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US: Newsweek Magazine showcases hunt for medical cures underwater
Posted On: November 24, 2010Advances in technology are making it easier and increasingly profitable to hunt for drugs in the ocean. Marine bioprospectors, as they’re known, are scouring coral reefs, deep-sea trenches, and everything in between. David Newman, chief of the natural products branch at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), estimates that at least 30 research teams are experimenting with marine-derived compounds for treating cancer, neural degenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, malaria, diabetes, depression, asthma, and other ailments.
Census of Marine Life Produces Huge Harvest
Posted On: October 16, 2010First Census of Marine Life 2010: Highlights of a Decade of Discovery is now available.
A 64-page report that describes some of the scientific highlights of ten years of exploration, research and analysis undertaken by Census of Marine Life scientists. Included is a description of the Census research projects and organizational structure.
Biological Materials of Marine Origin Publication Now Available
Posted On: October 10, 2010Dr. Hermann Ehrlich, Dresden University of Technology, Dresden, Germany, has published “Biological Materials of Marine Origin”, available now via Springer.
This text is the first ever to offer a coherent analysis of the nature, origin and evolution of biocomposites and biopolymers found within the broad variety of marine invertebrate organisms and their unusual structural formations. It is an interdisciplinary look at the biomineralization, biomimetics and materials science unique to marine invertebrates. In this seminal work, Hermann Ehrlich, for the first time, proposes the classification, “biological materials of marine origin”.
MDPI Office of the Publisher announces new issue of Marine Drugs
Posted On: October 10, 2010MDPI is pleased to announce the publication of the following issue: Mar.
Drugs, Volume 8, Issue 9 (September 2010), Pages 2435-2545 at
http://www.mdpi.com/1660-3397/8/9/
Table of Contents:
Paola Laurienzo
Review: Marine Polysaccharides in Pharmaceutical Applications: An Overview
Mar. Drugs 2010, 8(9), 2435-2465; doi:10.3390/md8092435
http://www.mdpi.com/1660-3397/8/9/2435
Till F. Schäberle, Emilie Goralski, Edith Neu, Özlem Erol, Georg Hölzl,
Peter Dörmann, Gabriele Bierbaum and Gabriele M. König
Article: Marine Myxobacteria as a Source of Antibiotics—Comparison of
Physiology, Polyketide-Type Genes and Antibiotic Production of Three New
Isolates of Enhygromyxa salina
Mar. Drugs 2010, 8(9), 2466-2479; doi:10.3390/md8092466
http://www.mdpi.com/1660-3397/8/9/2466
Jadran Faganeli, Bojana Mohar, Romina Kofol, Vesna Pavlica, Tjaša
Marinšek, Ajda Rozman, Nives Kovač and Angela Šurca Vuk
Article: Nature and Lability of Northern Adriatic Macroaggregates
Mar. Drugs 2010, 8(9), 2480-2492; doi:10.3390/md8092480
http://www.mdpi.com/1660-3397/8/9/2480
Jeen-Kuan Chen, Chia-Rui Shen and Chao-Lin Liu
Review: N-Acetylglucosamine: Production and Applications
Mar. Drugs 2010, 8(9), 2493-2516; doi:10.3390/md8092493
http://www.mdpi.com/1660-3397/8/9/2493
Noldy Gustaf F. Mamangkey, Snezana Agatonovic and Paul C. Southgate
Article: Assessing Pearl Quality Using Reflectance UV-Vis Spectroscopy:
Does the Same Donor Produce Consistent Pearl Quality?
Mar. Drugs 2010, 8(9), 2517-2525; doi:10.3390/md8092517
http://www.mdpi.com/1660-3397/8/9/2517
Maren Hoffmann, Kai Marxen, Rüdiger Schulz and Klaus Heinrich Vanselow
Article: TFA and EPA Productivities of Nannochloropsis salina Influenced
by Temperature and Nitrate Stimuli in Turbidostatic Controlled Experiments
Mar. Drugs 2010, 8(9), 2526-2545; doi:10.3390/md8092526
http://www.mdpi.com/1660-3397/8/9/2526
Korean Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs announces establishment of Marine and Extreme Biosource Collection and Marine Biotechnology Research Center
Posted On: August 16, 2010The Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs announced that it established Marine and Extreme Biosource Collection and Marine Biotechnology Research Center provide information to domestic and foreign researchers.
The organizations were established by one of the Studies on Molecular Genomics of Marine and Extreme Organisms launched by the Korea Ocean Research and Development Institute in 2004 and have information on marine and extreme organisms found in Pacific hydrothermal vents and cold seep communities, and Artic and subtropical areas.
The Marine and Extreme Biosource Collection (MEBiC) (www.megrc.re.kr/mebic) preserves and manages 5 divisions, 9 classes, 24 orders, 72 families and 233 genera of domestic and foreign marine microorganisms, and among them, NA1, is now being utilized to develop bio-hydrogen production technology, which will bring enormous economic benefits if successful.
Furthermore, the Marine Biotechnology Research Center (http://mbrc.kordi.re.kr/gbank), was established to integrate and manage genomic information on marine organisms of the Collection and provide genomic information on 417 marine organisms, about 10% of gene decoding research.
5th International Conference on Marine Bioprospecting in Tromso; 23-25th February 2011
Posted On: August 4, 2010BIOPROSP is a leading international biennial conference series on bioprospecting from cold marine environments. These conferences aim to present explorative research and its industrial applications in an integrated fashion.
The focus in the 2011 conference will be industrial biotech and bioprospecting as a stepping stone towards the bioeconomy.
Target group: Academic and industry researchers, decision makers, regulatory experts, investors and public facilitators.
A number of interesting speakers from the USA, Russia, UK, Denmark, Switzerland and Norway have been invited. In addition there will be a half day pre-conference workshop: ‘Addressing industrial applications’ on 23 February 2011
Delegates are invited to participate with poster presentations, and a number of posters will be selected for oral presentation.
New Deep Sea Species Uncovered
Posted On: July 16, 2010Scientists completing the last leg of MAR-ECO – an international research program and part of the Census of Marine Life, just returned from a voyage with samples of rare animals and more than 10 possible new species in a trip which they say has revolutionised their thinking about deep-sea life in the Atlantic Ocean.
The University of Aberdeen is leading the UK contribution to the project which involves scientists from 16 nations. Key collaborators in the UK include Newcastle University and the National Oceanography Centre.
Indonesia And US Launch Deep-Sea Expedition
Posted On: July 16, 2010The first joint expedition by the Republic of Indonesia and the United States to explore unknown deep-sea areas in Indonesian waters is currently under way.
The expedition is the first activity in a multi-year partnership to advance ocean science, technology and education. This is the first expedition of the NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer, and the first joint international expedition to send live images and other data from sea to scientists on watch at Exploration Command Centers ashore both in Indonesia and the United States.
New Department of Marine Biotechnology and Institute of Fluorescence at UMBC, Baltimore, Maryland
Posted On: June 23, 2010From: Freeman Hrabowski, President, and Elliot Hirshman, Provost
We are delighted to announce the formation of the Department of Marine Biotechnology and the Institute of Fluorescence within the College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences. These exciting additions, which stem from the reorganization of the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute, enhance and expand UMBC’s capacity in the campus priority areas of research infrastructure and environment and sustainability. In addition, our students will benefit from wide-ranging educational opportunities within these innovative research programs.
Both groups will continue to be based at the Columbus Center in downtown Baltimore, and USM is transferring budgetary support for associated faculty, staff and operating costs. The Columbus Center houses state-of-the-art research facilities, including a 16,200 m 2 fully-contained, recirculating marine aquaculture facility, a versatile high-volume fermentation facility, a fully functional Biosafety level-three suite and a wide array of advanced molecular and biotechnology instrumentation including digital holographic microscopy.
Korea to explore ocean for future natural resources, including efforts to foster a marine biotechnology sector
Posted On: May 26, 2010South Korea imports most of its energy needs from outside, leaving itself extremely vulnerable to sudden changes in the price of oil and other raw materials.
Coupled with the rapid depletion of natural resources, surging demand from China, India and other fast-growing emerging economies raises the price of crude and other commodities sharply, weighing heavily on the Korean economy.
To secure a stable supply of energy resources and achieve a sustainable growth, the nation should turn its eye to the sea and make larger investments to explore a range of minerals on the sea bottom, Korea Ocean Research and Development Institute (KORDI) President Kang Jung-keuk stressed.
The institute is undertaking several economic feasibility studies on the construction of electric power plants using tidal currents in the West Sea, while working on the state-of-the-art technologies to produce bio-ethanol from marine algae.
`Generating electricity from tidal currents and extracting fuel from marine plants are environmentally friendly and renewable energies, which will help Korea reduce its imports of conventional fossil fuels, boost economic activities and create jobs. We will also make effort to foster a marine biotechnology sector by studying microorganisms that inhabit the most extreme living environments under the sea. By examining them, we could obtain materials for new medicines and create a range of benefits for humans,” Kang said.
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