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WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. lawmakers are raising alarms about what they see as America’s failure to compete with China in biotechnology, warning of the risks to U.S. national security and commercial interests. Bills have been introduced in the House and Senate to bar “foreign adversary biotech companies of concern” from doing business with federally funded medical providers. Photos You Should See View All 33 ImagesCritics of the legislation warn that restrictions on Chinese companies would impede advances that could bring a greater good. “It’s not just a supply chain battle or a national security battle or an economic security battle; I would submit it’s a moral and ethical battle,” Gallagher said. He said any restrictive U.S. measures should be tailored to address military concerns and concerns about genomic data security.

Persons: walling, ”, Abigail Coplin, Rachel King, Mike Gallagher, Gallagher, “ It’s, ” Gallagher, “ we’re, Biden, Tom Bollyky, Bollyky, Ray Yip, Yip, “, Anna Puglisi, Puglisi, ” Puglisi, BGI, WuXi AppTec, Dake Kang Organizations: WASHINGTON, — U.S, Biotechnology, Bills, Embassy, Biden, Vassar College, Biotechnology Innovation Organization, National Security Commission, Emerging Biotechnology, U.S . Senate, Chinese Communist Party, Wisconsin Republican, “, Bloomberg, Council, Foreign Relations, U.S . Centers for Disease Control, Georgetown University’s Center for Security, Emerging, The Defense Department, Commerce Department, Associated Press Locations: China, U.S, ”, South China, Wisconsin, Boston, United States, WuXi, Beijing

☆ Rachel Rosenkrantz is making guitars from mushrooms
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( Flo Cornall | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

While these classic guitars will always have a firm spot in our playlists, there are some new designs making waves by harnessing some peculiar materials. Guitar maker and master luthier Rachel Rosenkrantz thinks she’s hit the right note crafting bespoke instruments out of biomaterials. From mushroom ukuleles and beehive guitars to banjos made out of kombucha leather, she’s assembled a curious collection of biodegradable instruments. Her “Mycocaster” electric guitar is made from mycelium and paper, with dried fibers such as corn husk added to make the guitar body more rigid. Her “Mycocaster” electric guitar is made from mycelium and paper, with dried fibers such as corn husk added to make the guitar body more rigid.

Persons: Rachel Rosenkrantz, she’s, banjos, Rosenkrantz, luthiers, I’m, it’s, ” Rosenkrantz, Biomaterials, Rachel Rosenkrantz's, “, –, doesn’t, Angela Weiss, ”, Rosenkrantz’s Mycocaster Organizations: CNN, Forest, Convention, International Trade, BMW, Rhode Island School of Design, Getty Locations: biomaterials, Paris, Rhode, Sitka, Brazil, New York

☆ This faux-leather jacket is made by bacteria
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-19 | by ( Jacopo Prisco | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

“A yellow leather jacket” might not be your first answer, but it’s exactly what came out of a collaboration between Danish fashion brand Ganni and Mexican biomaterials company Polybion. “We were impressed by the fact that a lot of people love the jacket because the material did not resemble leather,” said Alexis Gómez-Ortigoza, Polybion’s co-founder. “We isolated our first bacteria from that drink.”Kombucha is an increasingly popular fermented tea drink, and the bacterial biomass used to make the jacket, called Celium, comes from that jar. “We feed the bacteria with fruit waste, which is extremely abundant here in central Mexico,” said Gómez-Ortigoza. Although it shares some similarities with leather, Celium is an organic material that's meant to have its own look and feel.

Persons: ”, Alexis Gómez, Polybion’s, “, Axel, Bárbara González, Gómez, Polybion, Ortigoza, Lauren Bartley, Ganni, Michelle Obama, Bartley, Kate Goldsworthy, who’s, Kate Fletcher Organizations: CNN, Ganni’s Sustainability, University of the Arts London, Royal Danish Academy, Copenhagen, Oslo Metropolitan University Locations: Mexican, Mexico, Celium, France, Norway

☆ How your shrimp cocktail can reduce the plastic waste tied to global warming
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-02 | by ( Diana Olick | In Dianaolick | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

All that single-use plastic and Styrofoam, especially for cold packaging, is contributing to greenhouse gas emissions and consequently climate change. Now, companies like TemperPack, Green Cell and a California-based startup called Cruz Foam are making more recyclable and biodegradable packaging. Cruz Foam is using shrimp shells in its packaging. And Cruz Foam doesn't make the packages, rather it provides packagers with the material. Cruz Foam has several products, from cold packaging for foods to protective wrap to substitute for bubble wrap.

Persons: John Felts, Dan Fishman, Cruz Organizations: Green Cell, Cruz, Whirlpool, One Ventures Locations: California, Helena

☆ Biomaterials startup Traceless wants to help tackle plastic pollution. It just raised $39 million in debt and equity with this 15-slide pitch deck.
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A German startup hoping to help put an end to plastic pollution has just raised 36.6 million euro (around $38.9 million) in a mixture of equity and debt. Hamburg-based Traceless, founded in 2020, has developed a plant-based biomaterial using agricultural waste to replace plastics. The startup material uses the existing natural polymers that are in its raw material, which requires up to 80% less energy to process compared to conventional plastics, Lamp said. Traceless produces its material as small pellets to provide to product manufacturers, which then mould it to their needs. The startup hopes to have replaced 1 million tonnes of plastic by 2030.

Persons: Anne Lamp, compostable, Traceless, Joanna Baare, Baare, Hamburger Sparkasse Organizations: UB Forest Industry, Growth, SWEN Capital Partners, GLS Bank, Planet A Ventures, Tech Locations: Hamburg, Antarctica

☆ Spain sees Ukraine grain ban by some EU states as illegal, France sees solidarity risk
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( Julia Payne | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Viacheslav Ratynskyi/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBRUSSELS, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Spain's agriculture minister said on Monday a unilateral ban by any European Union member state on Ukrainian grain imports seemed illegal, while France said European solidarity was at stake. Poland, Slovakia and Hungary announced their own restrictions on Ukrainian grain imports on Friday after the European Commission decided not to extend its ban on imports into Ukraine's five EU eastern European member states. Romania has become the conduit for more than 60% of Ukrainian grain moved by land and its prime minister said on Monday it may also extend the ban if import requests rise. France's agriculture minister Marc Fesneau criticised the moves, saying they called into question European solidarity. "For solidarity there needs to be unity... We must keep hold of the two elements, otherwise the European project is at risk.

Persons: Viacheslav, Spain's Luis Planas Puchades, Marc Fesneau, Fesneau, Luis Planas Puchades, Julia Payne, Sybille de la, Gareth Jones Organizations: Russian, REUTERS, Rights, Union, European Commission, CAP, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Velykomykhailivka, Dnipropetrovsk region, Rights BRUSSELS, France, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Black, Moscow, Romania

☆ Plant-Based Plastics Gain Favor as Companies Pursue Sustainability Goals
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( Dieter Holger | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +6 min

Plant-based plastic, that is. However, the environmental benefits of plant-based plastics are increasingly appealing to companies promising to use more sustainable materials by the end of the decade. Plants absorb the atmosphere’s carbon dioxide, which cuts the greenhouse-gas emissions from making bioplastics to at least half that of fossil-fuel-based plastics. A Lululemon shirt containing plant-based nylon. Only plant-based plastics that are chemically identical to fossil-fuel–based versions can enter the existing and growing recycling infrastructure.

Persons: Bioplastics haven’t, Michael Carus, “, ” Carus, Eastman, Chris Killian, bioplastics, Warby Parker, ”, Biden, Manav, olefins, Dow, bioethylene, LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis, Haley Lowry, Dieter Holger Organizations: Sustainable Business, Kodak, U.S . Defense Department, European, dieter.holger Locations: China, Japan, biomanufacturing, U.S, Iowa

☆ See inside a 600-square-foot 3D-printed tiny home in Maine made of recyclable materials
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-23 | by ( Brittany Chang | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: 1 min

“Our number one priority is to alleviate the societal problems [like housing and sustainable construction] we are facing right now,” he said. “There’s an opportunity here to harness these biomaterials and help solve these problems.”Brittany Chang/Insider

☆ Lululemon’s Climate Goals Hinge on Replacing Oil With Plants
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Dieter Holger | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +6 min

Lululemon Athletica Inc.’s need for crude oil for its leggings and other stretchy clothes presents a hurdle to meeting its climate ambitions. Its first products out this month are two shirts containing at least 50% nylon made from plant-based sugars instead of oil. A new Lululemon shirt contains at least 50% nylon made from plant-based sugars instead of oil. Lululemon’s push into biomaterials is part of a goal to make all of its products with sustainable materials by the end of the decade. Biomaterials also can help Lululemon more swiftly reduce its climate impact because using recycled materials is challenging, Ms. Speck said.

☆ IKEA’s Latest Climate Target: Glue
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Dieter Holger | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +5 min

The company expects biomaterials to become more cost competitive with fossil-based materials in the coming years. Instead, Mr. Rangel Ahrens said IKEA uses weight because it allows them to measure changes in a material, such as recycled and renewable content. It discovered around half of the material’s emissions were from the glue used to bind the wood chips and fibers together, meaning that fossil-based glue was responsible for about 5% of IKEA’s carbon footprint, Mr. Rangel Ahrens said. “We are not just telling them you should reduce emissions from suppliers by 80% and go fish,” Mr. Rangel Ahrens said. It needs to be available also for people with thin wallets,” Mr. Rangel Ahrens said.

☆ A biotech trying to bring back the woolly mammoth just launched its first spinout company. See the 15-slide pitch deck Form Bio used to raise $30 million.
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-27 | by ( Andrew Dunn | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Colossal Bio, a biotech trying to resurrect the woolly mammoth, just spun out its first company. The new company, Form Bio, sells manufacturing software to life sciences companies. Colossal Bio, a Texas-based biotech trying to bring back the woolly mammoth, announced its first spinout company on Tuesday. Form is the first spinout from Colossal Bio, which plans to commercialize technologies it develops while chasing the audacious task of resurrecting extinct species. Colossal CEO Ben Lamm told Insider that Form won't be the last spinout company from his company.

☆ Новый материал для лечения ран может защитить от устойчивых бактерий
▼ + stars: | 2021-05-15 | by ( Mld Media Srl | ) noi.md time to read: +2 min

Исследователи из Технологического университета Чалмерса, Швеция, разработали новый материал, предотвращающий инфицирование ран — специально разработанный гидрогель, который действует против всех типов бактерий, в том числе устойчивых к антибиотикам. Всемирная организация здравоохранения описывает устойчивые к антибиотикам бактерии как одну из величайших угроз глобальному здоровью. В течение многих лет группа Мартина Андерссона в Чалмерсе продолжала исследования и разработки этого материала, масштабы которых постоянно росли, с особым вниманием к возможностям лечения ран. «С этими типами пептидов существует очень низкий риск развития у бактерий устойчивости к ним, поскольку они влияют только на внешнюю мембрану бактерий. Текущее исследование описывает, как исследователям удалось преодолеть проблему с помощью разработки наноструктурированного гидрогеля, в котором пептиды постоянно связаны, создавая защитную среду.

Persons: Мартин Андерссон, Мартин, Андерссон Organizations: Biomaterials Science, Engineering, Технологический университет, Всемирная организация здравоохранения Locations: Чалмерса, Швеция, Чалмерс

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