Aquapreneur

Norwegian Researchers Discover Prawn Peptides to be Effective in Lowering Blood Pressure in Humans

Admin — Mon, 14 May 2012 16:18:25 +0000

The Norwegian research institute Nofima announces the discovery of a refined peptide concentrate derived from the arctic coldwater prawn Pandalus Borealis as a revolutionary natural ingredient to help people maintain a healthy blood pressure. To our knowledge this is the most potent Angiotensin Converting Enzyme (ACE) inhibiting peptide concentrate that is reported in scientific literature. Working as an ACE-inhibitor, it can be used as a dietary supplement or food ingredient to lower blood pressure. The all-natural supplement could help millions of individuals improve their overall cardiovascular health without using prescription drugs.

“Nofima is pleased to report this scientific achievement that further showcases the potential of marine biotechnology and prospecting “said Asbjørn Gildberg, Senior Scientist for Nofima. “The ACE-inhibiting potency of this peptide concentrate is higher than in any comparable natural derived product earlier reported,” added Gildberg.

The Norwegian marine biotechnology company Marealis AS follows the product from discovery to commercialization as a blood pressure lowering dietary supplement for the maintenance of normal blood pressure, for people struggling with a blood pressure above normal – prehypertension or hypertension. Marealis is currently conducting a clinical trial in order to document the effect in humans.

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Aquapharm & Medical Research Council evaluate EndoSeaRch- a new approach to digestive health

Admin — Mon, 14 May 2012 16:08:09 +0000

Scottish biotechnology firm Aquapharm has joined forces with the Medical Research Council’s Human Nutrition Research unit (MRC HNR) in Cambridge to evaluate the potential of a new approach to digestive health, called EndoSeaRch™.

The two parties are seeking to modulate certain bacterial populations of the gastrointestinal tract with orally delivered synthetic minerals in models of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). These may include food supplements and ingredients for humans and farm animals, as well as novel therapeutic agents that could lead to better treatment, or even prevention of, human gut diseases such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and IBD.

EndoSeaRch™ represents the first in-vivo application for SeaRch™ – a patented Aquapharm technology for stimulating bacteria that form bio-films to maximise the range of bio-chemicals they produce in response to oxidative stress. The agents used by Aquapharm to induce stress include a variety of trace elements such as iron, copper and manganese, which are essential micronutrients of the human diet. The bio-chemicals produced by the bacteria include a wide range of natural anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant agents, which formed the historic defences used by the organisms to overcome environmental and competitive stresses.

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EVENT: Where Industry Meets Science in Marine Biotechnology

Admin — Sat, 12 May 2012 20:50:47 +0000

Tuesday, 28 August 2012 01:00 - Wednesday, 29 August 2012

Concarneau marine station is proud to announce the 4th “Rendez-vous de Concarneau : Where Industry meets Science in Marine Biotechnology” which will take place in August 28-29 2012.

This event gives actors of the industry and the academix research to share and discuss about Marine Biotechnology in order to create and strengthen relationships and bridges between these 2 wide domains of activites. It also aims at providing technology and knowledge transfer among stakeholders within European marine biotechnologies.

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CSA MarineBiotech Launched

Admin — Sat, 12 May 2012 20:45:28 +0000

A sound strategy for marine biotechnology research, technology development and innovation and a concerted coordination of relevant national and regional programmes are urgently needed in Europe. The Coordination and Support Action ‘MarineBiotech’ is a response to this, aiming at an ERA-NET in marine biotechnology that can deliver ‘smart, sustainable and inclusive growth’, a core objective of the Europe 2020 Strategy. Bringing together 11 partners from 9 countries, MarineBiotech will work with Europe’s other initiatives including SEAS-ERA, ERA-IB, ERA Bioenergy and the new Joint Programming Initiative in Healthy Seas and Oceans, as well as other relevant projects and programmes.

MarineBiotech is coordinated by the Research Council of Norway and managed by BioBridge Ltd UK. The 1st invitation-only workshop Mobilisation and Engagement of Funding Agencies and Stakeholders took place in Faro, Portugal 26th-27th April 2012, organised by the Portuguese science funding agency FCT.

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Aker BioMarine Antarctic Announces New COO

Admin — Sat, 12 May 2012 20:38:18 +0000

Aker BioMarine Antarctic announced the promotion of Matts Johansen to the position of chief operating officer. Johansen has served as executive vice president of marketing and sales since October 2009. During his tenure he has overseen sales growth in North America and Europe, and the development of the Asian markets in parallel with regulatory filings.

In this new role Johansen will be responsible for marketing and sales, business development, regulatory, research and development, shore-based production and process development.

ORNL Protein Analysis Investigates Marine Worm Community

Admin — Sat, 12 May 2012 20:30:37 +0000

Techniques used by researchers from the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory to analyze a simple marine worm and its resident bacteria could accelerate efforts to understand more complex microbial communities such as those found in humans.

In a paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a multi-institutional research team analyzed the proteins found in a marine worm known as Olavius algarvensis. The worm lacks a digestive system and relies on microbes that live in its body to process its waste and provide energy. Previous research, however, had not untangled the metabolic details of this mutually beneficial, or symbiotic, relationship.

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Algae.Tec Commissions Australian Biofuels Facility

Admin — Sat, 12 May 2012 20:26:09 +0000

Perth, Australia-based Algae.Tec, an advanced algae to biofuels company manufacturing enclosed algae growth and harvesting systems, has announced the commissioning for its showcase biofuels facility, Shoalhaven One, in Nowra, Australia. Algae.Tec Executive Chairman Roger Stroud said the commissioning process was on track for production of algae biomass in early June, ramping up to capacity by the end of June.

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NASA Wants to Launch Floating Algae Farms

Admin — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 21:05:38 +0000

$10 million project aims to grow algae for biofuels inside plastic bags.

Shortly, NASA will show off some of its latest technology: a system for growing algae in floating plastic bags. The system is the result of a $10 million, two-year project that investigated whether the algae could be used to make biofuels, including jet fuel.

The system is designed to reduce the cost of making fuel from algae by making it possible to put algae farms near wastewater facilities, which offer a large source of nutrients.

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Toxins from algae prove in demand

Admin — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 21:00:56 +0000

Nelson’s Cawthron Institute has broken into an international market selling minute quantities of organic compounds sourced from algae and worth 50,000 times the price of gold.

A level teaspoon of the compounds was worth several million dollars, acting chief executive Daryl Wehner said today.

“Our sales over the first nine months have exceeded a quarter of a million dollars and we have several large orders already placed awaiting delivery,” he said.

The compounds, natural toxins produced by algae, often found in food such as shellfish, are necessary for research and other high value products, including pharmaceuticals, making them of special interest to scientists working in these fields, as well as regulatory bodies.

Cawthron is one of only a handful of organisations worldwide with the capability to produce these rare naturally occurring compounds to the market.

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Marine Natural Product Stops Cancer Drug Resistance

Admin — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 20:54:58 +0000

Lamellarins are a class of marine natural products of which some members have shown activity against multidrug resistant cancer lines. These lamellarins act by inhibiting the P-glycoprotein, which enhances transport of anticancer agents out of cancer cells, thus rendering them multidrug resistant.
An systematic investigation of structure–activity relationship led by Robert Capon, University of Queensland, Australia, used spectroscopic methods including 2D NMR spectroscopy to identify the structures of over 30 lamellarins and derivatives. Activity was assessed in three sets of experiments that evaluated cytotoxicity, reversal of multidrug resistance, and P-glycoprotein inhibition.

The authors report that inhibition of P-glycoprotein correlated with the degree of methylation of lamellarin hydroxy groups rather than with embedded structure fragments, and highly methylated compounds were able to reverse multidrug resistance in human colon cancer cells. The researchers also found that less highly methylated structures showed higher cytotoxic activity, emphasizing the importance of the biological diversity of related natural products.

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