Tomato
productivity has always been constrained because of abiotic stresses.
Transgenic tomatoes are presently being developed to minimize these
losses due to abiotic stresses. Agrobacterium-mediated
transformation is the most common approach to producing transgenic
tomato. However, the effectiveness of the present methods were limited
to only a few tomato cultivars. Hence, we still need an appropriate,
simple and general procedure effective across all cultivars. Wounding
methods, such as puncturing with a syringe needle, may just be the
answer.
Using Indian tomato hypocotyl explants, the efficiencies
of the punctured-hypocotyl method as well as normal immersion method of Agrobacterium-mediated transformation were compared. All factors influencing transformation efficiency, such as Agrobacterium density and co-cultivation time, were optimized. The transgene integration of the tomato genome
was confirmed by PCR and Southern hybridization. Transformation
efficiency was found to be greater with the punctured-hypocotyl
method compared to the normal immersion method.
This newly
developed method is simple, efficient and could be used to transfer
important agronomic genes into the tomato genome for the potential
improvement in terms of quality and quantity.
read more on http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304423813006237
Friday, April 18, 2014
Monday, March 17, 2014
Tanzania biotech debate heats up
DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania – The government has been advised to
play its part by creating conducive environment so as to enable local
researchers to do their job on the merit and shortcoming of biotech
crops.
The adoption of biotech crops has been a contentious debate in Tanzania. Scientists say the technology has no health effects as it has been propagated by activists while policy makers are hesitant to make a decision either way.
The ongoing debate has caused panic among many farmers who due to bad weather have suffered poor harvests.
According to a study by the European Academies Science Advisory Council (EASAC), titled ‘Planting the future: opportunities and challenges for using crop genetic improvement technologies for sustainable agriculture,’ a billion people on this planet experience hunger.
The EASAC study goes on to state that another billion eat a diet lacking in essential vitamins and minerals.
According to the study, as the debate on GM technology continues, the world’s population continues to grow and, over the next 40 years, agricultural production will have to increase by some 60%.
But several Ugandan and Tanzanian scientists say the future is bright because these challenges can beaten by GM technology.
“What is missing is the government willingness to allow the widely use of biotech crops,” Chief Researcher, from the Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH), Dr Nicholaus Nyange said.
Dr Nyange said, biotech crops could be used as an alternative to solve the said challenges that have been facing Africa farmers most of the time. The issue of climate change, drought and disease.
In Uganda, Head of the Biotechnology Centre at Kawanda, Dr. Andrew Kiggundu said they have developed new varieties of bananas resistant to the devastating banana bacterial wilt disease, nematodes and weevils.
Dr Kiggundu told a group of Ugandan and Tanzania journalists, who toured the centre as part of their field trip to learn about biotech organized by the Bioscience for Farming in Africa, that the new varieties developed in collaboration with the Queensland University of Technology, Australia, are still being monitored in confined field trial gardens at the research institute.
The Kawanda’s researchers have also fortified yellow bananas (Ndiizi), mostly eaten as fruits, with Vitamin A, Zinc and Iron.
The three nutrients, essential for proper growth in children, intellectual development and supply of blood in the body, were got from genes of maize and a special type of foreign bananas called Aspina.
“Banana is a staple food. Some people can eat bananas daily but still lack these nutrients. A number of children are stunted while many expectant mothers die due to lack of enough blood. This is what the new varieties are to address,” Kiggundu said.
Although genetic modification has attracted the closest attention, it is only one of a clutch of new breeding technologies to have been developed in recent decades. The term GM is generally taken to mean the introduction into an organism of genetic material from a different species.
The Managing Director of Tanseed International, Isaka Mashauri said last week recently the government has to allow farmers to choose the seeds they want, whether traditional or biotech crops.
According to Mashauri, who his firm engaged in quality seed production and marketing of crop varieties, the ongoing debate about GM technology is confusing farmers. “Farmers are in dilemma now,” Mashauri said.
“What the government has to do, is to create a conducive environment for researchers to do their job, so that farmers will be able to know the bad and good of biotech crops,”
The scientists are the only the communities that could clearly articulate the consequences of research findings and the opportunities for agricultural innovation,” Dr Nyange said.
He said the regulatory framework for crop genetic improvement technologies must be reformulated appropriately to be science-based, transparent, proportionate and predictable, taking into account the extensive experience gained and good practice implemented worldwide.
According to Mashauri, if the government will be able to explain the pros and cons of using biotech crops will help farmers decide on whether to adopt the technology or not.
He said that people are hesitant to use biotech crops because they do not know their impacts on their lives, urging the government to impart more knowledge on the organisms.
The global value of biotech seed alone was $13.2 billion in 2011, with the end product of commercial grain from biotech maize, soybean grain and cotton valued at approximately $160 billion or more per year.
Players in agriculture business markets include seed companies, agrochemical companies, distributors, farmers, grain elevators, and universities that develop new crops and whose agricultural extensions advise farmers on best practices
source: East african business week website
The adoption of biotech crops has been a contentious debate in Tanzania. Scientists say the technology has no health effects as it has been propagated by activists while policy makers are hesitant to make a decision either way.
The ongoing debate has caused panic among many farmers who due to bad weather have suffered poor harvests.
According to a study by the European Academies Science Advisory Council (EASAC), titled ‘Planting the future: opportunities and challenges for using crop genetic improvement technologies for sustainable agriculture,’ a billion people on this planet experience hunger.
The EASAC study goes on to state that another billion eat a diet lacking in essential vitamins and minerals.
According to the study, as the debate on GM technology continues, the world’s population continues to grow and, over the next 40 years, agricultural production will have to increase by some 60%.
But several Ugandan and Tanzanian scientists say the future is bright because these challenges can beaten by GM technology.
“What is missing is the government willingness to allow the widely use of biotech crops,” Chief Researcher, from the Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH), Dr Nicholaus Nyange said.
Dr Nyange said, biotech crops could be used as an alternative to solve the said challenges that have been facing Africa farmers most of the time. The issue of climate change, drought and disease.
In Uganda, Head of the Biotechnology Centre at Kawanda, Dr. Andrew Kiggundu said they have developed new varieties of bananas resistant to the devastating banana bacterial wilt disease, nematodes and weevils.
Dr Kiggundu told a group of Ugandan and Tanzania journalists, who toured the centre as part of their field trip to learn about biotech organized by the Bioscience for Farming in Africa, that the new varieties developed in collaboration with the Queensland University of Technology, Australia, are still being monitored in confined field trial gardens at the research institute.
The Kawanda’s researchers have also fortified yellow bananas (Ndiizi), mostly eaten as fruits, with Vitamin A, Zinc and Iron.
The three nutrients, essential for proper growth in children, intellectual development and supply of blood in the body, were got from genes of maize and a special type of foreign bananas called Aspina.
“Banana is a staple food. Some people can eat bananas daily but still lack these nutrients. A number of children are stunted while many expectant mothers die due to lack of enough blood. This is what the new varieties are to address,” Kiggundu said.
Although genetic modification has attracted the closest attention, it is only one of a clutch of new breeding technologies to have been developed in recent decades. The term GM is generally taken to mean the introduction into an organism of genetic material from a different species.
The Managing Director of Tanseed International, Isaka Mashauri said last week recently the government has to allow farmers to choose the seeds they want, whether traditional or biotech crops.
According to Mashauri, who his firm engaged in quality seed production and marketing of crop varieties, the ongoing debate about GM technology is confusing farmers. “Farmers are in dilemma now,” Mashauri said.
“What the government has to do, is to create a conducive environment for researchers to do their job, so that farmers will be able to know the bad and good of biotech crops,”
The scientists are the only the communities that could clearly articulate the consequences of research findings and the opportunities for agricultural innovation,” Dr Nyange said.
He said the regulatory framework for crop genetic improvement technologies must be reformulated appropriately to be science-based, transparent, proportionate and predictable, taking into account the extensive experience gained and good practice implemented worldwide.
According to Mashauri, if the government will be able to explain the pros and cons of using biotech crops will help farmers decide on whether to adopt the technology or not.
He said that people are hesitant to use biotech crops because they do not know their impacts on their lives, urging the government to impart more knowledge on the organisms.
The global value of biotech seed alone was $13.2 billion in 2011, with the end product of commercial grain from biotech maize, soybean grain and cotton valued at approximately $160 billion or more per year.
Players in agriculture business markets include seed companies, agrochemical companies, distributors, farmers, grain elevators, and universities that develop new crops and whose agricultural extensions advise farmers on best practices
source: East african business week website
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
Medicinal Power of Human Urine!
The title of the article itself must have caught a good deal of your
attention! Most of you probably might have been getting a yuck! feeling
imagining the consumption of Human Urine as a Medicine! But it's true!
Human Urine is more than just an excretory-waste liquid thrown out of
the body a couple of times a day.
"Urine is Sterile Liquid!"
Human Urine is Free of Toxic Metabolites
An Important Point About Urine
It's just a liquid secreted by body to expel excess "important substances" out of the body. Almost every component excreted in urine has a role to play in human body, but it's excreted out only because body has a particular threshold requirement of every element, any amount in excess is needless, and is excreted if that cannot be stored (Best example being vitamins and hormones, which are never stored in body. If they are in excess, they will be coming out of the body in Urine.
Medicinal Components in Urine
Needless to say, almost every component in human urine has a potential to be a medicine (depending upon the cases/deficits). Here are a few categories:
A. Enzymes
Pharma companies are always hankering after the ways to extract enymes/proteins out of the human urine. They are one of the billion dollars components of the urine. Best example to cite this is " Urokinase" an enzyme extracted from urine which is a miracle drug for dissolving blood clots in coronary arteries.
B. Urea
One of the key components excreted out of body in urine. Owing to it's moisturizing capabilities, it's a key constituent of world renowned creams/lotions. Most of you must have used or known someone having used MURINE EAR & EYE DROPS? Well, they are used to moisturize the eyes/ears (rest goes needless to say I guess).
C. Hormones
Another component(s) of Urine with a billion dollar market cap! All the excess hormones like testosterone, FSH, LH etc are secreted in urine. And, each of these is a routine part of Hormone therapy of billions of people round the globe! A popular fertility drug obtained from urine, named "Pergonal" which is a mixture of follicle-stimulating hormones (FSH) and Luteinizing hormone (LH) had a starting market of $800 million in 1992 only. One can easily imagine the size of market it might have covered till date!
D. Vitamins and Amino Acids
Alanine, Arginine, Ascorbic acid, Biotin, Folic acid, Glutamic acid, Glycine, Inositol,Lysine, Methionine, Nitrogen, Pantothenic acid, Phenylalaline, Riboflavin, Tryptophan, Tyrosine, Vitamin B6, Vitamin B12 are some of the common excretory products of urine, but all of them indispensable for the body.
E. Tendency to Free an Allergic Person from Allergies
Research has proved that due to the fact that urine has the antigen receptors responsible for causing allergic responses in a person suffering from allergy to a particular antigen, if the person is made to drink his/her own urine, he/she may develop antibodies against the antigen that can rid him/her off future inflammations! (An immunity to allergy!)
There's a lot one can explore about the medicinal properties of human urine (in India, people are rather obsessed for Cow's Urine too), this was just an attempt to bring a fact into picture.
Rather, there are companies making Billions of dollars by selling drugs
extracted from Human Urine, and there are instances in the world where
people have been cured of diseases like chronic cystitis drinking their
own Urine! So, the focus of this article is to deliver insights into the
concept of Human Urine as a Medicine.
"Urine is Sterile Liquid!"
Firstly, one should get rid of the
notion that Urine might be containing a lot of contamination/microbes.
Human Urine is aseptic and ultra-sterile. Only those humans, suffering
from some UTI (Urinary Tract Infection) tend to excrete microbe infected
urine. Otherwise, Human Urine is free of infectious organisms. So, this
removes one of the key hurdles towards use of urine as a medicine.
Human Urine is Free of Toxic Metabolites
Another important fact one should be
aware of is that " Human Urine is Free of Toxic Metabolites" It's the
job of Human Liver to detoxify the blood (not of kidneys) of toxic
metabolites generated upon digestion of food/medicinal intake. The
toxins are then excreted out of the body as fecal matter (not in urine).
Urine is rather produced in the kidneys, where the job of nephrons
(cells, functional unit of kidneys), is to mediate the filtration of
blood to rid it off excess urea, salts, Zinc, Iron, Calcium, Manganese,
Magnesium, Some Pigments, vitamins, Hormones, Amino Acids,Glucose, and
water, to maintain Homeostasis (a condition of balance) in the body.
An Important Point About Urine
It's just a liquid secreted by body to expel excess "important substances" out of the body. Almost every component excreted in urine has a role to play in human body, but it's excreted out only because body has a particular threshold requirement of every element, any amount in excess is needless, and is excreted if that cannot be stored (Best example being vitamins and hormones, which are never stored in body. If they are in excess, they will be coming out of the body in Urine.
Medicinal Components in Urine
Needless to say, almost every component in human urine has a potential to be a medicine (depending upon the cases/deficits). Here are a few categories:
A. Enzymes
Pharma companies are always hankering after the ways to extract enymes/proteins out of the human urine. They are one of the billion dollars components of the urine. Best example to cite this is " Urokinase" an enzyme extracted from urine which is a miracle drug for dissolving blood clots in coronary arteries.
B. Urea
One of the key components excreted out of body in urine. Owing to it's moisturizing capabilities, it's a key constituent of world renowned creams/lotions. Most of you must have used or known someone having used MURINE EAR & EYE DROPS? Well, they are used to moisturize the eyes/ears (rest goes needless to say I guess).
C. Hormones
Another component(s) of Urine with a billion dollar market cap! All the excess hormones like testosterone, FSH, LH etc are secreted in urine. And, each of these is a routine part of Hormone therapy of billions of people round the globe! A popular fertility drug obtained from urine, named "Pergonal" which is a mixture of follicle-stimulating hormones (FSH) and Luteinizing hormone (LH) had a starting market of $800 million in 1992 only. One can easily imagine the size of market it might have covered till date!
D. Vitamins and Amino Acids
Alanine, Arginine, Ascorbic acid, Biotin, Folic acid, Glutamic acid, Glycine, Inositol,Lysine, Methionine, Nitrogen, Pantothenic acid, Phenylalaline, Riboflavin, Tryptophan, Tyrosine, Vitamin B6, Vitamin B12 are some of the common excretory products of urine, but all of them indispensable for the body.
The reason behind Bear Grylls' (Man Vs
Wild, Discovery Channel) recommendation for taking your own urine when
there's nothing else to survive on, is very valid. Your urine has a lot
to contribute to your body in extreme situations of drought/food
shortage!
E. Tendency to Free an Allergic Person from Allergies
Research has proved that due to the fact that urine has the antigen receptors responsible for causing allergic responses in a person suffering from allergy to a particular antigen, if the person is made to drink his/her own urine, he/she may develop antibodies against the antigen that can rid him/her off future inflammations! (An immunity to allergy!)
There's a lot one can explore about the medicinal properties of human urine (in India, people are rather obsessed for Cow's Urine too), this was just an attempt to bring a fact into picture.
Antibiotic-resistance genes in viruses in fossilised 14th century human faecal sample
A discovery of viruses harbouring antibiotic-resistance genes in
fossilised faecal samples dating from the 14th century could have
implications not only for microbiologists but also for archaeologists,
historians and anthropologists. The discovery was made by French
researchers who studied samples from latrines from the period uncovered
during an urban renewal project in the city of Namur in Belgium. The
study is published ahead of print in the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology.
The viruses found in the coprolites (fossilised faecal samples) are phages, i.e. viruses that infect bacteria rather than eukaryotes. These phages were examined by a mixture of “electron microscopy, high-throughput sequencing and suicide PCR approaches” according to corresponding author Christelle Desnues of Aix Marseille Université. The presence of the phages in the coprolites indicates that they would also have been present in the gastrointestinal tract. Many of the phage sequences identified were related to phages known in modern times to infect bacteria commonly identified in stools, including both harmless, helpful and pathogenic bacteria.
The findings revealed that the phages carried genes for antibiotic resistance, long before antibiotics were used therapeutically. The phages also carried toxin-resistance genes. Both antibiotics and toxins are commonly found in nature. The authors believe that these resistance genes would have protected gut bacteria. In this regard, they would have been essential in maintaining gut metabolism and health as the helpful bacteria inhabiting the gut and other body areas are important in human health. The results are consistent with other studies, for example of the human oral microbiome in skeletons of 1000 years old in which antibiotic-resistance genes were also found.
The phages in the coprolites differed taxonomically those within modern human faecal samples. However, Dr Desnues says that functionally their role has conserved. This adds weight to the hypothesis that the viral community in the human gastrointestinal tract play a fundamental role which has been conserved over centuries, despite dramatic changes in human diet and living conditions. The researchers are currently expanding their studies to fungi and parasites in the coprolites.
Sources:
Press release from American Society for Microbiology; available at http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2...022714.php [Accessed 28 February 2014].
APPELT, S., FANCELLO, L., LE BAILLY, M., RAOULT, D., DRANCOURT, M. and DESNUES, C., 2014. Viruses in a 14th-century coprolite. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. published ahead of print 7 February 2014 doi:10.1128/AEM.03242-13
WARINNER, C., RODRIGUES, J.F.M., VYAS, C., TRACHSEL, R., SHVED, N., GROSSMANN, J., RADINI, A., HANCOCK, Y., TITO, R.Y., FIDDYMENT, S., SPELLER, M., HENDY, J., CHARLTON, S., LUDER, H.U., SALAZAR-GARCÍA, D.C., EPPLER, E., SEILER, R., HANSEN, L.H., SAMANIEGO CASTRUITA, J.A., BARKOW-OESTERREICHER, S., TEOH, K.Y., KELSTRUP, C.D., OLSEN, J.V., NANNI, P., KAWAI, T., WILLERSLEV, E., VON MERING, C., LEWIS JR, C.M., COLLINS, M.J., GILBERT, M.T.P., RÜHLI, F. and CAPPELLINI, E., 2014. Pathogens and host immunity in the ancient human oral cavity. Nature Genetics 2014; doi:10.1038/ng.2906 (Advance online publication).
The viruses found in the coprolites (fossilised faecal samples) are phages, i.e. viruses that infect bacteria rather than eukaryotes. These phages were examined by a mixture of “electron microscopy, high-throughput sequencing and suicide PCR approaches” according to corresponding author Christelle Desnues of Aix Marseille Université. The presence of the phages in the coprolites indicates that they would also have been present in the gastrointestinal tract. Many of the phage sequences identified were related to phages known in modern times to infect bacteria commonly identified in stools, including both harmless, helpful and pathogenic bacteria.
The findings revealed that the phages carried genes for antibiotic resistance, long before antibiotics were used therapeutically. The phages also carried toxin-resistance genes. Both antibiotics and toxins are commonly found in nature. The authors believe that these resistance genes would have protected gut bacteria. In this regard, they would have been essential in maintaining gut metabolism and health as the helpful bacteria inhabiting the gut and other body areas are important in human health. The results are consistent with other studies, for example of the human oral microbiome in skeletons of 1000 years old in which antibiotic-resistance genes were also found.
The phages in the coprolites differed taxonomically those within modern human faecal samples. However, Dr Desnues says that functionally their role has conserved. This adds weight to the hypothesis that the viral community in the human gastrointestinal tract play a fundamental role which has been conserved over centuries, despite dramatic changes in human diet and living conditions. The researchers are currently expanding their studies to fungi and parasites in the coprolites.
Sources:
Press release from American Society for Microbiology; available at http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2...022714.php [Accessed 28 February 2014].
APPELT, S., FANCELLO, L., LE BAILLY, M., RAOULT, D., DRANCOURT, M. and DESNUES, C., 2014. Viruses in a 14th-century coprolite. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. published ahead of print 7 February 2014 doi:10.1128/AEM.03242-13
WARINNER, C., RODRIGUES, J.F.M., VYAS, C., TRACHSEL, R., SHVED, N., GROSSMANN, J., RADINI, A., HANCOCK, Y., TITO, R.Y., FIDDYMENT, S., SPELLER, M., HENDY, J., CHARLTON, S., LUDER, H.U., SALAZAR-GARCÍA, D.C., EPPLER, E., SEILER, R., HANSEN, L.H., SAMANIEGO CASTRUITA, J.A., BARKOW-OESTERREICHER, S., TEOH, K.Y., KELSTRUP, C.D., OLSEN, J.V., NANNI, P., KAWAI, T., WILLERSLEV, E., VON MERING, C., LEWIS JR, C.M., COLLINS, M.J., GILBERT, M.T.P., RÜHLI, F. and CAPPELLINI, E., 2014. Pathogens and host immunity in the ancient human oral cavity. Nature Genetics 2014; doi:10.1038/ng.2906 (Advance online publication).
Saturday, February 22, 2014
Top 10 most innovative biotech companies in the world
Biotechnology is multidisciplinary field that can be divided into 4 more
specific areas, using color coding system. Red biotechnology is
dedicated to design as much products and devices related to the medical
field as possible. Green is focused on agricultural improvements and
environmental protection. Blue is using ocean resources to develop
various products (from food to fuels…) and white is focused on
industrial processes. Out of 4 fields mentioned - red biotechnology is
the most profitable: billion dollars are spent each year for research
and development in medical field.
Here’s the list of 10 most innovative biotech companies and short info on their main research areas.
Life technologies
Life technologies is headquartered in Carlsbad, California. It’s founded in 2008, have ~11 000 employees and is highly profitable. 2011 revenue was 3.7 billion dollars. They are developing lab equipment for all kind of genetic testing (Applied Biosystems), products for isolation, quantification and amplifications of RNA (Ambion), biologic drug production associated materials (Gibco), DNA and biology associated products (Invitrogen), molecular probes under the same brand name, products for purification, separation and analysis of proteins (Novex), products used for gene expression experiments (TaqMan) and ion semiconductor DNA sequencing system (Ion Torrent). They have offices in more than 60 countries worldwide.
Genentech
Genentech is pioneer of biotechnology industry. Founded in 1976 with headquarter in South San Francisco. It has over 11 000 employees and as from 2009 it is wholly owned subsidiary of Roche. All scientist, researchers and post-docs are focused on 5 main research areas: oncology, neuroscience, tissue growth and repair, immunology and infectious diseases.
Bug Agentes Biologicos
Company is founded in 1999 and based in Piracicaba, Brazil. It’s focused on development of natural pesticide replacements. Main products are predatory insect eggs and parasitoids used for crop protection. Those are mainly used for soy field’s protection.
Amyris
Amyris is founded in 2003 and it’s focused on providing sustainable alternatives to petroleum derived products. Plant sugar is starting point. It undergoes industrial conversion into various hydrocarbons that will be used for renewable products development later used in cosmetic and polymer industry, for lubricants, flavors….even for jet fuel. Headquarter is in Emeryville, California.
GE (GE Healthcare)
GE Healthcare is only division of GE business that is headquartered outside the USA, in Little Chalfont, United Kingdom. It’s founded in 2004 and it’s focused on medical imaging and diagnostics (equipment they are manufacturing is ranging from X rays to magnetic resonance), drug discovery, pharmaceutical manufacturing…
Diagnostics for all
Diagnostics for all is non-profit organization founded in 2007. Idea was to help solve medical issues in developing and resource poor countries all over the world by creating a simple and cheap diagnostic device - patterned paper. Small piece of paper covered with biological and chemical assays reagent is cheap and fast way to test yourself. By applying small amount of biological fluids, assay zone is changing the color that should be compared with reference color on the device. Money they need for testing, research and manufacture is provided through public donations.
The Plant
The Plant is building in Chicago most famous for being first vertical farm. Vertical farming is becoming very popular as the number of people living in urban area is growing rapidly. The Plant produces aquaponic vegetables. Fertilizers (necessary for proper plant development) are derived from algae that are consuming waste. Idea is to create building that will have net zero energy and waste (level of produced and consumed energy and waste should be equal).
Cellular Dynamics International
Cellular Dynamics International is founded in 2004 with headquarter in Madison, Wisconsin. Company is manipulating with stem cells to produce tissues of various kinds that will be used for drug development process, for tissue engineering or organ regeneration purposes. Roche is using iCell for drug screening.
Humacyte
Humacyte is founded in 2004 in Morrisville, North Carolina. Research is focused on vascular diseases and soft tissue repair application (vein graft development). Human, extracellular matrix derived tissue would help decrease inflammation, clotting and thrombosis, foreign body response after implantation in the body and would demand fewer surgical interventions that are necessary when conventional methods are used.
Harvard Bioscience
Harvard Bioscience is founded over 100 years ago in Holliston, Massachusetts. Company is manufacturing different kind of instruments and equipment that is used in life science and regenerative medicine fields (such as molecular, cellular, and physiology research). Some of the most interesting HB products are artificial trachea, synthetic windpipe and organs made out of body’s own cells. They have 20 wholly owned subsidiaries.
Now when you know their names and research goals – you just have to choose one that suits you the best.
source: bioinovative
Here’s the list of 10 most innovative biotech companies and short info on their main research areas.
Life technologies
Life technologies is headquartered in Carlsbad, California. It’s founded in 2008, have ~11 000 employees and is highly profitable. 2011 revenue was 3.7 billion dollars. They are developing lab equipment for all kind of genetic testing (Applied Biosystems), products for isolation, quantification and amplifications of RNA (Ambion), biologic drug production associated materials (Gibco), DNA and biology associated products (Invitrogen), molecular probes under the same brand name, products for purification, separation and analysis of proteins (Novex), products used for gene expression experiments (TaqMan) and ion semiconductor DNA sequencing system (Ion Torrent). They have offices in more than 60 countries worldwide.
Genentech
Genentech is pioneer of biotechnology industry. Founded in 1976 with headquarter in South San Francisco. It has over 11 000 employees and as from 2009 it is wholly owned subsidiary of Roche. All scientist, researchers and post-docs are focused on 5 main research areas: oncology, neuroscience, tissue growth and repair, immunology and infectious diseases.
Bug Agentes Biologicos
Company is founded in 1999 and based in Piracicaba, Brazil. It’s focused on development of natural pesticide replacements. Main products are predatory insect eggs and parasitoids used for crop protection. Those are mainly used for soy field’s protection.
Amyris
Amyris is founded in 2003 and it’s focused on providing sustainable alternatives to petroleum derived products. Plant sugar is starting point. It undergoes industrial conversion into various hydrocarbons that will be used for renewable products development later used in cosmetic and polymer industry, for lubricants, flavors….even for jet fuel. Headquarter is in Emeryville, California.
GE (GE Healthcare)
GE Healthcare is only division of GE business that is headquartered outside the USA, in Little Chalfont, United Kingdom. It’s founded in 2004 and it’s focused on medical imaging and diagnostics (equipment they are manufacturing is ranging from X rays to magnetic resonance), drug discovery, pharmaceutical manufacturing…
Diagnostics for all
Diagnostics for all is non-profit organization founded in 2007. Idea was to help solve medical issues in developing and resource poor countries all over the world by creating a simple and cheap diagnostic device - patterned paper. Small piece of paper covered with biological and chemical assays reagent is cheap and fast way to test yourself. By applying small amount of biological fluids, assay zone is changing the color that should be compared with reference color on the device. Money they need for testing, research and manufacture is provided through public donations.
The Plant
The Plant is building in Chicago most famous for being first vertical farm. Vertical farming is becoming very popular as the number of people living in urban area is growing rapidly. The Plant produces aquaponic vegetables. Fertilizers (necessary for proper plant development) are derived from algae that are consuming waste. Idea is to create building that will have net zero energy and waste (level of produced and consumed energy and waste should be equal).
Cellular Dynamics International
Cellular Dynamics International is founded in 2004 with headquarter in Madison, Wisconsin. Company is manipulating with stem cells to produce tissues of various kinds that will be used for drug development process, for tissue engineering or organ regeneration purposes. Roche is using iCell for drug screening.
Humacyte
Humacyte is founded in 2004 in Morrisville, North Carolina. Research is focused on vascular diseases and soft tissue repair application (vein graft development). Human, extracellular matrix derived tissue would help decrease inflammation, clotting and thrombosis, foreign body response after implantation in the body and would demand fewer surgical interventions that are necessary when conventional methods are used.
Harvard Bioscience
Harvard Bioscience is founded over 100 years ago in Holliston, Massachusetts. Company is manufacturing different kind of instruments and equipment that is used in life science and regenerative medicine fields (such as molecular, cellular, and physiology research). Some of the most interesting HB products are artificial trachea, synthetic windpipe and organs made out of body’s own cells. They have 20 wholly owned subsidiaries.
Now when you know their names and research goals – you just have to choose one that suits you the best.
source: bioinovative
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Panama Disease - A Growing Threat to Worldwide Banana Production
A variant of the fungal plant disease Fursarium wilt or Panama disease, which has been causing serious damage to banana crops in South-East Asia, has been found to have spread to Jordan, according to a new study in the journal Plant Disease. Panama disease is caused by the fungus Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense (Foc). This development increases concerns that banana crops worldwide could be under threat, with the potential for devastating economic and human cost in areas including Latin America and Africa.
In the previous century, Foc ravaged banana plantations in Latin America, which were based on the ‘Gros Michel’ cultivar. This cultivar was replaced by Cavendish cultivars, which were resistant to Foc. However, in 1992 a new Foc variant termed tropical race 4 (TR4) was identified in South-East Asia which affects the Cavendish clones. TR4 has spread throughout the region and concern has grown that it may spread to other regions including Latin America and Africa. In Africa, bananas represent a vital dietary component and any threat to bananas would have huge consequences in terms of food security in the region.
The outbreak in Jordan was confirmed to be TR4 by the research group of Dr. Gert Kema of Plant Research International B.V/ Wageningen University in the Netherlands in collaboration with the University of Florida and centres in Jordan including Plant Protection (NCARE) and the University of Jordan. Selective culturing techniques followed by total DNA extraction and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) were employed by the Dutch group on the Jordanian samples and the disease-causing agent was confirmed as TR4 after comparison to control samples. The researchers point out that this is the first confirmed outbreak of TR4 affecting Cavendish cultivars outside South-East Asia and is the most northerly outbreak. Some 80% of Jordanian banana plantations are now affected by Panama disease. Dr Kema is concerned at what this spread represents in terms of international banana cultivation and has stated that "A concerted international approach is now needed to prevent the spread of Panama disease and, in the worst-case scenario, contain it."
Sources
GARCIA, F.A., ORDONEZ, N., KONKOL, J., ALQASEM, M., NASER, Z., ABDELWALI, M., SALEM, N.M., WAALWIJK, C., PLOETZ, R.C. and KEMA, G., 2013. First Report of Fusarium oxysporumf. sp.cubenseTropical Race 4 associated with Panama Disease of banana outside Southeast Asia. Plant Disease, 2013: DOI: 10.1094/PDIS-09-13-0954-PDN
Using biological control technologies on maize seeds to increase yields for smallholder farmers.
Joseph
Oduor a farmer from South Alego location in Siaya County in Western
Kenya is a constantly disappointed man. Poor yields from farming maize
over the years have demotivated him. His biggest challenge as with many
other farmers in the region is pests and diseases that reduce yields
during harvest.
According to statistics from the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), maize
accounts for 30−50% of low-income household expenditures in eastern and
Southern Africa and 85% of its production is used as food.
Joseph
cannot afford to buy certified maize seeds. At Kshs. 300 (equivalent to
USD 4) on average for a kilogram of certified seed, buying certified
seed is prohibitive for smallholder farmers who have to do with less
than USD 1.25 a day.
This
also applies to use of pesticides, which for farmers like Joseph would
mean digging deeper into their pockets for their already constrained
resources. Pesticide use also creates further problems like health
complications as not many smallholder farmers can afford the protective
gear required and negative impact on the environment.
Joseph
has to do with recycled maize seeds from previous harvests or seed
borrowed from his fellow farmers. Traditionally in sub-Saharan Africa,
up to 90% of smallholder farmers use recycled seeds. Due to poor storage
practices farmers fail to get expected results.
Bio-Innovate’s project 7 on “Bio-enhanced seeds” is
developing technologies for producing seeds and seedlings bio-enhanced
with bio-control agents to reduce the impact of biotic and abiotic
production constraints in crops, with the focus being to benefit
resource-poor farmers. Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and
Technology (JKUAT) working with Real IPM a
private company are implementing the project. The biological controls
or bio-pesticides are bacterial or fungal microorganisms that naturally
control specific pests and diseases. In the case of this innovation,
the bio-pesticides are
produced and distributed in powder form with usage instructions. The
famer produces a solution by mixing the powder with water which he or
she coats the seeds prior to planting. The advantage of bio-pesticides
over conventional inorganic pesticides is that they are less toxic, are
pest specific, and decompose quickly.
Reduced
pests and diseases translate to improved yields from the farms. In
addition, certain bio-pesticides have proven to have properties that
increase yields by improving the plants ability to burrow deeper for
water and nutrients, a useful trait particularly in drought conditions.
Collins Wanyama
the representative of Real IPM in Nyanza in Western Kenya has been in
the heart of engaging farmers in the bio-pesticide on-farm trial runs.
From his experience, farmers are very passionate about their work.
However, they tend to stick to old practices some of which may be in
variance with recommended crop management e.g. recycling seeds. The team
has therefore found ways of injecting new ideas but cognizant of the
tradition and habits of smallholder famers.
“The
bio-pesticide solutions are highly scientific and explaining how they
work is a challenge for field officers working with the farmers,”
Collins added. “Also running field trials in the open farms and not in
controlled environments like in greenhouses has proven to be daunting”.
In
addition, there are the lengthy legislation procedures that need to be
followed before the bio-pesticides can be commercialized. With all these
challenges, Real IPM has a lot of ground to cover before the
bio-pesticide can be available to all farmers who would need it.
In
Mundika sub-location in Busia County, Lennox Barasa another maize
farmer has been participating in the Real IPM field trials. So far he
has participated in three trials, which according to him “offers an
affordable alternative to use of pesticides in farming maize.”
The
Bio-Innovate Program is happy with the progress thus far. The
collaboration between JKUAT and Real IPM has been rewarding. The team is
also looking to apply this innovation to tomato and eggplant seeds,
which are popular horticultural choices in the current project phase.
Source: Bioinnovate-africa
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