process
February 05, 2018 Read Full Article
State of the Advanced Bioeconomy 2018 – An 8-Part Series
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) This week in the Digest, we begin a Special 8-part Series: The State of the Advanced Bioeconomy: Challenges and Priorities for 2018. As we head into the final month before ABLC 2018, these in-depth examinations from a group
January 31, 2018 Read Full Article
The 12: The Advanced Bioeconomy’s 12 Biggest Talking, Fretting, Praying and Action Points Right Now
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ... What are the top trends? Here are the 11 we see dominating the debate on the stage and on the floor. Jet fuel deployment – how much, how soon, by whom? California, look up, not down!
December 13, 2017 Read Full Article
This Is an Algorithm, That Is Alive: The Rise of Arzeda and Digital Biology
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The question is being raised all over Silicon Valley — and increasingly around the world — if biotechnology is essentially a branch of information technology. ... Investors, theorists, entrepreneurs are forming a thesis that profound improvements in the physical world
December 08, 2017 Read Full Article
Synthetic Biology-enabled Manufacturing: The Digest’s 2017 Multi-Slide Guide to Visolis
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The Visolis process will enable production of bio-based elastomers, unsaturated polyester resins, super adsorbent polymers, and other products using a variety of feedstocks like agri-residues, dextrose, glycerol and syn-gas. As we come down the cost curve,
November 06, 2017 Read Full Article
SimPath Licenses Novel ORNL System for Enhanced Synthetic Biology
(Oak Ridge National Laboratory) SimPath has licensed a novel cloning system developed by the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory that generates and assembles the biological building blocks necessary to synthetically bioengineer new medicines and fuels. Knoxville, Tennessee-based startup SimPath
October 20, 2017 Read Full Article
Productionizing Synthetic Biology: The Digest’s 2017 Multi-Slide Guide to the Agile BioFoundry
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The Agile BioFoundry, designed to productionize synthetic biology, is a public infrastructure investment aimed at increasing U.S. industrial competitiveness and enables new opportunities for private sector growth and jobs. Specifically, the foundry aims to enable a biorefinery
October 17, 2017 Read Full Article
N-butanol and Beyond: The Digest’s 2017 Multi-Slide Guide to Green Biologics
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Green Biologics is focused on the production of renewable n-butanol and other C4 chemicals from various renewable feedstocks, including sugar (cane, molasses, beets), starch (corn) and cellulosic biomass (corn residues, sugar cane bagasse, forest materials
June 28, 2017 Read Full Article
Protein, Pathway Design: The Digest’s 2017 Multi-Slide Guide to Arzeda
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Arzeda’s proprietary technology combines targeted computational enzyme design and protein optimization with state-of-the-art metabolic bioengineering to create entirely novel designer cell factories capable of industry-scale chemical production. CEO Alex Zanghellini gave this illuminating overview of Arzeda’s breakthrough technology at ABLC 2017 in
May 23, 2017 Read Full Article
New Capabilities for Genome-Wide Engineering of Yeast
by Claudia Lutz (Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Illinois) New approach combines synthetic biology, genome editing tools, and automation to quickly and effectively produce novel yeast strains One of humankind’s oldest industrial partners is yeast, a familiar microbe that enabled early societies
May 17, 2017 Read Full Article
Little Big Ally: The Digest’s 2017 Multi-Slide Guide to Ginkgo BioWorks
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Ginkgo Bioworks designs custom microbes for customers across multiple markets. We build our foundries to scale the process of organism engineering using software and hardware automation. Organism engineers at Ginkgo learn from nature to develop
May 17, 2017 Read Full Article
1 Septillion Reasons Dad’s CRISPR-Cas9 May Already Be Toast
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) ... CRISPR-Cas9 is a technique for making a cut at a desired point in a cell’s genome. You can pick the spot and do an edit. Amazing stuff. You can clip out junk genes, or
May 17, 2017 Read Full Article
CHASSY – New EU Yeast Biotech Project
(CHASSY) ... Yeast is already the powerhouse behind many food flavourings, the anti-aging compound Resveratrol, the malaria drug Artemisinin, the grapefruit extract Nootkatone, insulin, bioethanol, bioplastics, and there is potential for many more industrial applications. To better exploit the potential of yeast
May 03, 2017 Read Full Article
Textbook: Biofuels and Bioenergy
edited by John Love and John A. Bryant (Wiley-Blackwell) With increased public and scientific attention driven by factors such as oil price spikes, the need for increased energy security, and concerns over greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels, the production
April 03, 2017 Read Full Article
Gigabase Is the New Megabase: The Digest’s 2017 Multi-Slide Guide to Gen9
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) The company manufactures custom, high-quality, synthetic DNA used by scientists to construct genes, pathways, genomes and organisms that will enable the next generation of breakthroughs in biology. Word came through this week that Gingko BioWorks
January 23, 2017 Read Full Article
Second Chance Carbon: The Digest’s 2016 Multi-Slide Guide to LanzaTech
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) LanzaTech has developed a fully sustainable integrative gas to fuels and chemicals platform that has no impact on food, water security or high biodiversity land use. LanzaTech’s gas fermentation platform disrupts the current highly centralized global
December 13, 2016 Read Full Article
The Emerging Synthetic Biology Ecosystem: The Digest’s 2016 Multi-Slide Guide to Gingko BioWorks
by Jim Lane (Biofuels Digest) Recently, Ginkgo BioWorks announced the launch of their next generation foundry, Bioworks2. With 125,000 square feet and an 6X expected increase in capacity compared to BioWorks 1, Bioworks2 represents a step change in what is possible for
December 08, 2016 Read Full Article
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