Growing fuel and medicine: Advancing biofuels and plant-produced th...( WORCESTER Mass. Oct. 27 2008 Can b...)
WORCESTER, Mass. Oct. 27, 2008 Can biofuels produced from non-food plant products like corn stalks or wood chips ever become a commercial reality? Can plants be engineered to grow vaccines or anti-cancer drugs? These and other questions were explored by researchers from Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) and the Arkansas Bioscience Institute (ABI) at a symposium today at WPI's Life Sciences and Bioengineering Center at Gateway Park.
In general, the answer to these questions may soon be "yes" and teams from WPI and ABI are advancing the science and technology needed to reach those ends. "For most of human history, plants and microorganisms were the source for medicinal products, fuels, and specialty chemicals. So in a very real sense, what we're doing is a back-to-the-future approach," says Pamela J. Weathers, PhD, professor of biology and biotechnology at WPI, organizer of the symposium and a leader in the emerging collaboration with ABI.
"With our colleagues in Arkansas, we are making good progress on developing the technology and understanding the biology that will allow us to use plants and microbes to help meet our energy needs and to create new pharmaceuticals and other chemical building blocks essential for a healthy society and environment."
The abstracts from the presentations at today's symposium are:
"Plant produced small- and large-molecule therapeutics"
Pamela J. Weathers, PhD Professor, Department of Biology and Biotechnology, WPI
Plants naturally produce many valuable small molecules like terpenes and alkaloids that have for centuries been used in treatment of disease and as pesticides. More recently plants have also been proposed as suitable production vehicles for large molecules such as therapeutic proteins. Harnessing plants to yield both large and small molecular weight products on a larger scale has been challenging. Although field plants are the least expensive mode of produc
'/>"/>
| Contact: Michael Cohen mcohen@wpi.edu 508-868-4778 Worcester Polytechnic Institute Source:Eurekalert |
Related biology news :
1. Nanotech could make solar energy as easy and cheap as growing grass
2. Economical, nonpolluting solutions to greenhouse growing found
3. Research project aims to control sunlight, extend growing season and conserve energy
4. MRSA in hospital intensive care -- whats growing where?
5. A tall story: New research adds to growing body of knowledge of genetics of height
6. Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News reports on growing use of cell-based assays
7. Establishing faster-growing, durable football fields
8. Growing use of nanomaterials spurs research to investigate possible downsides
9. Giant grass offers clues to growing corn in cooler climes, researchers report
10. Researchers discover that growing up too fast may mean dying young in honey bees
11. Growing a garden of future environmental leaders
| Copyright © 2003-2009 Bio-Medicine. All rights reserved. ABOUT | CONTACT US | DISCLAIMER | PRIVACY POLICY | TERMS AND CONDITIONS |  |