biotechnology

Three Brazilian biotech firms & a university have developed a biodegradable material made from sugarcane waste (bagasse) which should shortly be available for the manufacture of packaging and containers.

Imagine a grass crop, grown on marginal, non-food bearing land without pesticides or much fertilizer, that, when harvested, produces an oil that needs almost no processing to be substituted for diesel fuel.

Ceres, Inc. supports the prediction that we could grow more than 30% of US transportation fuel with dedicated energy crops. This is no pipe dream: planting starts next spring. Ceres, Inc., the self-described “energy crop company,” is engineering plants that could play a big role in the future of sustainable biofuels.

Ceres, Inc. supports the prediction that we could grow more than 30% of US transportation fuel with dedicated energy crops. This is no pipe dream—planting starts next spring. Ceres, Inc., the self-described “energy crop company,” is engineering plants that could play a big role in the future of sustainable biofuels.

The FDA concluded products from cloned animals are safe for human consumption.  More evidence is needed.

Both are hugely expensive and sophisticated solutions to relatively simple problems. Pushing GM crops in the developing world is like recommending brain surgery before you've tried aspirin.

Europe's biotechnology news

Genetically engineered grains for someone who can't afford anything but plain rice is like trying to sell night vision to someone who can't afford a candle. Biotechnology has yet to prove that it has any answers to the real issues around world hunger.

"Industrial technology has been the cleverest means so far of siphoning the wealth of the countryside -- not to the cities, for urban poverty is inextricably related to rural poverty -- but to the corporations. Industries that are "brought in" convey the local wealth out; otherwise they would not come. And what makes it likely that "green technology" would be an exception?

here's another interesting story you can use for inspiring young ones to conserve nature! geckos and frogs have been around for so long but only now we are making use of their design to improve our tools.Scotch tape, packing tape, Post-its—no man-made adhesive holds a candle to the sticky world of animal adhesives, where geckos scurry across ceilings and tree frogs leap from leaf to leaf on tacky toe pads without missing a step. --