Shrimp discards purify blackwater in Brazil

A team of scientists at the University of South Santa Catarina (Unisul) have discovered that shrimp heads, which are normally discarded by consumers, have large numbers of efficient enzymes to treat blackwater and industrial waste.

According to the experts of the Group of the Investigation of Enzymatic Catalysis and Organic Synthesis of Unisul, these enzymes are capable of absorbing the toxic substances in contaminated water.

The investigators verified that the shrimp heads and other parts of the shell are rich in oxidising enzymes and lipases, which can be used as an alternative to degrade contaminants in domestic and industrial blackwater, reports Ciencia Hoje.

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Norway: Seagarden ASA Acquires Marine Savoury Business from Rieber & Søn ASA

Seagarden ASA and Rieber & Søn ASA, today announced that Seagarden is acquiring Rieber & Søn’s comprehensive marine savoury ingredients operations.  The deal marks a strategic milestone for both companies – supporting Seagarden’s position as an international leader in marine ingredients, and enabling Rieber & Søn to target significant value-added opportunities for its branded consumer products.

Under the agreement, which is effective Nov 16th, Seagarden will purchase product inventory, production equipment and technology, and access to Rieber’s distribution channels for all marine savoury ingredient product ranges. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.

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Canadian entrepreneurs pitch shellfish waste operation

A Prince Edward Island company will pitch the prospects for their new Ocean Organics company this week on a TV show to stimulate interest and investment in their shell waste operation.

Roger O’Neil and Bob Miller, from the southeastern region of the province, have been working on a project to turn shellfish waste into profit.

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Tasmanian company Marinova Pty Ltd wins Technology and Innovation Award

Marinova was nominated in two categories, the Innovation in New and Emerging Industries Award, sponsored by the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation, and the Technology and Innovation Award, sponsored by the Australian Institute of Agricultural Science and Technology.

Since 2006, Marinova’s Cambridge extraction facility has been developing medical and nutritional applications from brown seaweed harvested in Tasmania, Canada and Argentina.

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China: HUYA Bioscience International forms strategic partnership with Ocean University

HUYA Bioscience International, a leader in globalizing China’s biopharmaceutical innovation, announced recently a strategic partnership with the School of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ocean University of China. The agreement is another in a series of collaborations that HUYA has established with China’s leading research and development institutions to enable and accelerate the global development and commercialization of novel biopharmaceutical product opportunities originating in China.

Ocean University of China, located in Qingdao, is one of the top universities in China. It is considered a leader in research in the area of marine pharmaceutical science, and has received numerous awards for its work.

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Taiwan indigenous algae strain rich in DHA content discovered, researchers say

A National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) research team has discovered an indigenous algae that is rich in docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) , containing 10 times as much of the omega-3 fatty acid as existing DHA supplements such as fish oil. The indigenous DHA-rich algae strain, called BL10, was discovered after the team isolated, cultivated and identified marine microalgae from 10 marine habitats around Taiwan.

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New Zealand set to open new seafood bioprocessing facility

Plant & Food Research’s Nelson based Seafood Research Unit in New Zealand is set to formally open a new Bioprocessing Laboratory on November 12th, 2009. The new facility aims to provide a means for developing science discoveries in the laboratory into real-world commercial successes – particularly related to new products made from fish processing waste.

The new bioprocessing pilot plant will offer companies access to a wide range of small-scale processing equipment, and technical expertise for private commercial projects.

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DOE to accelerate algae-based biofuel development

The US Department of Energy  (DOE) released a solicitation through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 where $35 million was dedicated to advanced biofuels and $50 million to algal biofuels.

To assess the current state of algae technology and determine the next steps toward commercialization of algal biofuel processes, the DOE is developing the National Algal Biofuels Technology Roadmap, which will be ready for publication in late December.

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Researchers turn algae into high-temperature hydrogen source

In the quest to make hydrogen as a clean alternative fuel source, researchers have been stymied about how to create usable hydrogen that is clean and sustainable without relying on an intensive, high-energy process that outweighs the benefits of not using petroleum to power vehicles.

New findings from a team of researchers from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, however, show that photosynthesis – the process by which plants regenerate using energy from the sun – may function as that clean, sustainable source of hydrogen.

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New Activity Found For A Potential Anti-cancer Agent From Marine Sponges

Pateamine A (PatA), a natural product first isolated from marine sponges, has attracted considerable attention as a potential anti-cancer agent, and now a new activity has been found for it, which may reveal yet another anti-cancer mechanism. That’s the assessment of Daniel Romo, a Texas A&M chemistry professor, and his colleagues at Johns Hopkins University who are pioneers in research involving this novel marine natural product.

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