Archives: July 2007
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23 July 2007
Building a Bug to Harvest Oil
Building a Bug to Harvest Oil, MIT Technology Review, June 27, 2007
Microbes dwelling in oil fields and coal beds could inspire new methods of extracting fossil fuels from the depths of the earth. That’s the hope of Ari Patrinos, a genomics pioneer who helped run the Human Genome Project and is now the president of Synthetic Genomics, a Maryland-based biotech startup founded by J. Craig Venter. Synthetic Genomics’s goal is to use genomics to develop new energy technologies.As part of a new partnership with oil giant BP, Synthetic Genomics will study microbes that naturally feed off hydrocarbons for clues into biological means of extracting and processing oil and coal.
After several decades at the Department of Energy (DOE), Patrinos is a strong advocate of using biotech solutions to the world’s energy problems. He helped found the DOE’s Joint Genome Institute and created the agency’s Genomes to Life program, which, among other things, develops energy-related applications for microbes. Patrinos was lured away from the DOE by Venter last year. He talks with Technology Review about Synthetic Genomics’s plans and the future of biofuels. Read the full article here.
23 July 2007
Building Better Biofuels
Building Better Biofuels, MIT Technology Review, June 6, 2007
The U.S. Department of Energy has set a goal of replacing 30 percent of gasoline used in the United States with fuels from renewable biological sources by 2030, and President Bush has made ethanol production a priority. So it is hardly surprising that some biotech startup companies are positioning themselves to take advantage of an anticipated booming market for biofuels.
While much of the focus is on ethanol, LS9, of San Carlos, CA, is using the relatively new field of synthetic biology to engineer bacteria that can make hydrocarbons for gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel. Hydrocarbon fuels are better suited than ethanol to existing delivery infrastructure and engines, and their manufacture would require less energy. To make biological production of hydrocarbons a reality, the company is bringing together leaders in synthetic biology and industrial biotechnology. Read the full article.
23 July 2007
WisconsinEye profiles Tim Donohue
The WisconsinEye talks to GLBRC director Tim Donohue about the role the federally-funded center will play in the national effort to explore the potential for bioenergy and how it will affect the future of the University and the state. Watch or listen to the webcast here.
23 July 2007
Federal bioenergy lab will give Wisconsin a chance to shine
Wisconsin Technology Council, Tom Still, June 28, 2007
MADISON – It’s been a long time since Wisconsin landed a federal research laboratory… too long, many observers might say.
The U.S. Forest Products Laboratory came to Madison in 1910 when Gifford Pinchot, the first chief of the U.S. Forest Service, was pioneering scientific forestry. The NationalWildlifeHealthCenter, established in Madison in 1975, has been back in the news as scientists there engage in a race against bird flu.
The latest addition is the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center, which will explore ways to convert all types of biomass into fuel for cars and power plants. It is a $125-million, five-year grant that will eventually leverage another $100 million in state and private dollars.
7 July 2007
Wisconsin sets roadmap to energy independence
Wisconsin sets roadmap to energy independence - Stevens Point Journal, July 3. Gov. Jim Doyle’s “Declaration of Energy Independence” could position the state to be a leader in renewable energy and generate thousands of jobs; the UW-Madison Solar Energy Lab is playing a part by helping to construct a solar collector testing facility, the second to be built in the country read the full article >>
23 July 2007
Building a Bug to Harvest Oil
Building a Bug to Harvest Oil, MIT Technology Review, June 27, 2007
Microbes dwelling in oil fields and coal beds could inspire new methods of extracting fossil fuels from the depths of the earth. That’s the hope of Ari Patrinos, a genomics pioneer who helped run the Human Genome Project and is now the president of Synthetic Genomics, a Maryland-based biotech startup founded by J. Craig Venter. Synthetic Genomics’s goal is to use genomics to develop new energy technologies.As part of a new partnership with oil giant BP, Synthetic Genomics will study microbes that naturally feed off hydrocarbons for clues into biological means of extracting and processing oil and coal.
After several decades at the Department of Energy (DOE), Patrinos is a strong advocate of using biotech solutions to the world’s energy problems. He helped found the DOE’s Joint Genome Institute and created the agency’s Genomes to Life program, which, among other things, develops energy-related applications for microbes. Patrinos was lured away from the DOE by Venter last year. He talks with Technology Review about Synthetic Genomics’s plans and the future of biofuels. Read the full article here.
23 July 2007
Building Better Biofuels
Building Better Biofuels, MIT Technology Review, June 6, 2007
The U.S. Department of Energy has set a goal of replacing 30 percent of gasoline used in the United States with fuels from renewable biological sources by 2030, and President Bush has made ethanol production a priority. So it is hardly surprising that some biotech startup companies are positioning themselves to take advantage of an anticipated booming market for biofuels.
While much of the focus is on ethanol, LS9, of San Carlos, CA, is using the relatively new field of synthetic biology to engineer bacteria that can make hydrocarbons for gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel. Hydrocarbon fuels are better suited than ethanol to existing delivery infrastructure and engines, and their manufacture would require less energy. To make biological production of hydrocarbons a reality, the company is bringing together leaders in synthetic biology and industrial biotechnology. Read the full article.
23 July 2007
WisconsinEye profiles Tim Donohue
The WisconsinEye talks to GLBRC director Tim Donohue about the role the federally-funded center will play in the national effort to explore the potential for bioenergy and how it will affect the future of the University and the state. Watch or listen to the webcast here.
23 July 2007
Federal bioenergy lab will give Wisconsin a chance to shine
Wisconsin Technology Council, Tom Still, June 28, 2007
MADISON – It’s been a long time since Wisconsin landed a federal research laboratory… too long, many observers might say.
The U.S. Forest Products Laboratory came to Madison in 1910 when Gifford Pinchot, the first chief of the U.S. Forest Service, was pioneering scientific forestry. The NationalWildlifeHealthCenter, established in Madison in 1975, has been back in the news as scientists there engage in a race against bird flu.
The latest addition is the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center, which will explore ways to convert all types of biomass into fuel for cars and power plants. It is a $125-million, five-year grant that will eventually leverage another $100 million in state and private dollars.
7 July 2007
Wisconsin sets roadmap to energy independence
Wisconsin sets roadmap to energy independence - Stevens Point Journal, July 3. Gov. Jim Doyle’s “Declaration of Energy Independence” could position the state to be a leader in renewable energy and generate thousands of jobs; the UW-Madison Solar Energy Lab is playing a part by helping to construct a solar collector testing facility, the second to be built in the country read the full article >>
