Category: Blog

Kerry McPhail, a scientist at Oregon State of University, goes on diving expeditions across the world to collect interesting species to study. Eight years ago, she stumbled on a something that might just be a major breakthrough in the oncological space: a species of blue-green algae called coibamide A.

She collected the algae during a dive in Panama’s Coiba National Park and subsequently ran it through a screening that looks for anti-cancer activity. The resulting activity was groundbreaking: a compound from algae that interferes with the communication between the cancer cells and blood vessels/other cells, isolating the cancer cells and ultimately starving the cancer.

This activity could be applied to many different strains of cancer, and its unique approach has the potential of influencing cancer treatment beyond the use of algae. For current research purposes, however, McPhail is focused on brain tumors and triple negative breast cancer—two notoriously difficult forms of cancer to cure and ones in dire need of innovative treatment options.

Excitingly, these efforts were supplemented by work from Japan’s Kyoto University: scientists there have figured out how to produce coibamide A synthetically, removing the restraint of having to harvest the algae from nature.

For more information, visit the original Science Daily article.

 

Algae has the potential to work side-by-side with hydraulic fracturing to reduce its environmental impact. The process of hydraulic fracturing requires large amounts water that is combined with proppants and chemicals and then pumped into wells at high pressures. Wastewater comes out of the wells in large volumes and creates a disposal conundrum; a frequent solution is to pump that wastewater back into the ground for storage—a practice that may be contributing to increased seismic activities in some areas.

Oklahoma State University researchers think they have a way to mitigate the amount of wastewater that needs to be disposed. They have determined that algae can grow in wastewater and that it can successfully treat that wastewater.

That algae could then further be turned into valuable products such as biofuels or nutraceuticals. The researchers, led by Biosystems and agricultural engineering professor Nurhan Dunford, are now working on determining the best algae for the job.

For more information, visit The Oklahoman.

The Algae Biomass Organization is saddened to announce the passing of a long-time algae advocate: Val Smith. Val was a professor in the Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology at the University of Kansas for over 20 years. His time at the institution was punctuated by countless initiatives, papers and instruction on aquatic ecology, biofuels and the ecology of infectious disease.

Val was dedicated to research in the field of algae in particular: he supported the development of algae biofuels as part of the the University’s Feedstock to Tailpipe Initiative, was a key organizer and participant of the annual Algae Biomass Summit and was recognized routinely for his research on the topic. He will be sorely missed and remembered as a dynamic speaker, a great teacher and an engaging intellect.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) intends to issue, on behalf of the Bioenergy Technologies Office, a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) entitled “Project Definition for Pilot and Demonstration Scale Manufacturing of Biofuels, Bioproducts, and Biopower (PD2B3)”.

This FOA supports technology development plans for the manufacture of drop-in hydrocarbon biofuels, bioproducts, or biopower in a pilot- or demonstration-scale integrated biorefinery. Scale-up and validation of these process technologies are essential to enable the industry to build future pioneer- and commercial-scale manufacturing facilities. Plans for facilities that use cellulosic biomass, algal biomass, or biosolids feedstocks will be considered under this funding opportunity.

Read more at DOE’s website.

An Icelandic student has discovered a novel use for algae: as the base for biodegradable bottles. The bottles consist of algae and water: they are combined, heated, poured into a mold and cooled quickly. When the bottle is emptied, it rots in about a week and could sustainably decompose in soil over time.

The genesis of the project was in fact a homework assignment. Icelandic student Ari Jonsson unveiled the bottle at the DesignMarch 2016 festival in Reykyavik and has been perfecting the design since.

This invention is especially notable in light of what it would replace: plastic. Plastic takes over a thousand years to biodegrade and is a large contributor to waste across the globe. Albeit still in its infancy (it doesn’t yet have a way to cap it), Jonsson’s bottle could help people re-envision portable water. In other words, algae strikes again.

For more details, visit the original article on takepart.