Chuck Missler - Biotech The Sorcerer's New Apprentice - Session 1 - Biotechnology

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Chuck Missler - Biotech The Sorcerer's New Apprentice - Session 1 - Biotechnology.avi - Video

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FiST Chat 48: Synthetic Biology

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Biotechnology - Biophysics : The Future of Cancer Treatments - Video

Goals for this lesson: 1. Describe the molecular structure of a protein.

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TEA Advanced Biotechnology 1.5 - Protein Structure and Function - Video

2002 Lecture by Dr Patrick Dixon, ranked as one of the 20 most influential business thinkers alive today (Thinkers 50 2005). Health care trends, future of pharmaceutical industry, biotechnology, stem cells, human cloning, organ regeneration, longevity, ageing, negligible senescence.

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Future of Health Care - medical, health and hospital trends - Biotechnology company keynote 2002 by - Video

Background:
Previous studies have shown that the crystalline structure of cellulose is negatively correlated with enzymatic digestibility, therefore, pretreatment is required to break down the highly ordered crystalline structure in cellulose, and to increase the porosity of its surface. In the present study, an organic electrolyte solution (OES) composed of an ionic liquid (1-allyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([AMIM]Cl) and an organic solvent (dimethyl sulfoxide; DMSO) was prepared, and used to pretreat microcrystalline cellulose for subsequent enzymatic hydrolysis; to our knowledge, this is the first time that this method has been used.
Results:
Microcrystalline cellulose (5 wt%) rapidly dispersed and then completely dissolved in an OES with a molar fraction of [AMIM]Cl per OES (chi [AMIM]Cl) of greater than or equal to 0.2 at 110 degrees centigrade within 10 minutes. The cellulose was regenerated from the OES by precipitation with hot water, and enzymatically hydrolyzed. As the chi [AMIM]Cl of the OES increased from 0.1 to 0.9, both the hydrolysis yield and initial hydrolysis rate of the regenerated cellulose also increased gradually. After treatment using OES with chi [AMIM]Cl of 0.7, the glucose yield (54.1%) was 7.2 times that of untreated cellulose. This promotion of hydrolysis yield was mainly due to the decrease in the degree of crystallinity (that is, the crystallinity index of cellulose I).
Conclusions:
An OES of [AMIM]Cl and DMSO with chi [AMIM]Cl of 0.7 was chosen for cellulose pretreatment because it dissolved cellulose rapidly to achieve a high glucose yield (54.1%), which was only slightly lower than the value (59.6%) obtained using pure [AMIM]Cl. OES pretreatment is a cost-effective and environmentally friendly technique for hydrolysis, because it 1) uses the less expensive OES instead of pure ionic liquids, 2) shortens dissolution time, 3) requires lower energy for stirring and transporting, and 4) is recyclable.Source:
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Background:
Mixtures of prairie species (mixed prairie species; MPS) have been proposed to offer important advantages as a feedstock for sustainable production of fuels and chemicals. Therefore, understanding the performance in hydrothermal pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis of select species harvested from a mixed prairie is valuable in selecting these components for such applications. This study examined composition and sugar release from the most abundant components of a plot of MPS: a C3 grass (Poa pratensis), a C4 grass (Schizachyrium scoparium), and a legume (Lupinus perennis). Results from this study provide a platform to evaluate differences between grass and leguminous species, and the factors controlling their recalcitrance to pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis.
Results:
Significant differences were found between the grass and leguminous species, and between the individual anatomical components that influence the recalcitrance of MPS. We found that both grasses contained higher levels of sugars than did the legume, and also exhibited higher sugar yields as a percentage of the maximum possible from combined pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis. Furthermore, particle size, acid-insoluble residue (AcIR), and xylose removal were not found to have a direct significant effect on glucan digestibility for any of the species tested, whereas anatomical composition was a key factor in both grass and legume recalcitrance, with the stems consistently exhibiting higher recalcitrance than the other anatomical fractions.
Conclusions:
The prairie species tested in this study responded well to hydrothermal pretreatment and enzymatic saccharification. Information from this study supports recommendations as to which plant types and species are more desirable for biological conversion in a mixture of prairie species, in addition to identifying fractions of the plants that would most benefit from genetic modification or targeted growth.Source:
http://www.biotechnologyforbiofuels.com/rss/

Background:
Lignocellulosic materials have been moved towards the forefront of the biofuel industry as a sustainable resource. However, saccharification and production of bioproducts derived from plant cell wall biomass are complex and entail lengthy processes. The understanding of a termite gut biology and feeding strategies may improve the current state of biomass conversion technology and bioproduct production.
Results:
The study herein shows comprehensive functional characterization of crude body extracts from C. gestroi along with global proteomic analysis of the termite's digestome, targeting the identification of glycoside hydrolases (GH) and accessory proteins responsible for plant biomass conversion. The crude protein extract from C. gestroi was enzymatically efficient over a broad pH range on a series of natural polysaccharides, formed by glucose-, xylose-, mannan- and/or arabinose-containing polymers, linked by various types of glycosydic bonds, as well as ramification types. Our proteomic approach successfully identified a large number of relevant polypeptides in the C. gestroi digestome. A total of 55 different proteins were identified and classified into 29 CAZy families. Based on the total number of peptides identified, the majority of components found in the C. gestroi digestome were cellulose-degrading enzymes. Xylanolytic enzymes, mannan- hydrolytic enzymes, pectinases, and starch-degrading and debranching enzymes were also identified. Our strategy enabled validation of LC-MS/MS recognized proteins, by enzymatic functional assays and following degradation products of specific APTS labeled oligosaccharides through capillary zone electrophoresis.
Conclusions:
Here we describe the first global study about the enzymatic repertoire involved in plant polysaccharide degradation by the lower termite C. gestroi. The biochemical characterization of whole body termite extracts evidenced the ability to cleave all types of glycosidic bonds present in plant polysaccharides. The comprehensive proteomic analysis, revealed a complete collection of hydrolytic enzymes including cellulases (GH1, GH3, GH5, GH7, GH9 and CBM 6), hemicellulases (GH2, 10, 11, 16, 43 and CBM 27) and pectinases (GH28 and GH29).Source:
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Background:
The description of new hydrolytic enzymes is an important step in the development of techniques to use lignocellulosic materials as a starting point for fuel production. Sugarcane bagasse, which is subjected to pre-treatment, hydrolysis and fermentation for the production of ethanol in several test refineries, is the most promising source of raw material for the production of 2nd generation renewable fuels in Brazil. One problem when screening hydrolytic activities is that the activity against commercial substrates such as carboxymethylcellulose does not always correspond to the activity against the natural lignocellulosic material. Besides that, the macroscopic characteristics of the raw material such as insolubility and heterogeneity hinder its use for high throughput screenings.
Results:
In this paper, we present the preparation of a colloidal suspension of particles obtained from sugarcane bagasse, with minimal chemical change in the lignocellulosic material, and demonstrate its use for high throughput assays of hydrolases using Brazilian termites as screened organisms.
Conclusions:
Important differences between the use of the natural substrate and commercial cellulase substrates such as CMC or crystalline cellulose were observed, suggesting that wood feeding termites, in contrast to litter feeding ones, might not be the best source for enzymes that degrade sugarcane biomass.Source:
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Introduction to the Texas Education Agency Advanced Biotechnology Course.

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TEA Advanced Biotechnology 1.1 - Overview of Biotechnology - Video

Topical Panel: Nanotechnology and Biotechnology and Their Potential Applications - Dr.

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Dr. Andrew Dzurak - Topical Panel: Nanotechnology and Biotechnology... - Video

A panel discussion on the future of biotechnology, with three leaders in the field: -Stuart Kim, Professor of Developmental Biology and Genetics, Stanford University -Michael Snyder, Professor and Chair of Genetics, Stanford University, Director of the Stanford Center for Genetics and Personalized Medicine -David Haussler, Professor of Biomolecular Engineering and Director of the Center for Biomolecular Science and Engineering at UC Santa Cruz. Filmed at the Executive Program at Singularity University, NASA Ames Research Center, Silicon Valley, CA.

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Future of Biotechnology Panel (Part I) - Video

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Emerging sectors : health and biotechnology - Video

Subscribe:www.youtube.com Pursuing in different Immunodrug™ programs • Pursuing in different Immunodrug™ programs addressing important chronic disease indications and clinical proof of concept

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Pursuing different Immunodrug™ programs/Dr Alexander Link-Cytos Biotechnology-World Vaccine Congre - Video

With biotechnology, nearly 100 new drugs and vaccines have helped millions fight life threatening diseases.

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Biotechnology: A Big Word That Means Hope - Video

Nov. 11 (Bloomberg) -- Christian Gattiker, head of research at Bank Julius Baer

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Gattiker Sees 'Renaissance' in Cash-Rich Biotech Stocks - Video

MARBIONC's vision is to "position North Carolina's marine biotechnology industry as a key component in reaching economic and environmental solutions on a global scale." After MARBIONC, Scott Baker from UNCW's Center for Marine Sciences (CMS) and North Carolina Sea Grant spoke about efforts to create community supported seafood projects (CSS).

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CFEDC Presents: MARBIONIC Marine Biotechnology June 23, 2010 2 of 3 - Video

Background:
Softwoods are the dominant source of lignocellulosic biomass in the Northern hemisphere and have been investigated world-wide as a renewable substrate for cellulosic ethanol production. One challenge to using softwoods, particularly acute with pine, is that the pretreatment process produces inhibitory compounds detrimental to growth and metabolic activity of fermenting organisms. To overcome the challenge of bioconversion in the presence of inhibitory compounds, especially at high solids loading, a strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae was subjected to evolutionary engineering and adaptation using pretreated pine wood (Pinus taeda).
Results:
An industrial strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, XR122N, was evolved using pretreated pine; the resulting daughter strain, AJP50, produced ethanol much more rapidly than its parent in fermentations of pretreated pine. Adaptation by preculturing of the industrial yeast XR122N and the evolved strains in 7% w/v pretreated pine solids prior to inoculation into higher solids concentrations, improved fermentation performance of all strains compared to direct inoculation into high solids. Growth comparisons between XR122N and AJP50 in model hydrolysate media containing inhibitory compounds found in pretreated biomass, revealed AJP50 exited lag phase faster under all conditions tested. This ability is due, in part, to AJP50 rapidly converting furfural and hydroxymethylfurfural to their less toxic alcohol derivatives and recovering from reactive oxygen species damage more quickly than XR122N. Under industrially relevant conditions of 17.5% w/v pretreated pine solids loading, additional evolutionary engineering was required to decrease the pronounced lag phase. Using a combination of adaptation by inoculation first into a solids loading of 7% w/v for 24 h, followed by a 10% v/v inoculum (approximately 1 g/L dry cell wt) into 17.5% w/v solids, the final strain (AJP50) produced ethanol at >80% of the maximum theoretical yield after 72 h of fermentation and reached >90% of the maximum theoretical yield after 120 h of fermentation.
Conclusions:
Our results demonstrate that fermentations of pretreated pine containing liquid and solids, including any inhibitory compounds generated during pretreatment, are possible at higher solids loadings than previously reported in the literature. These fermentations demonstrated reduced inoculum sizes and shortened process times, thereby improving the overall economic viability of a pine-to-ethanol conversion process.Source:
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Background:
Recently developed iron co-catalyst enhancement of dilute-acid pretreatment of biomass is a promising approach for enhancing sugar release from recalcitrant lignocellulosic biomass. However, very little is known about the underlying mechanisms of this enhancement. Here, our aim was to identify several essential factors that contribute to ferrous ion-enhanced efficiency during dilute-acid pretreatment of biomass and to initiate the investigation of the mechanisms that result in this enhancement.
Results:
During dilute-acid and ferrous ion co-catalyst pretreatments, we observed concomitant increases in solubilized sugars in the hydrolysate and reducing sugars in the (insoluble) biomass residues. We also observed enhancements in sugar release during subsequent enzymatic saccharification of iron co-catalyst pretreated biomass. Fourier transform Raman spectroscopy showed that major peaks representing the C-O-C and C-H bonds in cellulose are significantly attenuated by iron co-catalyst pretreatment. Imaging by Prussian blue staining indicates that Fe2+ ions associate with both cellulose/xylan and lignin in the untreated as well as dilute-acid/Fe2+ ion pretreated corn stover samples. Analyses by scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy reveal structural details of biomass after dilute-acid/Fe2+ ion pretreatment, in which the delamination and fibrillation of cell wall were observed.
Conclusions:
Using this multi-modal approach, we have revealed that (1) acid-ferrous ion assisted pretreatment increased solubilization and enzymatic digestion of both cellulose and xylan to monomers, and (2) this pretreatment likely targets multiple chemistries in plant cell wall polymer networks, including those represented by the C-O-C and C-H bonds in cellulose.Source:
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MARBIONC's vision is to "position North Carolina's marine biotechnology industry as a key component in reaching economic and environmental solutions on a global scale." After MARBIONC, Scott Baker from UNCW's Center for Marine Sciences (CMS) and North Carolina Sea Grant spoke about efforts to create community supported seafood projects (CSS).

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CFEDC Presents: MARBIONIC Marine Biotechnology June 23, 2010 1 of 3 - Video