Tweet Arcadia, Pioneer take aim at the growing market in safflower oils with a strategic collaboration. In California and Iowa, Arcadia Biosciences and DuPont Pioneer announced a formal collaboration to develop a high-value, specialty nutritional oil for global consumer markets. Under the agreement, Arcadia, an agricultural company, will receive certain licenses to specific DuPont Pioneer innovations and [...]
Tweet A long-known, biobased, microscopic “super-material” may become highly affordable and scalable. Perfect for both Superman’s needs and Clark Kent’s budget. Me: Let’s play 20 Questions, the Biobased Game. You: OK, I’ll start. Think of a biobased material. Me: Got one. You. Is it stronger than steel? Me: Yep. You: Is it stiffer than Kevlar? [...]
Tweet In Florida, BioNitrogen Corp. announced that it has signed a supply agreement with United Suppliers, Inc. for the offtake of urea fertilizer for its planned plants in Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana. United Suppliers is owned by 735 locally-controlled Ag Retailers and provides crop nutrients such as urea fertilizer to its owners in 20 states [...]
Tweet Sometimes there’s a premium, even when there’s not all that much green. Well there really isn’t any other way to put it, is there. Should you get Naked? Naked Green Machine juices, that is. Billed as “Looks weird, tastes amazing,” and has been winning much love from consumers. It has to be the hottest [...]
Tweet In Florida, Dyadic reports a net loss of $1.5 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2013 compared to a a net loss of $781,000 in Q1 2012. Dyadic’s cash and cash equivalents increased 3% to $4.1 million at quarter end, when compared to the cash balance of $4.0 million as of December 31, [...]
Tweet In Arizona, Heliae and The Clarecastle Group announced that they have entered into a strategic partnership to bring novel algae-based products to the health and beauty industry. Heliae will use their Volaris technology, and the Clarecastle Group is a firm with cosmetic and personal care industry executives, with a century of collective relevant expertise [...]
Tweet In Texas, Flotek Industries has signed a definitive agreement to immediately acquire all of the outstanding stock of Florida Chemical Company, the world’s largest processor of citrus oils and a pioneer in solvent, chemical synthesis and flavor/fragrance applications from citrus oils from facilities in Florida and Texas. Under the terms of the agreement, Flotek [...]
Tweet In Illinois, the Two Blades Foundation announced the issuance of a key patent for gene editing based on the use of TAL effectors. TAL effectors are naturally occurring proteins found in plant pathogenic bacteria that contain a novel repeat structure that binds to specific DNA sequences according to a simple cipher or ‘code’. The [...]
Tweet In Germany, with separate transactions, BASF has strengthened its technology footprint in industrial enzymes. It has completed the acquisition of Henkel’s detergents enzyme technology. Additionally, BASF has entered into a research and license agreement with the global biotechnology company Dyadic International, and BASF has signed a R&D collaboration agreement with Direvo Industrial Biotechnology to develop a [...]
Tweet In Germany, Evonik Industries AG and OPX Biotechnologies announced the two companies have entered into an agreement to jointly develop certain bio-based specialty chemicals. The joint-development agreement calls for OPXBIO to use its proprietary EDGE technology to develop the bio-processes. Share
Tweet In Canada, Maple Leaf Green World has signed a 5-year waste land reclamation contract with Ordos Lin Ze Bio-Tech Company of Inner Mongolia, China. Maple Leaf will conduct a test on Lin Ze’s 1.5 acres of wasteland with its partners, Soil Works and High Brix. If it is proven successful that trees planted by [...]
Tweet In Germany, BASF has added variants to its range of the compostable and partially bio-based plastic ecovio. The ecovio T2308 is now available for the processing method of thermoforming, and for injection molding, BASF now offers the new ecovio IS1335 grade. Both of these products are now available in commercial quantities. They consist predominantly [...]
Tweet In Illinois, Northwestern University scientists have discovered an inexpensive and environmentally benign method that uses simple cornstarch — instead of cyanide — to isolate gold from raw materials in a selective manner. This green method extracts gold from crude sources and leaves behind other metals that are often found mixed together with the crude [...]
Tweet In Michigan, researchers with Michigan State University published a study in the current issue of Science shows that the transmission of malaria via mosquitoes to humans can be interrupted by using a strain of the bacteria Wolbachia in the insects. In a sense, Wolbachia would act as a vaccine of sorts for mosquitoes that [...]
Tweet In Italy, cassava experts are reporting a triple threat against cassava, including Cassava Brown Streak Disease virus, Cassava Mosaic Disease and a possible whitefly “superbug”. CBSD alone could cause a could cause a 50% drop in cassava production. This is worrisome because agriculture experts have been looking to the otherwise resilient cassava plant—which is [...]
Tweet In California, the DOE Joint Genome Institute, in a collaboration with Pacific Biosciences and the University of Washington has resulted in an improved workflow for genome assembly that the team describes as “a fully automated process from DNA sample preparation to the determination of the finished genome.” The technique, known as Hierarchical Genome Assembly [...]
Tweet In Washington, the Obama administration announced that it is accepting applications for the first phase of the “Investing in Manufacturing Communities” Partnership, a new initiative outlined in the President’s fiscal year 2014 budget that will help accelerate the resurgence of manufacturing and create jobs across the country. In the first phase of this effort, the Departments [...]
Tweet In Washington, Monsanto commented on the Supreme Court Ruling in Bowman v. Monsanto. ”The Court’s ruling today ensures that longstanding principles of patent law apply to breakthrough 21st century technologies that are central to meeting the growing demands of our planet and its people,” said David F. Snively, Executive Vice President, Secretary, and General Counsel [...]
Tweet In the UK, Small and medium enterprises in North West Europe can apply for ‘Innovation Coupons’ worth up to €10,000 each to help them assess the feasibility of taking a bio-based idea or technology to industrial production. The ‘Innovation Coupons’ scheme is being launched by Bio Base NWE, a new €6.2 million project funded [...]
Tweet In Washington, the Biotechnology Industry Organization wrote leaders of the House and Senate Agricultural Committees urging reauthorization and mandatory funding of the Farm Bill Energy Title programs and eligibility for renewable chemicals. In a letter praising the thoughtful, bipartisan support of these programs in the past, BIO President and CEO Jim Greenwood wrote: “Supporting [...]
Tweet In Texas, Apache Oil Company, located in Pasadena, has partnered with Houghton International, a producer of high-tech metalworking, hydraulic fluids, and fluid management services. Products include Cosmolubric B-230, a vegetable oil-based fire-resistant hydraulic fluid that is USDA Certified as a biobased product composed of renewable materials. It is formulated with additives to enhance corrosion [...]
Tweet In Denmark, the Eastern High Court in Copenhagen revoked a preliminary injunction against Danisco and awarded the company 1.5 million DKK in costs. The Novozymes patent in question involves a process of manufacturing an animal feed composition by steam pelleting which contains enzyme granules. The court’s decision restores Danisco’s ability to engage in commercial [...]
Tweet In Arizona, Yulex Corporation, an agricultural-based biomaterials company, will provide the University of Arizona a $3 million, five-year grant focused on breeding and agronomic development of Guayule for the production biorubber of medical, consumer, and industrial applications. Yulex and the University will apply classical breeding along with modern tools for marker assisted breeding to [...]
Tweet In California, OriginOil announced that GS bioE has adopted OriginOil’s harvesting technology as a key component of its proprietary production system for the high-value product astaxanthin. In a recent trial, GS bioE concentrated its algae with an OriginOil Algae Appliance and then successfully stressed the cells into astaxanthin-bearing product. Natural Astaxanthin, an extremely potent [...]
Tweet In South Africa, Natural Products and Plandai Biotechnology have signed a distribution agreement which grants Natural the exclusive rights in South Africa to develop and market Plandai’s Phytofare Catechin Extract. Natural Products specializes in producing and selling Maxi nutraceuticals through an Internet client base and directly to pharmacists and wellness retailers in South Africa. [...]
