All Knowledge & Insights By Date

By Lauren M. Graham, Ph.D. On August 21, 2017, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NAS) released their interim report titled A Proposed Framework for Identifying Potential Biodefense Vulnerabilities Posed by Synthetic Biology.  The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) asked NAS to develop the framework to: Guide an assessment of the security concerns related to advances in synthetic biology; Assess the level of concern warranted for various advances and identify...

By Kathleen M. Roberts On August 28, 2017, the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), the General Services Administration (GSA), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) issued in the Federal Register a notice of request for public comment on an extension of a previously approved information collection requirement regarding Biobased Procurements.  Pursuant to the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Clause 52.223-2, Affirmative Procurement of Biobased Products Under...

?  Stars and Stripes, “A Few Good Plants:  Military Looking for Way to Make Biodegradable Germinating Munitions”   ?  Bloomberg Quint, “Buffett, Icahn Interests Square Off in Biofuels Law Fight”   ? University of Minnesota, “Researchers Invent Process to Produce Renewable Car Tires from Trees, Grass”...

On January 19, 2017, the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory issued a $55 million funding opportunity announcement (FOA) to establish additional Integrated Biofuel Production Enterprise (IBPE) capabilities to increase the domestic production capacity of advanced biofuels.  The U.S. Air Force anticipates granting one award of up to $55 million in funding with the recipients required to share at least 50 percent of the total project cost.  The project will include the design, construction...

? The Hill, "Energy Groups Push For Renewal Of Tax Credits" ? Neste, "Neste and Ikea of Sweden Announce Partnership to Deliver Renewable, Bio-Based Plastics" ? Packaging Europe, "Croda Offers CrodaTherm™ 21 for Temperature Controlled Packaging Applications" ? The University of New Orleans, "UNO Computer Science Faculty Awarded More Than $500k for Vital Research" ? Airforce Technology, "US Air Force to Produce Biofuels for US DoD...

? Plastics Industry, "100 Percent Compostable Single Serve Coffee Pod Wins International Innovation Award" ? Market Wired, "Seventh Generation Develops EPA Safer Choice Certified Laundry Detergent Packs Mission-Led Household and Personal Care Products Company Introduces New Line Of Solid Laundry Detergent Packs Formulated With Plant-Based Ingredients" ? Synthetic Genomics, "Synthetic Genomics Team Engineers Vmax™, an Advantaged Next-Generation Host Organism for a...

? Growing Produce, "Better Biocontrol Options Becoming Available to Organic Growers" ? Joint Genome Institute, "Expanding the Stable of Workhorse Yeasts" ? Scientific American: ClimateWire, "Engineered Bacterium Turns Carbon Dioxide into Methane Fuel" ? DVIDS, "Fueling The Future: Air Force Title III Program Working To 'Home-Grow' Biofuels for DOD, Industry" ? NEC, "NEC Develops Non-Edible-Plant-Based Bioplastic Featuring the Elegance of...

The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) announced on July 29, 2016, that federal agencies released a white paper describing the collective federal vision for the emerging and innovative solutions needed to realize the Nanotechnology-Inspired Grand Challenge for Future Computing announced in October 2015.  The white paper, a collaboration by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), National Science Foundation (NSF), Department of Defense (DOD), National...

On March 22, 2016, a team visited Malmstrom Air Force Base to test a new biobased synthetic oil in the base's vehicles. The testing is sponsored by the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) and the Office of the Secretary of Defense, with four bases chosen to use the plant based synthetic oil in vehicles. The Department of Homeland Security's Law Enforcement Training Center has also begun testing the oil and will be monitoring the impacts on...

On February 18, 2016, at the Advanced Bioeconomy Leadership Conference 2016 (ABLC2016), Dr. Catherine Woteki, Chief Scientist and Undersecretary for Research, Education, and Economics at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), announced the release of the Federal Activities Report on the Bioeconomy. The report was created to share current federal agency activities that help to develop and support the bioeconomy. The report first introduces the importance of fostering the bioeconomy and...