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Archive for August, 2010
Tamil Nadu, India, to get world class marine biotech center
Posted On: August 27, 2010The state’s top science policymaker has announced that an ultramodern marine biotechnology research centre is being set up at Chennai. TN State Council For Science and Technology member secretary S. Vincent, said work will begin soon on the National Institute of Marine Biotechnology (NIMB), a Rs 200 crore, state-of-the-art research centre, which will be located on East Coast Road.
“A 100 acre plot has been identified at Nemili for the project,” he said. “The centre will be ready before 2012.” Mr Vincent said even chief minister M. Karunanidhi has taken an interest in the centre.
“This modern research centre will be the first of its kind in the country and has already piqued the interest of leading marine biotechnologists from Tamil Nadu who are now working in the US and European countries. Many of them have expressed interest in coming back to Tamil Nadu to pursue their research at the centre,” Mr Vincent said.
AquaBounty GMO salmon to be reviewed by FDA
Posted On: August 27, 2010The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has said its Veterinary Medicine Advisory Committee will meet on September 19 and 20 to discuss the possible commercialization of genetically engineered salmon.
AquaBounty of Waltham, Massachusetts says it has developed salmon that have been genetically modified to reach market size in half the time of traditional salmon – a trait that could help feed a growing global population and protect dwindling fish stocks, the company claims.
If the Veterinary Medicine Advisory Committee (VMAC) decides that the fish are fit for human consumption, it would be the first animal produced through genetic engineering to be approved. Some environmentalists and scientists have said they see this as a watershed case, with the result likely to either pave the way for further genetic engineering of food animals or discourage its use.
First Phase of Oban Marine Science Park to Break Ground in October
Posted On: August 27, 2010A multimillion-pound project to build a marine science park near Oban will reinforce the Highlands and islands’ reputation for research in the life sciences sector, business bosses said yesterday.
The £7.5million first phase of the European Marine Science Park could start as soon as October, development agency Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) said yesterday.
HIE is to invest £4.5million from its own budget to the development, on a site next to the existing Scottish Association for Marine Science (Sams) laboratories at Dunstaffnage.
The European Regional Development Fund will contribute £3million.
The development will create a new laboratory and office building with space for up to three businesses employing 119 people.
New Jersey Uses Former Landfill Site for Algae Project
Posted On: August 25, 2010A multimillion-dollar ethanol plant is planned for a former landfill site, but members of the community can get a sneak peak of the technology in action next week. Garden State Ethanol will demonstrate extracting the fuel from algae at a prototype site located on Washington Avenue at the old Gentilini Ford building.
The USDA is scheduled to visit Woodbine next Thursday to present a check for $98,000 to begin to transform the landfill into a production facility that could employ as many as 50 people.
The facility is still more than a year away, which is why the prototype is being used to demonstrate the technology next week. “It’s going to take about a year to get permits for the site approved, and we’ll just move from there,” Mayor William Pikolycky said. When the final facility reaches full production, it’s expected that 25 million gallons of ethanol and 10 million gallons of biodiesel will be produced at the site annually.
Chitosan-based, nanoparticle gene-silencing system blocks production of protein involved in formation of ovarian cancer cell tumor
Posted On: August 17, 2010A protein associated with cancer progression when abundant inside of tumors also unexpectedly regulates the creation of new blood vessels that feed the tumor outside, a research team led by scientists at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center reports in the August edition of Cancer Cell.
Using a chitosan-based, nanoparticle gene-silencing system to block production of the protein, researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center inhibited formation of new blood vessel (angiogenesis) to the tumor and caused a steep reduction in tumor burden in a mouse model of ovarian cancer.
Study senior author Anil Sood, M.D., professor in UT MD Anderson’s departments of Gynecologic Oncology and Cancer Biology and co-author Gabriel Lopez-Berestein, M.D., professor in UT MD Anderson’s Department of Experimental Therapeutics, have developed delivery systems that package siRNA with a fatty ball called a liposome to silence specific genes in cancer cells.
“Those systems are quite effective for delivery to tumors and tumor cells but not as effective for delivery to tumor vasculature,” Sood said. They jointly developed a new delivery system that packages siRNA into chitosan nanoparticles. Chitosan is derived from a chitin, a structural component in the shells of crustaceans.
Chitosan nanoparticles carry a slight positive electrical charge, making them attractive to the mostly negatively charged endothelial cells. The nanoparticles penetrate the tumor by way of its vasculature, so the new system hits both targets.
The nanoparticles accumulate in the cancer cell and vasculature passively as they circulate in the blood stream. Chitosan nanoparticles are so small that they can flow through tiny holes in the tumor vasculature. They also accumulate in other organs, so the researchers are working to add a targeting molecule that will limit nanoparticle uptake to tumors and their vasculature.
Daily supplements of astaxanthin may improve HDL ‘good’ cholesterol levels, suggests new data from a human trial
Posted On: August 17, 2010Doses up to 18 milligrams per day for 12 weeks improved blood levels of HDL cholesterol, as well as adiponectin concentrations, a protein hormone linked to various metabolic processes, according to findings published in Atherosclerosis.
Researchers from Jikei University Kashiwa Hospital in Japan and Fuji Chemical Industry used Fuji’s commercially available AstaReal astaxanthin ingredient, and the trial involved 61 non-obese people with mildly elevated triglyceride levels.
According to the researchers, the potential benefits of astaxanthin with regards to HDL cholesterol and triglycerides have been demonstrated previously in animal studies, but supporting data from humans have been lacking.
International Seafood & Health Conference & Exhibition – Australia, November 6 – 10, 2010
Posted On: August 17, 2010It is important to understand that this is not a fisheries conference, it is a health conference, but one where the participants all share a common interest and will communicate information about the very latest medical research into all health aspects of the benefits of seafood. New discoveries and a deeper understanding of the health benefits of seafood are occurring at a rapid rate and this conference will highlight the very latest information available.
It is anticipated to attract up to 1,000 participants made up of the world’s leading health researchers, environmental researchers, medical practitioners, nutrition educators and policy-makers, probably some 50 or more countries will be represented, from the Americas and Europe to Asia and the South Pacific.
The conference will be supported by a Trade display of industry, scientific and health/environment exhibitors to ensure the attendees leave with the very latest knowledge in all these important areas. The conference program will embrace the public health and wellbeing by seeking presenters to deliver the latest development of these types of subjects: Obesity, Child Nutrition, Brain Nutrition, Health Benefits of Fish Consumption, Nutrition and Public Health, The role of fish and seafood in human cognitive development, Diabetes, Heart Health, education issues in nutrition and public health, and importantly Sustainability of Fisheries Resources and the future of aquaculture.
Algae Aviation Fuel Sales Powdered Algae Jet Fuel to U.S. Air Force
Posted On: August 17, 2010Algae Aviation Fuel from CCA is Proud to Announce Initial Sale of Powdered Algae Jet Fuel to the United States Air Force Research Laboratory. An undisclosed amount of powdered algae fuel will be evaluated as a solid fuel propellant for aviation use.
Compact Contractors for America (CCA), a Southern Utah-based company has developed a dry process biofuel from algae, camelina seed, and other non-fossil fuel sources. Dry process biofuels are essentially powders that can be fluidized and combusted in jet turbine engines.
BioCentric Energy Holdings announced multi-million dollar contract with Biocen Natural Products Development
Posted On: August 17, 2010A multi-million dollar contract was signed between Daniel Kennedy, CEO and President of Biocen Natural Development Group (Pink Sheets:BNPD), a Nevada health drink company, and BEHL President, Monique Berry. The Nevada company, BNPD, is a public company consisting of a board of directors, a sales and marketing team and distribution outlets.
BNPD, formerly Bionic Products, Inc., is currently undergoing a formal name change to Biocen Natural Products Development, Inc. All corporate information is currently being updated and the official name change will be announced when approval has been received from the regulatory authorities.
The details of the contract between BNPD and BEHL are as followed, states Ms. Berry, “The first part of the contract is a $600,000 licensing and royalty agreement for representation of BEHL and BEHL clients for specific algaes produced. BNPD has agreed to pay BioCentric Energy in 8 equal installments commencing on September 14, 2010. As the market demand fluctuates for the end products, the licensing fee may be amended annually.”
In addition to the licensing agreement, both companies have agreed upon and executed a sole and exclusive sales and marketing contract in which BNPD will purchase from BioCentric Energy and its clients 3 specific algae strains to be used in BNPD’s health and nutracuetical products.
The first algae strain, Haemaotoccocus, has a current market value of $341 per kilogram. Conservatively, BEHL will produce 15,600 pounds of Haemaotoccocus over the next 12 months for BNPD. The next strain grown by BEHL and/or clients sold to BNPD will be the very popular, robust and fast growing Chlorella.
The current market value for Chlorella is $44 per kilogram. BioCentric Energy will deliver to BNPD, 12,000 pounds of Chlorella over the next 12 months. Finally, the highly popular algae known for its antioxidant and anticancer properties, Spirulina, will also be produced and delivered to BNPD. The current market value for Spirulina is $20 per kilogram. BioCentric Energy plans to produce and deliver approximately 22,500 pounds of Spirulina over the next 12 months.
Portland, Maine’s Ocean Approved Seaweed Products begins further expansion
Posted On: August 16, 2010Like so many entrepreneurial ventures with food products, Ocean Approved frozen seaweed started with a pot simmering on a kitchen stove. Now, with a $95,000 NOAA Small Business Innovation Research Program Phase I Grant and an experimental lease to raise seaweed near Little Chebeague Island, the first lease of its kind in the U.S., the company, which has grown steadily since its inception, is poised to move towards large-scale commercial production of seaweed.
In the first year of business, Tolleff Olson, the company’s founder, did all the work, gathering, processing and marketing. Two years ago, he was joined by business partner Paul Dobbins, who runs the office. According to Dobbins, Olsen is “the visionary” and does everything else. They now have 10 part-time employees.
During the past year, sales have more than doubled. At first, Olsen sold the seaweed products to four Portland stores; that has increased to 17 Whole Foods Markets and 72 specialty and natural foods stores, including two venues in Los Angeles. In June, as a result of contacts made while serving their seaweed at the NOAA Fish Fry for NOAA employees and guests in Washington, D.C., Ocean Approved gained orders from a chain of natural food stores in the D.C. area.
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