Bio-Based Ideas

I just watched this documentary together with my son and my wife. Different from David's typical approach of sparse objective commentary, this documentary movie is a personal witness statement that David Attenborough is making describing how our planet has changed in his life time. It's compelling, and urgent but still hopeful.   Please, watch this documentary and share with your friends so they get the message!

You know that CRISPR technology is a big deal when this technology is covered in non-scientific circles. Just last weekend, Radiolab had a 30 minute coverage trying to explain to lay people what the big deal about CRISPRs is. In my opinion, they have done a fabulous job. http://www.radiolab.org/story/antibodies-part-1-crispr/ What do you think?

I just watched this documentary created by people at the Wired Magazine. This documentary conveys some of the challenges our world will need to face by 2050 and presents some inspiring approaches to tackling some of these challenges. Interestingly, in the first part, Professor Jay Kiesling gets a few minutes of face time to talk about synthetic biology and its contribution to the transportation energy field. Enjoy!

Here is another video from TED (did I mention that I love TED talks?) that talks about space requirements of renewable energy sources, and the 6 levers we have to get off 90% use of fossil energy use.

It's not often that I get to talk about what is actually happening at my own company which in many ways makes posting about what I really care about even harder. But as it turns out, today, I don't actually need to say much about all the exciting science, and development going on at Amyris. I don't have to because a New York Times article recently talking about all the great things happening at Amyris - with some things being more speculative than others. The article did such a good job explaining in layman's terms what it is that Amyris is doing, that I am just going to link the article to this blog article and call it "In Other Words". I recommend everyone reading this: What's that smell. Exotic Scents Made From Re-engineered Yeast

It's great to hear how people are thinking about using supply chains to have a positive impact on the environment. This is just great! I will let him speak.

Here is an interesting Tech Talk on Algae Pods which has a significant amount of research done already.  

On slight tangent of the more usual "bio-based economy" talk of late, I thought I would share something a bit more eclectic but nevertheless fascinating. Recently, linked up a slightly different TED talk dealing with spider silk . I found another TED talk given by Professor Cheryl Hayashi. I had actually met Professor Hayashi once before. About 10-11 years ago, I invited her to Cal State Fullerton to give a talk about what she is researching. She graciously accepted back then. I can remember that back then everyone (from students to faculty members) was mesmerized by her professionalism, the exact mind displayed in her research,  and  most importantly the passion Professor Hayashi displayed for her research. I felt the spirit of her talk from back then in the following TED talk.

In this week's blog, I just want to share a 1 hour BBC documentary that I happened across on YouTube. For the general audience, I think this is a great video to watch. I also learned something new watching this. Get some popcorn. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the documentary!

Yet another interesting, TED talk!

This video made me go, "hmmm, very interesting!". It reminded me of a talk by Cheryl Hayashi at Cal State Fullerton in which she talked about properties of spider silk. Anyway, the reason I am posting this video here is because silk is another one of those bio-based materials that although known for a long time, have huge potential for alternative uses in the future.

This is a brief post while I am still mostly writing my thesis. I found another TED video with an interesting way to combine fashion with bio-based products - very interesting indeed.

I recently watched another great NOVA episode on "How to make things cleaner". This is a great episode containing many ideas that could fall into one of our often discussed "bio-based" ideas. It's a bit long, but totally worth it, so bring some time! Watch the full episode . See more NOVA.

On a slightly different angle of the bio-based theme, today's video pick is on "How smart animals are?", a 1 hour video from PBS' NOVAScience, which I have recently become a real fan of. Watch the full episode . See more NOVA scienceNOW.

I would like to thank Wilbert Escorcia , who recently also joined this blogging site, for having shown me the PBS site as another great source of information on the internet. He shared with me the profile of one of the people who are and will likely make a big difference in the sustainable biotechnology field: Jay Kiesling, founder of Amyris Biotechnologies , which was originally known for a bio-based method to efficiently and affordably produce artemisinin, an anti-malarial drug. Amyris Biotechnologies was a company I previously wrote about in my coverage of bio-based companies in California . On a Personal Note: Before, we dive into the video, I would just like to throw in a personal note. In light of the latest discussion about federal funding for public media on capitol hill, I think it is important to emphasize that the unique service public broadcast and radio provides - namely to inform and educate affordably, and broadly - is almost completely absent anywhere else in...

As an intermediate update, I wanted to post something I came across a few days ago: A testimony before the senate subcommittee on green jobs by Kate Gordon from the Center for American Progress Action Fund. I have reposted the exact content here only to make sure that her words do not get lost as often can happen when one only provides a link, and I do think what she has to say is important. I encourage everyone to go directly to the source and read it there. Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, thank you for inviting me to testify before you today. The issue of green jobs and trade is critical in light of the triple crises America faces: an economic crisis that has left 14 million people unemployed; an energy security crisis that leaves us vulnerable to every international incident and natural or man-made disaster; and a climate crisis that threatens the very planet we live on. In true American entrepreneurial spirit, we at the Center for American Progress Action Fund...

I have been covered in work lately finishing up the last experiments for my thesis. So my blogging time has been less than I'd like to. Just to give a heads up, I recently read a review article on biofuels which I am planning on summarizing. However, today I wanted to introduce another angle on the "bio-based" theme by sharing with you another TED talk that talks about about bio mimickry. It very well summarizes some of what I have been thinking about and continue to be inspired about. Enjoy! P.S.: I am curious to see what the readers of this blog think about this video and the posts in general. Feedback and general commentaries, as well as suggestions for future blog posts are always welcome!

TED talks are ever so inspiring. Earlier in the year , Sylvia Earle was speaking about the need to protect our ocean's resources. It appears that ocean protection is getting more on the radar screen of the general public. Today's post features yet another talk with a very inspiring story on protecting our ocean's resources.

Introduction: Today's post comes again from the famous TED series of talks. This is a great forum because many of the brightest heads come together at these talks to exchange the best ideas. If you want to learn more about what TED talks are, go here . Today's chosen video was just recently posted. Anthony Atala presents his institute's work on growing new organs. Without further ado: