Nanotech and Biotech Consulting

Scientists have advanced a method that allowed them to single out a marine microorganism and map its genome even though the organism made up less than 10 percent of a water sample teeming with many millions of individuals from dozens of identifiable groups of microbes.

Miasolé says it has created a 17.3 percent "champion" thin-film copper-indium-gallium-selenide (CIGS) solar photovoltaic device, results obtained in its own labs and not (yet) independently verified.

'Yellow biotechnology' refers to biotechnology with insects -- analogous to the green (plants) and red (animals) biotechnology. Active ingredients or genes in insects are characterized and used for research or application in agriculture and medicine. Scientists in Germany are now using a procedure which brings forward ecological research on insects: They study gene functions in moth larvae by manipulating genes using the RNA interference technology (RNAi). RNAi is induced by feeding larvae with plants that have been treated with viral vectors. This method -- called "plant virus based dsRNA producing system" (VDPS) -- increases sample throughput compared to the use of genetically transformed plants. 

Researchers have identified how resveratrol, a naturally occurring chemical found in red wine and other plant products, may confer its health benefits. The authors present evidence that resveratrol does not directly activate sirtuin 1, a protein associated with aging. Rather, the authors found that resveratrol inhibits certain types of proteins known as phosphodiesterases (PDEs), enzymes that help regulate cell energy.

Today the Obama administration moved forward with plans to develop the enormous offshore wind energy resources along the Mid-Atlantic coast, using a "Smart for the Start" approach designed to expedite the siting process while incorporating strong environmental protections.

The United States-based organization Food & Water Watch, in this opinion piece, notes that the U.S. National Research Council (NRC) last week released a report identifying major gaps in environmental, health and safety research of nanomaterials. The report underlines the need for more and better science on how to monitor and test the safety of these materials. What is also needed, according to Food & Water Watch, are rules and regulations to protect consumers from these risks. The regulations, they say, that do exist for chemicals are not being rigorously applied to nanomaterials, and, moreover, they are largely ill equipped to do so. New rules are needed to address these new risks, they say. The organization focuses on one gap in particular – that of missing research on the effects of ingested nanomaterials on human health. The scope, they say, of nanomaterials in our food system is unknown. Food processors are using nanomaterials to tinker with color and nutritional content of food, as well as preserving and packaging it. They write, “Corporations have blithely embraced nanomaterials as the next big thing, embedding them in everything from cutting boards to cosmetics to food itself. Unregulated, unmonitored and unlabeled, these nanomaterials may be lurking in your own home.” In the absence of information about the risks these particles pose to human health and the environment, the government cannot give industry a free pass to do as it pleases, the organization argues.

This article gives an overview of what nanotechnology applications are currently being researched, tested, and, in some cases, already applied, in food technology. The article notes that while food nanotechnology seemed to be a hot topic in the early 2000s, with large industrial food companies eager to explore the emerging technology, critical voices from nongovernmental organizations and regulators caused industry to go into a silent mode. It didn’t mean, however, that food nanotechnologies weren’t being researched and developed around the world. The article details some of the latest nanotechnology-related developments in agriculture, food processing, food packaging and supplements, as well as a summary of the kind of applications industry and universities are working on. Overall, the article states that we are still a ways away from seeing “Frankenfoods” on supermarket shelves. A recent commentary by Timothy Duncan of the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), in Nature Nanotechnology, said the introduction of nanofoods is being held back by the hesitation of the food industry, as they fear a public backlash. Duncan wrote, “Mishandling of previous food technology debates has put nanofoods at a disadvantage by conditioning the public to distrust the food industry and the oversight system responsible for regulating it. On the other hand, the history of agricultural biotechnology has taught some lessons about the value of clear communication and respecting public opinion, which many organizations are heeding." Duncan notes that it is an open question how media coverage will influence the debate. The food industry also has a major role to play when it comes to interacting with the public regarding nanofoods and, it has, so far, remained relatively uninvolved. He recommends the food industry act in order to prevent the public’s concerns over nanofoods from becoming a source of dread, distrust, and, ultimately, rejection. "That said,” Duncan wrote, “it is important for all stakeholders to take a long-term view of their public outreach activities, and to not abandon trust-building or engagement efforts if they do not yield immediate public support for marketable nanotechnologies. Rather, public engagement should be treated as an investment in the future; building dividends takes time, patience and persistence."

By late February the renewable energy industry should have direction from the Ontario government on some of the major changes ahead for the province’s landmark feed-in tariff program. “I am hoping we will have an announcement then with the megawatt (MW) targets and pricing, then new rules and contracts in March, and application processi

You may have heard it before, but it is worth mentioning again: In residential communities, solar is contagious. But a recent study, "Peer Effects in the Diffusion of Solar Photovoltaic Panels," conducted by Bryan Bollinger of the NYU Stern School of Business and Kenneth Gillingham of the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, published in December sheds some new light on the phenomenon.