Category: Biotech business news

  • Algae biofuel not sustainable now-U.S. research council

    Cross-posted from Thomsen/Reuters, by Roberta Rampton and Deborah Zabarenko WASHINGTON | Wed Oct 24, 2012 6:48pm EDT (Reuters) – Biofuels made from algae, promoted by President Barack Obama as a possible way to help wean Americans off foreign oil, cannot be made now on a large scale without using unsustainable amounts of energy, water and fertilizer, the U.S. National […]

  • Biohacking: The next great wave of innovation

    NOTE: in this post, another observer thrilled by the apparently limitless horizons of synthetic biology makes the point that the DIY biohacker ‘revolution’ is where the real innovations will happen, beyond the corporate sphere of influence. Of course, the computer revolution spearheaded by guys in garages in the 1970’s would never have taken off if […]

  • Sugar Makers Bunge to Sao Martinho Try Biotech: Corporate Brazil

    By Stephan Nielsen – Oct 9, 2012, cross-posted from Bloomberg Sugar-cane growers from Bunge Ltd. (BG) to Sao Martinho SA (SMTO3) propose building plants in Brazil to convert crops into chemicals for products as varied as face cream and industrial lubricants. A joint venture between Bunge and U.S. biotechnology company Solazyme Inc. (SZYM) will start late next year to produce oils from sugar. […]

  • Video: The Bay Area Bio Lab & Synthetic Biology, False Solutions

    Video: The Bay Area Bio Lab & Synthetic Biology, False Solutions

    A Risky Development: The University of California, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, and the US Department of Energy have unveiled plans to build a high profile biotech laboratory in the East Bay. The lab and associated commercial activity will focus on developing biofuels and other products using synthetic biology: an extreme form of genetic engineering that […]