Jul
23 2009

Scientists Make LED Bulbs From Salmon DNA

University of Connecticut researchers have added fluorescent dye to salmon DNA and spun the DNA strands into nanofibers to create a brand new material that gives off a bright white light. The material absorbs energy from ultraviolet light and gives off different colors of light,-depending on the proportions of dye it contains.

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May
11 2009

Marine DNA used to create improved optoelectronic devices

Made mainstream by its role in human-genome mapping, genetic-trait analysis, and forensics, deoxyribonucleic acid is also playing a role as a biopolymer for the creation of novel photonic devices.

Andrew Steckl and colleagues at the University of Cincinnati have used DNA to improve the efficiency of organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) for illumination and displays. To make efficient biopolymers, a better understanding is needed of the chemical composition of the DNA material as it is synthesized from its low-density water environment to a dryer, condensed state. “DNA’s natural environment is water, but 99% of the [optoelectronic] devices we work on are solid-state,” says Andrew Steckl. While DNA in solution is being explored for use in optofluidic devices, Steckl sees three critical areas of research necessary to establish the commercial viability of DNA biopolymer-based photonic devices: ensuring an adequate material supply, perfecting the conversion from water-soluble to organic-solvent-soluble DNA, and controlling the “wet-to-dry” transition and understanding its effect on the DNA structure and properties.

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May
11 2009

Herring milt to fight Malnutrition

Food products containing herring milt may in the future contribute to fighting malnutrition.

Up until the 1960s, English coalminers consumed products based on herring milt to stay healthy. Such products were also sold in Norway. However, this raw material from herring is not exploited today. Scientists and industry want to attempt to change this.

A new project, which is being funded by the Norwegian Fishermen’s Sales Organization for Pelagic Fish, is working to develop a powder product based on white corn and herring milt.

“Many people object to eating products based on milt, which is fish sperm, but think it’s fine to eat roe, which is fish eggs,” says Jan Pettersen, Senior Scientist at Nofima Ingredients.

“But the milt is extremely nutritious and can contribute to fighting malnutrition in areas where this is common.”

Herring milt has the ideal composition as an additive to food in developing countries, as it contains high levels of many of the nutrients missing in the food.

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