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The Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) and the Rosalind Franklin Society will present the BIO Rosalind Franklin Award for Leadership in Industrial Biotechnology to Dr. Debbie Yaver at the 2014 BIO Pacific Rim Summit on Industrial Biotechnology and Bioenergy's "Women in Biotechnology Reception," sponsored by BRAG. Dr. Yaver has studied the role of the vacuolar ATPase in protein sorting, as well as gene expression technology in bacterial and fungal systems. She is now...

On October 7, 2014, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released "Why Biobased?," a report that comprehensively synthesizes findings from the existing government, academia, and non-governmental organizations on bioeconomy opportunities. The report is a precursor for another study to be issued in the near future by the USDA BioPreferred program on the economic impacts of the biobased products industry. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack stated "[t]his new report presents the...

On October 6, 2014, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) submitted a proposed rule to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) entitled “Chemical Substances When Manufactured or Processed as Nanoscale Materials; TSCA Reporting and Recordkeeping Requirements.” The Regulatory Agenda item linked to the proposed rule states that EPA is developing a significant new use rule (SNUR) under Section 5(a)(2) of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) that would require persons who intend...

Researchers from the Centre for Novel Agricultural Products at the University of York worked with colleagues in France to discover variant straw plants whose cell walls are more easily broken down to make biofuels. Straw is an ideal plant to be used as biomass as it does not have food uses and contains a high number of polysaccharides that can be fermented into ethanol. Previously, straw has not been commercially viable as a biofuel feedstock...

The National Research Council (NRC) of the National Academies hosted the first public meeting for the Committee on Genetically Engineered Crops: Past Experience and Future Prospects on September 15-17, 2014. This public meeting was the first of a series of events that are part of NRC's ongoing study to determine the benefits and risks of genetically engineered crops. A webinar related to this study has been scheduled for October 1, 2014, and more information is...

Bergeson & Campbell, P.C., is pleased to announce that Managing Partner Lynn L. Bergeson and the late Michael F. Cole prepared a chapter in a new book, Biointeractions of Nanomaterials, which covers a wide range of issues associated with the safety of nanomaterials in biological systems. The book, published on July 29, 2014, by CRC Press, addresses issues related to the toxicity and safety of nanomaterials and nanosystems, and covers a range of interactions in biological systems,...

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has developed a computational platform known as Systems Biology Knowledgebase, or KBase, designed to help the biological community analyze, store, and share data. The project is led by scientists at DOE's Lawrence Berkeley, Argonne, Brookhaven, and Oak Ridge national laboratories. KBase compiles information on plants and microbes, and the interactions among them with the objective of improving the environment and energy production. KBase can be accessed at...

The Energy Biosciences Institute at the University of Illinois recently helped fund two research projects that provide recommendations to prevent invasive species from being planted as new crops and used for bioenergy production. The two studies are: (1) "Resolving Regulatory Uncertainty: Legislative Language for Potentially Invasive Bioenergy Feedstocks"; and (2) "Bioenergy Feedstocks at Low Risk for Invasion in the U.S.: A 'White List' Approach." The first study...

On July 29, 2014, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade held a hearing on “Nanotechnology:  Understanding How Small Solutions Drive Big Innovation.” Witnesses included: Subcommittee Chair Lee Terry stated that “nanotechnology is poised to drive the next surge of economic growth across all sectors.” According to Dr. Binek, nanotechnology has the potential to transform a range of industries, in fields such as information technology,...

On July 29, 2014, the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and the National Economic Council (NEC) published a Federal Register notice requesting public comments to provide input for an upcoming update of the Strategy for American Innovation. According to the notice, the Strategy “helps to guide the Administration’s efforts to promote lasting economic growth and competitiveness through policies that support transformative American innovation in products,...