News Articles (Autosaved)

1. Hydrogen production in extreme bacterium

Date: January 31, 2015 Source: Missouri University of Science and Technology Summary: Scientists have discovered a bacterium that can produce hydrogen, an element that one day could lessen the worlds dependence on oil

A researcher at Missouri University of Science and Technology has discovered a bacterium that can produce

hydrogen, an element that one day could lessen the world's dependence on oil.

Dr. Melanie Mormile, professor of biological sciences at Missouri S&T, and her team discovered the bacterium Halanaerobium hydrogeninformans in Soap Lake, Washington. It can "produce hydrogen under saline and

alkaline conditions in amounts that rival genetically modified organisms," Mormile says.

"Usually, I tend to study the overall microbial ecology of extreme environments, but this particular bacterium has caught my attention," Mormile says. "I intend to study this isolate in greater detail."

Mormile, an expert in the microbial ecology of extreme environments, wasn't searching for a bacterium that could

produce hydrogen. Instead, she first became interested in bacteria that could help clean up the environment, especially looking at the extremophiles found in Soap Lake. An extremophile is a microorganism that lives in conditions of extreme temperature, acidity, alkalinity or chemical concentration. Living in such a hostile environment, Halanaerobium hydrogeninformans has metabolic capabilities under conditions that occur at some contaminated waste sites.

With Halanaerobium hydrogeninformans, she expected to find an iron-reducing bacterium and describe a new

species. What she found was a new species of bacterium that can produce hydrogen and 1, 3-propanediol under high pH and salinity conditions that might turn out to be valuable industrially. An organic compound, 1, 3-propenediol can be

formulated into industrial products including composites, adhesives, laminates and coatings. It's also a solvent and can be used as antifreeze.

The infrastructure isn't in place now for hydrogen to replace gasoline as a fuel for planes, trains and automobiles.

But if hydrogen becomes an alternative to gasoline, Halanaerobium hydrogeniformans, mass-produced on an industrial

scale, might be one solution -- although it won't be a solution anytime soon.

"It would be great if we got liters and liters of production of hydrogen," Mormile says. "However, we have not been

able to scale up yet." In her first single-author article, Mormile's findings were featured in the Nov. 19 edition of Frontiers in Microbiology.

Mormile holds two patents for her work on the Soap Lake bacterium's biohydrogen formation under very alkaline and saline conditions. Also named on the patents are Dr. Judy Wall, Curators' Professor of Biochemistry and Joint Curators'

Professor of Molecular Microbiology & Immunology at the University of Missouri-Columbia, and her former lab members, Matthew Begemann and Dwayne Elias. A pending patent application, submitted along with Elias; Dr. Oliver Sitton, professor

of chemical and biochemical engineering at Missouri S&T; and Daniel Roush, then a master's student for Mormile, is for the conversion of glycerol to 1, 3-propanediol, also under hostile alkaline and saline conditions.

This patented and patent-pending technology is available for licensing through the Missouri S&T Center for

Technology Transfer and Economic Development. REFERENCE:

Missouri University of Science and Technology. (2015, January 31). Hydrogen production in extreme bacterium. ScienceDaily. Retrieved February 3, 2015 from

www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/01/150131071817.htm

REFLECTION:

Having different branches of chemical engineering is a great way to carry on researching many

fields of specification. This type of field is under biomedical engineering wherein researching on this is very

interesting because bacteria are everywhere. And the moment that you intent to research about it, there

will happen that another bacteria will grow accidentally due to condition changes, or variable changes. This

accidental invention is a great news for industries using hydrogen as their main raw material. But it will be

a good research or thesis project as feasibility study for a scale-up plant which will be then patented and

sold. They say that it would be a great supply for gasoline, fuel for planes and 1,2 propenediol which will

be a great help for the oil and gas industry. But then, a lot of bacterial growth studies and propagation are

needed to extract and germinate all these bacteria. With support from biomedical and people who studies

with bio will make this research a great alternative for scarcity of some of countries main product.

2. Future batteries: Lithium-sulfur with a graphene wrapper

Date: December 16, 2014

Source: American Institute of Physics (AIP) Summary: What do you get when you wrap a thin sheet of the "wonder material" graphene around a novel multifunctional

sulfur electrode that combines an energy storage unit and electron/ion transfer networks? An extremely promising electrode structure design for rechargeable lithium-sulfur batteries

Lithium-sulfur batteries are of great commercial interest because they boast theoretical specific energy densities

considerably greater than those of their already-well-established cousin, lithium ion batteries. In the journal APL Materials, from AIP Publishing, a team of researchers led by Dr. Vasant Kumar at the University

of Cambridge and Professor Renjie Chen at the Beijing Institute of Technology describe their design of a multifunctional

sulfur cathode at the nanolevel to address performance-related issues such as low efficiency and capacity degradation.

Metal organic frameworks (MOFs) have attracted plenty of attention recently, thanks to wide-ranging applications in hydrogen storage, carbon dioxide sequestration, catalysis and membranes. And to create their cathode, the team tapped

MOF "as a template" to produce a conductive porous carbon cage -- in which sulfur acts as the host and each sulfur-carbon nanoparticle acts as energy storage units where electrochemical reactions occur.

"Our carbon scaffold acts as a physical barrier to confine the active materials within its porous structure," explained

Kai Xi, a research scientist at Cambridge. "This leads to improved cycling stability and high efficiency." They also discovered that by further wrapping the sulfur-carbon energy storage unit within a thin sheet of flexible graphene speeds the transport

of electrons and ions.

What's behind the improved capacity? Fast charge-transfer kinetics are made possible by an interconnected graphene network with high electrical conductivity, according to the team. Their work shows that the composite structure of

a porous scaffold with conductive connections is a promising electrode structure design for rechargeable batteries.

This work provides a "basic, but flexible, approach to both enhance the use of sulfur and improve the cycle stability of batteries," Xi said. "Modification of the unit or its framework by doping or polymer coating could take the performance to

a whole new level."

In terms of applications, the novel battery design's unique integration of energy storage with an ion/electron framework has now opened the door for fabrication of high-performance non-topotactic (not involving a structural change

to a crystalline solid) reactions-based energy storage systems.

What's next for the team? "We'll focus on fabricating hybrid free-standing sulfur cathode systems to achieve high-energy density batteries, which will involve tailoring novel electrolyte components and building lithium 'protection layers' to

enhance the electrochemical performance of batteries," noted Xi.

REFERENCE:

American Institute of Physics (AIP). (2014, December 16). Future batteries: Lithium-sulfur with a graphene

wrapper. ScienceDaily. Retrieved February 3, 2015 from


REFLECTION

Nowadays, lithium ion batteries are mostly used for gadget batteries. But this new invention using

lithium sulfur electrodes wrapped with carbon (graphene) wrapper is a more efficient type of battery for it

boast theoretical specific energy densities. Another is that it has fast-charge kinetics which is good to be as

rechargeable and modification of the possible housing or casing for it was fully studied to be safe for the

lithium-sulfur ion. It is good invention to help battery manufacturing companies and even the cellular

companies to save manpower for people who used to report on battery problems on service centers. Just

like what happened to my moms tablet, she havent used it for almost 8 months and it is due to incompatible

charger which is accidentally plugged to the tablet, and then, it chargers but when you tap the screen, it

seemed to have an auto touch or what they call ghosting problem. After which we found out that, it depends

upon the voltage and the battery whether it would work or not. So selling this possible patent will be good

for all mobile manufacturing companies.

3. Penta-graphene, a new structural variant of carbon, discovered

Date: February 3, 2015

Source: Virginia Commonwealth University Summary: Researchers have discovered a new structural variant of carbon called 'penta-graphene' -- a very thin sheet of

pure carbon that has a unique structure inspired by a pentagonal pattern of tiles found paving the streets of Cairo.

The newly discovered material, called penta-graphene, is a single layer of carbon

pentagons that resembles the Cairo tiling, and that appears to be dynamically, thermally and mechanically stable.

"The three last important forms of carbon that have been discovered were

fullerene, the nanotube and graphene. Each one of them has unique structure. Penta-graphene will belong in that category," said the paper's senior author, Puru Jena, Ph.D.,

distinguished professor in the Department of Physics in VCU's College of Humanities and Sciences.

The researchers' paper, "Penta-Graphene: A New Carbon Allotrope," will appear in the journal Proceedings of the

National Academy of Sciences, and is based on research that was launched at Peking University and VCU.

Qian Wang, Ph.D., a professor at Peking University and an adjunct professor at VCU, was dining in a restaurant in Beijing with her husband when she noticed artwork on the wall depicting pentagon tiles from the streets of Cairo.

"I told my husband, "Come, see! This is a pattern composed only of pentagons,'" she said. "I took a picture and sent

it to one of my students, and said, 'I think we can make this. It might be stable. But you must check it carefully.' He did, and it turned out that this structure is so beautiful yet also very simple."

Most forms of carbon are made of hexagonal building blocks, sometimes interspersed with pentagons. Penta-

graphene would be a unique two-dimensional carbon allotrope composed exclusively of pentagons.

Along with Jena and Wang, the paper's authors include Shunhong Zhang, Ph.D candidate, from Peking University; Jian Zhou, Ph.D., a postdoctoral researcher at VCU; Xiaoshuang Chen, Ph.D., from the Chinese Academy of Science in

Shanghai; and Yoshiyuki Kawazoe, Ph.D., from Tohoku University in Sendai, Japan.

The researchers simulated the synthesis of penta-graphene using computer modelling. The results suggest that the material might outperform graphene in certain applications, as it would be mechanically stable, possess very high strength,

and be capable of withstanding temperatures of up to 1,000 degrees Kelvin.

"You know the saying, diamonds are forever? That's because it takes a lot of energy to convert diamond back into graphite," Jena said. "This will be similar."

Penta-graphene has several interesting and unusual properties, Jena said. For example, penta-graphene is a

semiconductor, whereas graphene is a conductor of electricity.

"When you take graphene and roll it up, you make what is called a carbon nanotube which can be metallic or semiconducting," Jena said. "Penta-graphene, when you roll it up, will also make a nanotube, but it is always

semiconducting."

The way the material stretches is also highly unusual, the researchers said. "If you stretch graphene, it will expand along the direction it is stretched, but contract along the perpendicular direction." Wang said. "However, if you stretch penta-

graphene, it will expand in both directions."

The material's mechanical strength, derived from a rare property known as Negative Poisson's Ratio, may hold especially interesting applications for technology, the researchers said.

Penta-graphene's properties suggest that it may have applications in electronics, biomedicine, nanotechnology and

more.

The next step, Jena said, is for scientists to synthesize penta-graphene. "Once you make it, it [will be] very stable. So the question becomes, how do you make it? In this paper, we have some ideas. Right now, the project is theoretical. It's

based on computer modelling, but we believe in this prediction quite strongly. And once you make it, it will open up an entirely new branch of carbon science. Two-dimensional carbon made completely of pentagons has never been known.

REFERENCE:

Virginia Commonwealth University. (2015, February 3). Penta-graphene, a new structural variant of carbon,

discovered. ScienceDaily. Retrieved February 3, 2015 from


REFLECTION:

I thought this article was fully furnished, yet, it wasnt finished and all were from theoretical basis. Its good to know that there are still researchers who go on deep researching for new branches of

compounds. Penta-graphene being under graphene as one of three carbons most important form. A part of the research described that penta-graphene is like a thin sheet, synthesized for a modelling machine

which may outstand properties of graphene in terms of its mechanical strength and tensile strength as well as thermal properties, which is a good news. But then. Final costing or approximation for how much it would

cost to generate this type of product is not yet unknown. This type of material is known to be a semiconductor unlike graphene which is a conductor which will be an edge for latest technology.

4. Chemists find a way to unboil egg whites: Ability to quickly restore molecular proteins could

slash biotechnology costs

Date: January 26, 2015

Source: University of California - Irvine Summary: Chemists have figured out how to unboil egg whites -- an innovation that could dramatically reduce costs for

cancer treatments, food production and other segments of the $160 billion global biotechnology industry, according to new findings

UC Irvine and Australian chemists have figured out how to unboil egg whites -- an innovation that could dramatically

reduce costs for cancer treatments, food production and other segments of the $160 billion global biotechnology industry,

according to findings published today in the journal ChemBioChem.

"Yes, we have invented a way to unboil a hen egg," said Gregory Weiss, UCI professor of chemistry and molecular

biology & biochemistry. "In our paper, we describe a device for pulling apart tangled proteins and allowing them to refold. We start with egg whites boiled for 20 minutes at 90 degrees Celsius and return a key protein in the egg to working order."

Like many researchers, he has struggled to efficiently produce or recycle valuable molecular proteins that have a

wide range of applications but which frequently "misfold" into structurally incorrect shapes when they are formed, rendering them useless.

"It's not so much that we're interested in processing the eggs; that's just demonstrating how powerful this process

is," Weiss said. "The real problem is there are lots of cases of gummy proteins that you spend way too much time scraping off your test tubes, and you want some means of recovering that material."

But older methods are expensive and time-consuming: The equivalent of dialysis at the molecular level must be

done for about four days. "The new process takes minutes," Weiss noted. "It speeds things up by a factor of thousands."

To re-create a clear protein known as lysozyme once an egg has been boiled, he and his colleagues add a urea substance that chews away at the whites, liquefying the solid material. That's half the process; at the molecular level, protein

bits are still balled up into unusable masses. The scientists then employ a vortex fluid device, a high-powered machine designed by Professor Colin Raston's laboratory at South Australia's Flinders University. Shear stress within thin,

microfluidic films is applied to those tiny pieces, forcing them back into untangled, proper form.

"This method ... could transform industrial and research production of proteins," the researchers write in ChemBioChem.

For example, pharmaceutical companies currently create cancer antibodies in expensive hamster ovary cells that

do not often misfold proteins. The ability to quickly and cheaply re-form common proteins from yeast or E. coli bacteria could potentially streamline protein manufacturing and make cancer treatments more affordable. Industrial cheese makers,

farmers and others who use recombinant proteins could also achieve more bang for their buck.

UCI has filed for a patent on the work, and its Office of Technology Alliances is working with interested commercial partners.

REFERENCE:

University of California - Irvine. (2015, January 26). Chemists find a way to unboil egg whites: Ability to quickly

restore molecular proteins could slash biotechnology costs. ScienceDaily. Retrieved February 3, 2015 from


REFLECTION:

Reading this article is very informative. I found out that eggs after laid out and boiled have different nano structures. So when they studied it, they found out that it changed that the process can be and possible

to be a reversible one. By the use of a machine, they apply a speed forming vortex to those liquids which will be therefore cause the rupture of those protein cells. It is good to know that there are now possible

ways to make processes reversible. Though I dont know whats the reason or objective of this, and probable uses but its a good idea that it would be applicable for all kinds of protein and they tried it only on egg yolk

since it is the most available protein source. Another good invention is the machine which outperforms machines which is applicable to all kinds of protein. Even so for pharmaceuticals manufacturing industries,

it would be a great addition to them for producing more kinds of protein. Even on large scale.

5. Sea slug has taken genes from algae it eats, allowing it to photosynthesize like a plant

Date: February 3, 2015 Source: Marine Biological Laboratory

Summary: How a brilliant-green sea slug manages to live for months at a time 'feeding' on sunlight, like a plant, is clarified in a recent study. The authors present the first direct

evidence that the emerald green sea slug's chromosomes have some genes that come from the algae it eats.

How a brilliant-green sea slug manages to live for months at a time "feeding"

on sunlight, like a plant, is clarified in a recent study published in The Biological Bulletin.

The authors present the first direct evidence that the emerald green sea slug's chromosomes have some genes that come from the algae it eats.

These genes help sustain photosynthetic processes inside the slug that provide it with all the food it needs.

Importantly, this is one of the only known examples of functional gene transfer from one multicellular species to

another, which is the goal of gene therapy to correct genetically based diseases in humans.

"Is a sea slug a good [biological model] for a human therapy? Probably not. But figuring out the mechanism of this naturally occurring gene transfer could be extremely instructive for future medical applications," says study co-author Sidney

K. Pierce, an emeritus professor at University of South Florida and at University of Maryland, College Park.

The team used an advanced imaging technique to confirm that a gene from the algaV. litorea is present on the E. chlorotica slug's chromosome. This gene makes an enzyme that is critical to the function of photosynthetic "machines"

called chloroplasts, which are typically found in plants and algae.

It has been known since the 1970s that E. chloritica "steals" chloroplasts from V. litorea (called "kleptoplasty") and

embeds them into its own digestive cells. Once inside the slug cells, the chloroplasts continue to photosynthesize for up to

nine months--much longer than they would perform in the algae. The photosynthesis process produces carbohydrates and lipids, which nourish the slug.

How the slug manages to maintain these photosynthesizing organelles for so long has been the topic of intensive

study and a good deal of controversy. "This paper confirms that one of several algal genes needed to repair damage to chloroplasts, and keep them functioning, is present on the slug chromosome," Pierce says. "The gene is incorporated into

the slug chromosome and transmitted to the next generation of slugs." While the next generation must take up chloroplasts anew from algae, the genes to maintain the chloroplasts are already present in the slug genome, Pierce says.

"There is no way on earth that genes from an alga should work inside an animal cell," Pierce says. "And yet here,

they do. They allow the animal to rely on sunshine for its nutrition. So if something happens to their food source, they have a way of not starving to death until they find more algae to eat. "

This biological adaptation is also a mechanism of rapid evolution, Pierce says. "When a successful transfer of genes

between species occurs, evolution can basically happen from one generation to the next," he notes, rather than over an evolutionary timescale of thousands of years.

REFERENCE:

Marine Biological Laboratory. (2015, February 3). Sea slug has taken genes from algae it eats, allowing it to

photosynthesize like a plant. ScienceDaily. Retrieved February 3, 2015 from


REFLECTION:

I never thought that there is such thing as transfer of genes. It is truly amazing that it is possible that the algae, green bacteria have chloroplast which acts up for photosynthesis. When it was eaten by the

sea slug, it turned out green which is suspected that was obtained from green algae. It was stated in history that sea slugs were able to photosynthesize these chloroplasts up to nine months only which then produces

carbohydrates and lipids to nourish the slugs. These genes will we therefore transmitted to other slugs will be then delivered to the next level on our ecology. One of the advantages of these transfer of genes is there

is a possibility of arising of new microorganism and organisms, as a product or a waste. The only problem to face is that if it doesnt have effect on sea slugs after 9 months and the supply of algae might have

shortage.

6. Water purification: Running fuel cells on bacteria

Date: January 30, 2015 Source: SINTEF

Summary: Researchers in Norway have succeeded in getting bacteria to power a fuel cell. The "fuel" used is wastewater, and the

products of the process are purified water droplets and electricity. This is an environmentally-friendly process for the purification of

water derived from industrial processes and suchlike. It also generates small amounts of electricity in practice enough to drive

a small fan, a sensor or a light-emitting diode. In the future, the researchers hope to scale up this energy generation to enable the

same energy to be used to power the water purification process, which commonly consists of many stages, often involving

mechanical and energy-demanding decontamination steps at its outset.

This is an environmentally-friendly process for the purification of water derived from industrial processes and

suchlike. It also generates small amounts of electricity -- in practice enough to drive a small fan, a sensor or a light-emitting diode.

In the future, the researchers hope to scale up this energy generation to enable the same energy to be used to power the water purification process, which commonly consists of many stages, often involving mechanical and energy-demanding

decontamination steps at its outset.

Nature's own generator

The biological fuel cell is powered by entirely natural processes -- with the help of living microorganisms.

"In simple terms, this type of fuel cell works because the bacteria consume the waste materials found in the water," explains SINTEF researcher Luis Cesar Colmenares, who is running the project together with his colleague Roman Netzer.

"As they eat, the bacteria produce electrons and protons. The voltage that arises between these particles generates energy that we can exploit. Since the waste in the wastewater (organic material) is consumed and thus removed, the water itself

becomes purified," he says.

Searching for the best bacteria

"Our challenge has been to find the mechanisms and bacteria that are best suited for use in this water purification method," says Netzer. "To start with, we had to find a bacterium which was not only able to consume the waste products in

the water, but which could also transfer electrons to a metal electrode," he says.

The idea behind this water purification approach was born many years ago when the two scientists first met and began discussing how bacteria could be used to generate energy. Since then, they have both been working to put the idea

into practice -- each from their own respective fields of expertise. While Netzer is an expert in bacteria, Colmenares is an electrochemist with a knowledge of, and interest in, water purification.

Today, they have a small demonstration plant bubbling away in the lab -- efficiently exploiting the bacterias' ability to purify dirty water and generate electricity. The wastewater comes from the local Tine dairy and is rich in organic acids,

which are ideal for this process. But this is not essential -- other types of wastewater work just as well. "At the moment, we're not talking about producing large volumes of energy," says Netzer. "But the process is very interesting

because water purification processes are very energy-demanding using current technology. We're particularly pleased at being able to produce just as much energy using low-cost materials as others are achieving using much more expensive

approaches," he says.

REFERENCE:

SINTEF. (2015, January 30). Water purification: Running fuel cells on bacteria.ScienceDaily. Retrieved February

3, 2015 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/01/150130081535.htm

REFLECTION:

I have articles and journals about wastewater treatment using cells which can produce electricity

and at the same time freshwater. Also, there are articles which adds the desalination of water.

Having this small scale idea is a good support since most researches nowadays covers the usage

of most cells. It is said to be a costly type of producing of energy but I can say that compared to

our sources of energy now, geothermal, nuclear, electrical and hyroelectic, this one is the cheapest

and does not require much of equipment. Also, the problem to solve is the source of cells but for

sure there are ways to propagate this cells which will require more processes. An advantage of this

research is that we wont run out of water and electricity. Due to all product were accumulated and

recycled.

7. Biologists partner bacterium with nitrogen gas to produce more, cleaner bioethanol


Source: Indiana University Summary: Biologists believe they have found a faster, cheaper and cleaner way to increase bioethanol production by using

nitrogen gas, the most abundant gas in Earth's atmosphere, in place of more costly industrial fertilizers. The discovery could save the industry millions of dollars and make cellulosic ethanol -- made from wood, grasses and inedible parts of plants --

more competitive with corn ethanol and gasoline..

The raw materials for cellulosic ethanol are low in nitrogen, a nutrient required for ethanol-producing microbes to grow, so cellulosic ethanol producers are estimated to spend millions of dollars annually on nitrogen fertilizers like corn

steep liquor and diammonium phosphate. But an IU team led by biologist James B. McKinlay has found that the bioethanol-producing bacterium Zymomonas mobiliscan use nitrogen gas (N2) as a nitrogen source, something that the more traditional

ethanol-producer, baker's yeast, cannot do.

"When we discovered that Z. mobilis could use N2 we expected that it would make less ethanol. N2 utilization and ethanol production demand similar resources within the bacterial cell so we expected resources to be pulled away from

ethanol production to allow the bacteria to grow with N2," McKinlay said. "To our surprise the ethanol yield was unchanged when the bacteria used N2. In fact, under certain conditions, the bacteria converted sugars to ethanol much faster when

they were fed N2."

Knowing the bacterium could use N2 without hindering ethanol production, the team reasoned that N2 gas could serve as an inexpensive substitute for nitrogen fertilizers during cellulosic ethanol production.

"Until recently, ethanol has been produced almost entirely from food crops, but last year there was a surge in

cellulosic ethanol production as several commercial facilities opened," McKinlay said. "Cellulosic ethanol offers more favorable land use and lower carbon emissions than conventional ethanol production. Even so, cellulosic ethanol is

struggling to be cost-competitive against corn ethanol and gasoline."

The largest cost contributors to cellulosic ethanol production are the cellulosic plant material and the enzymes needed to degrade the plant material into sugars that are converted into ethanol, so they have received the most attention.

"But we recognized nitrogen fertilizers as a smaller, yet considerable, cost contributor that could potentially be more

readily addressed," he said.

They estimated that using N2 gas, which can be produced on-site at production facilities, in place of costly nitrogen supplements could save an ethanol production facility over $1 million dollars a year. Using N2 gas could also have

environmental benefits such as avoiding carbon dioxide emissions associated with producing and transporting the industrial fertilizers.

"More work needs to be done to assess how this approach can be integrated and optimized on an industrial scale,

but all of the data we've collected thus far are very encouraging," McKinlay said.

A provisional patent has also been filed in relation to the study with the United State Patent and Trademark Office, he added.

The research was published today in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by McKinlay

and three past and present members of his laboratory: graduate student Timothy A. Kremer, postdoctoral fellow Breah LaSarre, and former research associate Amanda L. Posto. McKinlay is an assistant professor in the IU Bloomington College

of Arts and Sciences' Department of Biology.

REFERENCE:

Indiana University. (2015, February 2). Biologists partner bacterium with nitrogen gas to produce more, cleaner

bioethanol. ScienceDaily. Retrieved February 3, 2015 from


REFLECTION:

It is a great invention knowing that there is such bacteria called Zymomonas mobiliscan

which can utilize Nitrogen (N2) gas for further genereration of bioethanol. As we otices, nowadays,

bacteria are mostly used to produce fuels. It is a good idea if in case the oil depot have run out and

refineries have shut down due to high process of processing. Due to bacteria which easy

propagates and multiply, we are able to continuously produce fuel. Not only that, they only help in

our environment. These, Zymomonas mobiliscan, are good for producing bioethanol, which says

our natural products such as coconut or other food sources will be used for food too, and not for

fuel, which helps our food market industry.

8. Sugar Beets Make Hemoglobin

Hemoglobin is best known as red blood cells' superstar proteincarrying oxygen and other gases on the

erythrocytes as they zip throughout the bodies of nearly all vertebrates. Less well known is its presence in vegetables,

including the sugar beet, in which Nlida Leiva-Eriksson recently discovered the protein while working on her doctoral thesis

at Lund University in Sweden. In fact, many land plantsfrom barley to tomatoescontain the protein, says Ral

Arredondo-Peter, an expert on the evolution of plant hemoglobins, or leghemoglobins, at the Autonomous University of the

State of Morelos in Mexico. Hemoglobins are very ancient proteins, he notes. Scientists first discovered them in the bright-

red nodules of soybean roots in 1939 but have yet to determine the proteins' role in plants in most cases. One popular idea

is that hemoglobin binds with and delivers nitric oxide to cells, sending signals to regulate growth.

Researchers are now investigating ways to leverage leghemoglobins. For example, Robert Hill, a plant biologist at

the University of Manitoba, found that genetically engineering alfalfa to produce more of the proteins boosted the crop's

survival rate during a flood from 20 to 80 percent. Plant hemoglobins might even serve as a blood substitute for humans

somedayan idea that Arredondo-Peter says is conceivable but far off because they do not carry and release oxygen at

the same rates as human hemoglobins. Or they could be exploited to trick our senses: food scientists at Stanford University

are experimenting with plant hemoglobins as an ingredient in veggie burgers to make them taste more like bloody steaks.

REFERENCE:

(Volume 312, Issue 2). Sugar Beets Make Hemoglobin. ScienceDaily. Retrieved February 3, 2015 from


REFLECTION:

The news research was not yet fully studied but it is feasible. It never thought of the idea that these plants

can be convertible to human needs specially in the blood. We all know that these plants only give us food,

oxygen, and prevent us from flood. But for all we know that there is a plant which can carry proteins. And

as the same as humans our red blood cells have hemoglobin which carries the protein needed in our body,

especially, the oxygen and main nutrients, it even spreads the nitric oxide to our cells. There is a high

probability that they can be carriers of protein like hemoglobin but there are furthermore researches to be

done to obtain the efficiency of carriage of plants as on humans.

9. Non-damaging, efficient sterilization: Plasma sterilizer for medical, aerospace applications


Source: Ruhr-Universitaet-Bochum

Summary: Traditional sterilization methods are no longer effective against all pathogens. By means of plasma, on the other hand, exceptionally stubborn bacteria stems can be killed off, researchers have demonstrated. A new sterilizer that is

specifically suited for ridding medical instruments of germs efficiently, yet without damaging the material, has been developed and may also have applications for the aerospace industry

Traditional sterilization methods are no longer effective against all pathogens. By means of plasma, on the other

hand, exceptionally stubborn bacteria stems can be killed off, as demonstrated by Junior Professor Dr Katharina

Stapelmann from the Institute for Electrical Engineering and Plasma Technology. She has developed a sterilizer that is

specifically suited for ridding medical instruments of germs efficiently, yet without damaging the material. As reported in the

RUB's science magazineRUBIN, the process is also interesting for the aerospace industry.

Perfect fit for medical applications

Stapelmann designed the sterilization chamber as a drawer with a surface in DIN-A4 format to hold standard tablets for medical instruments. The drawer may also be used as a sterile container. "You can, for example, put a set that's going

to be used in an appendectomy into the device, sterilize it and store the closed container in the cupboard right until surgery," explains the researcher. Compared with traditional processes, plasma sterilization is more energy saving, faster and does

not require any harmful radiation or carcinogenic chemicals. Unlike autoclaves, which apply moist heat, the process can be deployed for synthetic components, and it does not damage metal items which an autoclave blunts within a short space of

time. A prototype of the sterilizer is already available. What is now missing is an industrial partner who will make the product market-ready. Germ-free in space

In order to prevent germs from Earth from getting into space, and germs from space from getting to Earth, it is

standard practice to sterilize all aerospace materials. However, not all pathogens are destroyed by this multi-stage process. In collaboration with the German Aerospace Center, Katharina Stapelmann tested her method for metal screws which were riddled with the spores of the particularly stubborn bacteriumBacillus pumilis SAFR032. This bacteria stem has

demonstrated the to-date highest resistance against traditional sterilization methods, such as autoclaves, chemical

treatment or UV radiation. The plasma treatment, however, destroyed all germs within the space of only five minutes at a temperature of 60 degrees centigrade.

REFERENCES:

Ruhr-Universitaet-Bochum. (2015, February 2). Non-damaging, efficient sterilization: Plasma sterilizer for medical, aerospace applications. ScienceDaily. Retrieved February 3, 2015 from


REFLECTION:

I have no idea on the need to sterilize such objects that we need in outer space. I only thought that which needs sterilization are for those in the medical fields. Like in autoclaving, I have read an article on how to

autoclave such material using plasma. It was a 1980s study which covers on the autoclaving of an acrylic material. Since an acrylic can withstand 20-80C temperature, there is no chances to autoclave it in a

machine but only thru use of ethylene gas, or plasma. I dont get why do we need to sterilize it, not unless it has to be implanted or ingested to a persons body. But it is a good study for which it is non damaging

kind to sterilize aerospace stuffs.

10. Biomaterial coating raises prospect of more successful medical implants

Date: January 30, 2015 Source: IOP Publishing

Summary: A novel, bacteria-repelling coating material that could increase the success of medical implants has been created. The material helps healthy cells 'win the race' to the medical implant, beating off competition from bacterial cells

and thus reducing the likelihood of the implant being rejected by the body.

A novel, bacteria-repelling coating material that could increase the success of medical implants has been created

by researchers.

The material helps healthy cells 'win the race' to the medical implant, beating off competition from bacterial cells and thus reducing the likelihood of the implant being rejected by the body.

The first results of the material's performance have been published today, 30 January, in IOP Publishing's

journal Biomedical Materials.

The failure rate of certain medical implants still remains high -- around 40% for hip implants -- due to the formation of biofilms when the implant is first inserted into the body.

This thin film is composed of a group of microorganisms stuck together and can be initiated by bacteria sticking to

the implant. This prevents healthy cells from attaching and results in the body eventually rejecting the implant, potentially leading to serious complications for patients.

In their study, researchers from A*STAR (Agency for Science, Technology and Research) in Singapore, Nanyang

Technological University and City University of Hong Kong produced a material that not only repelled bacteria but also attracted healthy cells.

The base of the material was made from polyelectrolyte multilayers onto which a number of specific bonding

molecules, called ligands, were attached.

After testing various concentrations of different ligands, the researchers found that RGD peptide was particularly effective at inhibiting the attachment of bacterial cells and attracting healthy cells, compared with collagen, when attached

to dextran sulfate and chitosan multilayers. This combination was tested on cultures of healthy fibroblast cells and cultures of bacterial cells, in which two specific strains were used -- E. coli and S. aureus.

The lead author of the research, Professor Vincent Chan from Nanyang Technological University, said: "The method we developed helped the host cells win the so called 'race-for-surface' battle, forming a confluent layer on the implant

surface which protects it from possible bacterial adhesion and colonization.

"Medical implants currently have antibacterial silver coatings incorporated into them; however, the total amount of

silver used must be very carefully controlled because high concentrations could kill mammalian cells and become toxic to the human body.

"The bio-selective coatings we've created do not have this problem as the materials used are non-toxic and the

preparation process uses water as a solvent.

"At the moment this is just a 'proof-of-concept' study, so there is still a long way to go before the coating can be used on implants in clinical setting. In future studies we hope to firstly improve the long-term stability of the coating."

REFERENCE:

IOP Publishing. (2015, January 30). Biomaterial coating raises prospect of more successful medical

implants. ScienceDaily. Retrieved February 3, 2015 from


REFLECTION:

During TIP Foundation week, our class project on Biochemical Engineering under Engr. Jopeth Ramis mainly scopes biomedical engineering. So I got the idea that in processing such transplants or any organ

imitation, it should be a biomaterial. There are certain plastics and certain materials which are advised to be made or to be used regarding such transplants. So what are these Biomaterials? These are materials

which can be used to life. In laymans term, it is a material which can last long for years and can be used as your own organ, and imitate your affected organ as the same as the original. These also must not affect

the organs inside. It must not rust due to fluids inside the body. It must not be easily degraded and melt due to acidic intakes. It must not also deform due to certain pressures. There are many more studies to

alter such biomaterial.

11. Artificial blood vessels: Tri-layered artificial blood vessels for first time

Date: February 3, 2015 Source: American Institute of Physics (AIP) Summary: By combining micro-imprinting and electro-spinning techniques, researchers have developed a vascular graft composed of three layers for the first time. This tri-layered composite has allowed researchers to utilize separate materials that respectively possess mechanical strength and promote new cell growth - a significant problem for existing vascular grafts that have only consisted of a single or double layer.

By combining micro-imprinting and electro-spinning techniques, researchers at Shanghai University's Rapid

Manufacturing Engineering Center have developed a vascular graft composed of three layers for the first time. This tri-

layered composite has allowed researchers to utilize separate materials that respectively possess mechanical strength and

promote new cell growth -- a significant problem for existing vascular grafts that have only consisted of a single or double

layer.

Vascular grafts are surgically attached to an obstructed or otherwise unhealthy blood vessel to permanently redirect

blood flow, such as in coronary bypass surgery. Traditional grafts work by repurposing existing vessels from the patient's own body or from a suitable donor. However, these sources are often insufficient for a patient's needs because of the limited

supply in a patient's body, and may be afflicted by the same underlying conditions that necessitate the graft in the first place. Accordingly, there has been a great deal of research towards developing synthetic vessels that can mimic natural ones,

allowing new cells to grow around them and then degrade away, thereby creating new vessels.

"The composite vascular grafts could be better candidates for blood vessel repair," said Yuanyuan Liu, an associate professor at the Rapid Manufacturing Engineering Center. Liu's team had previously worked with bone scaffolds, which are

used to repair bone defects, before turning their attention to cardiovascular disease, and thus vascular grafts. They describe their current research in the journal AIP Advances,from AIP Publishing.

As a rule, surrogate scaffolds need to mimic the natural vasculature of their targeted tissue as much as possible.

For blood vessel surrogates, this structural mimicry can be fabricated by electrospinning, a process which uses an electrical charge to draw liquid inputs -- here a mixture of chitosan and polyvinyl alcohol -- into incredibly fine fibers. Electrospinning

also allows for a high surface-to-volume ratio of nanofibers, providing ample space for host cells to grow and connect. These components all naturally degrade within six months to a year, leaving behind a new, intact blood vessel.

The resulting structure, however, isn't very rigid -- the fly in the ointment for many previous models. To compensate

for this, the researchers designed a three-layer model, in which the mixture was electrospun onto both sides of a microimprinted middle layer of poly-p-dioxanone, a biodegradable polymer commonly used in biomedical applications. The

ends of this sheet were then folded and attached to make a tube-like vessel.

Liu and her team then seeded the scaffold with rat fibroblast cells, which are ideal candidates because of their ease of cultivation and quick growth rate, to test the scaffold's efficacy in promoting cellular expansion and integration. The

researchers found that the cells on these composite scaffolds proliferated quickly, likely due to the functional amino and hydroxyl groups introduced by the chitosan.

While a good deal of work remains before the prospect of human trials, Liu and her group are optimistic about the future of their research. Their next project is to test the implants in an animal model, to observe the structure's efficacy with live

vascular cells.

REFERENCES:

American Institute of Physics (AIP). (2015, February 3). Artificial blood vessels: Tri-layered artificial blood vessels for first time. ScienceDaily. Retrieved February 3, 2015 from


REFLECTION:

Mostly I observed news articles covers on biomedical engineering, which is a great invention.

People research more on this due to many changes happened to peoples body and many new diseases comes up due to certain viruses and due to weak immune system that attacks our red blood cells and

increases the count of our white blood cell which made us prone to more sickness. In here, it says that there is a tri-layered artificial blood vessels. It was such an amazing study, but then I am little confused if it

however succeed, how can be implanted on people. Since our arteries are connected to our heart. But then it will take years to agree on this since for some countries this kind of act is unethical due to some moral

issues. God told us to take care of our body, but we people are the ones who destroy it, but there is science who always support these problems yet opposed by the church. But we got nothing to do but study it, avail

it for it is also for the best of us.

12. New mechanism unlocked for evolution of green fluorescent protein

Date: January 27, 2015

Source: Arizona State University Summary: A primary challenge in the biosciences is to understand the way major evolutionary changes in nature are

accomplished. Sometimes the route turns out to be very simple. An example of such simplicity is provided in a new publication that shows, for the first time, that a hinge migration mechanism, driven solely by long-range dynamic motions,

can be the key for evolution of a green-to-red photoconvertible phenotype in a green fluorescent protein.

Primary challenge in the biosciences is to understand the way major evolutionary changes in nature are

accomplished. Sometimes the route turns out to be very simple. An example of such simplicity is provided in a new

publication by a group of ASU scientists.

They show, for the first time, that a hinge migration mechanism, driven solely by long-range dynamic motions, can be the key for evolution of a green-to-red photoconvertible phenotype in a green fluorescent protein (GFP).

Rebekka Wachter, a professor in ASU's Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, is an expert in the field of structural characterization of GFP-like proteins. The present study is the culmination

of eight years of intense effort in her laboratory.

The work, just published in the high impact journalStructure, involves collaborations with S. Banu Ozkan, from the

Center for Biological Physics in the Department of Physics at ASU, and evolutionary biologist Mikhail Matz of the University

of Texas.

Green fluorescent protein was first isolated from the jellyfish Aequorea victoria, which drifts with the currents off the west coast of North America. It was discovered that this protein glowed bright green under ultraviolet light. This phenomenon

has found many creative applications in the biosciences.

The protein has been utilized as an extremely valuable luminous genetic tag for various biological phenomena. Using green fluorescent protein one can observe when proteins are made and where they go. This is done by joining the

GFP gene to the gene of the protein of interest so that when the protein is made it will have GFP hanging off it. Since GFP fluoresces, one can shine light at the cell and wait for the distinctive green fluorescence associated with GFP to appear.

The ability of some GFPs to turn red upon prolonged illumination makes them invaluable probes in super resolution fluorescence microscopy applications. This is where the current study is of most value.

To fluoresce, GFP-like proteins must adopt a compact barrel-like shape. The light-triggered red phenotype may

have arisen from a common green ancestor by a reversal of firm and soft regions located in opposite corners of the beta-barrel fold.

Although six crystal structures of reconstructed ancestral Kaede-type proteins indicate that the structure is highly

conserved, analysis of chain flexibility by Molecular Dynamics and perturbation response scanning, performed in the group of S. Banu Ozkan has shown that the individual flexibility of each position (i.e. structural dynamics) alters throughout the

evolution of green-to-red photo conversion. Thus this study suggests that green-to-red photoconversion may have arisen from a common green ancestor by the shift of the rigid corner near the chromophore to the opposite corner of beta-barrel.

"For the first time, this work establishes a direct experimental link between protein phenotypic change and collective

dynamics without any external trigger, such as substrate, product or effector binding," explains Wachter. "Based on structural, computational and kinetic data, we propose a novel photoconversion mechanism that provides a plausible path

for the irreversible acquisition of red fluorescence."

In spite of intense efforts in a number of laboratories worldwide, the mechanism of photoconversion of Kaede-type proteins has remained largely enigmatic. The present work sheds light on structural, dynamic and mechanistic features that

must be considered when engineering improved fluorescent probes for super-resolution microscopy applications.

REFERENCE:

Arizona State University. (2015, January 27). New mechanism unlocked for evolution of green fluorescent protein. ScienceDaily. Retrieved February 3, 2015 from


REFLECTION:

It is an amazing study which objective is to convert a certain green fluorescent protein to a red on

phenotype. I think it Is a little risky and a little delicate cause what we are handling are proteins. As we all know, just a segregation of proteins are hard to do but yet there are just machines now who do it, which we

all know as, protein sequencing or chromatography. This invention says that there is conversion of color. And for all we know it only happens in the effect of light or photoconversion. This so called illumination is

said to change the molecular and crystal structures of the protein which then changes its color. IT a nice topic for a research study but I dont know if it has a lot of uses.

13. Researchers produce two bio-fuels from a single algae

Date: January 28, 2015 Source: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Summary: A common algae commercially grown to make fish food holds promise as a source for both biodiesel and jet fuel, according to a new study.

A common algae commercially grown to make fish food holds promise as a source for both biodiesel and jet fuel,

according to a new study published in the journal Energy & Fuels.

The researchers, led by Greg O'Neil of Western Washington University and Chris Reddy of Woods Hole

Oceanographic Institution, exploited an unusual and untapped class of chemical compounds in the algae to synthesize two different fuel products, in parallel, a from a single algae.

"It's novel," says O'Neil, the study's lead author. "It's far from a cost-competitive product at this stage, but it's an interesting new strategy for making renewable fuel from algae."

Algae contain fatty acids that can be converted into fatty acid methyl esters, or FAMEs, the molecules in biodiesel.

For their study, O'Neil, Reddy, and colleagues targeted a specific algal species called Isochrysis for two reasons: First,

because growers have already demonstrated they can produce it in large batches to make fish food. Second, because it is

among only a handful of algal species around the globe that produce fats called alkenones. These compounds are composed of long chains with 37 to 39 carbon atoms, which the researchers believed held potential as a fuel source.

Biofuel prospectors may have dismissed Isochrysis because its oil is a dark, sludgy solid at room temperature,

rather than a clear liquid that looks like cooking oil. The sludge is a result of the alkenones in Isochrysis -- precisely what

makes it a unique source of two distinct fuels.

Alkenones are well known to oceanographers because they have a unique ability to change their structure in

response to water temperature, providing oceanographers with a biomarker to extrapolate past sea surface temperatures. But biofuel prospectors were largely unaware of alkenones. "They didn't know that Isochrysismakes these unusual

compounds because they're not oceanographers," says Reddy, a marine chemist at WHOI. Reddy and O'Neil began their collaboration first by making biodiesel from the FAMEs in Isochrysis. Then they had

to devise a method to separate the FAMEs and alkenones in order to achieve a free-flowing fuel.The method added steps to the overall biodiesel process, but it supplied a superior quality biodiesel, as well as "an alkenone-rich . . . fraction as a

potential secondary product stream," the authors write.

"The alkenones themselves, with long chains of 37 to 39 carbons, are much too big to be used for jet fuel," says O'Neil. But the researchers used a chemical reaction called olefin metathesis (which earned its developers the Nobel Prize

in 2005). The process cleaved carbon-carbon double bonds in the alkenones, breaking the long chains into pieces with only 8 to 13 carbons. "Those are small enough to use for jet fuel," O'Neil says.

The scientists believe that by producing two fuels--biodiesel and jet fuel--from a single algae, their findings hold

some promise for future commercialization. They stress that this is a first step with many steps to come, but they are encouraged by the initial result.

"It's scientifically fascinating and really cool," Reddy says. "This algae has got much greater potential, but we are in

the nascent stages."

Among their next steps is to try to produce larger quantities of the fuels fromIsochrysis, but they are also exploring

additional co-products from the algae. The team believes there are a lot of other potential products that could be made from

alkenones.

"Petroleum products are everywhere--we need a lot of different raw materials if we hope to replace them," says O'Neil. "Alkenones have a lot of potential for different purposes, so it's exciting."

REFERENCE:

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. (2015, January 28). Researchers produce two bio-fuels from a single algae. ScienceDaily. Retrieved February 3, 2015 from


REFLECTION:

Ever since, algae has been widely known for its wide uses. Even on Food Industry, Water Industry, Gas and Oil and energy industry, even on Wastewater technology. But here, its a great advantage that

thru the use of a single algae with a certain amount can produce two type of fuel. Now, we got no problems

on our fuel for it is sustainable at the end of the 21st century. The problem we will face only is the pollution.

I hope so that algae has a certain property to clean up effluents and fumes in the air as it ca clear the

liquids, especially the water. I hope that algae can filter the air we breathe for a real greener environment.

14. Researchers identify materials to improve biofuel, petroleum processing

Date: January 26, 2015 Source: University of Minnesota Summary: Using one of the largest supercomputers in the world, a team of researchers has identified potential materials that could improve the production of ethanol and petroleum products. The discovery could lead to major efficiencies and cost savings in these industries

The University of Minnesota has two patents pending on the research and hopes to license these technologies. The study was published in the research journal Nature Communications.

Petrochemical and biofuel refineries use materials called zeolites that act as molecular sieves to sort, filter, and trap

chemical compounds, as well as catalyze chemical reactions necessary to produce and upgrade fuel and chemical feedstock from petroleum-based and renewable resources. There are more than 200 known zeolites and hundreds of

thousands predicted zeolite variations. The key to improving biofuel and petrochemical processes is to find which zeolites work best.

Unfortunately, synthesizing novel zeolites in the lab is a long, complicated process that can take many months

each. To analyze all the known and predicted structures would take decades. Instead, researchers from the University of Minnesota and Rice University developed a complex computational screening process that can look at thousands of zeolites

in the virtual world and identify their performance for specific applications. This reduces the need for trial and error experimentation in the lab.

"Using a supercomputer at Argonne National Laboratory, we are able to use our computer simulations to compress

decades of research in the lab into a total of about a day's worth of computing," said lead researcher Ilja Siepmann, a University of Minnesota chemistry professor and director of the U.S. Department of Energy-funded Nanoporous Materials

Genome Center based in Minnesota.

Predicting the zeolites' performance required serious computing power, efficient computer algorithms, and accurate descriptions of the molecular interactions. The team's software can utilize Mira, a supercomputer with nearly 800,000

processors, to run in a day the equivalent computations requiring about 10 million hours on a single-processor computer. The computations identified zeolites to attack two complex problems.

The first problem researchers tackled is the current multi-step ethanol purification process encountered in biofuel

production. One of the last steps involves the separation of ethanol from water. Researchers found a few all-silica zeolites with superior performance that contain pores and channels with the ability to accommodate ethanol molecules but to shun

hydrogen bonding with water molecules. One of these zeolites, which was synthesized and tested in University of Minnesota chemical engineering and materials science professor Michael Tsapatsis' lab, was found to be so effective that it could

change the ethanol/water separation process from a multi-step distillation process to a single-step adsorptive process. Similar zeolitic materials could also have possible applications for separations in the biofuels and petrochemical industry.

The second problem researchers examined targets the upgrading of petroleum compounds into higher-value

lubricant and diesel products. They identified zeolite frameworks that could improve the dewaxing process of transforming

linear long-chain into slightly branched hydrocarbon molecules, called alkanes, which affect the pour point and viscosity of lubricants and other petroleum products. Researchers say, defining appropriate sorbents and catalysts for all of the complex

mixtures involved in creating these products is of "paramount importance," but has been one of the most difficult problems to overcome.

"We're looking for materials that have interesting properties and that's what we've achieved here," said paper co-

author Michael Deem, chair of Rice University's Department of Bioengineering and a professor of physics and astronomy.

REFERENCE:

University of Minnesota. (2015, January 26). Researchers identify materials to improve biofuel, petroleum processing. Science Daily. Retrieved February 3, 2015 from


REFLECTION:

I am not fond of certain raw materials to produces fuels, but then, it is the most need of our world as transportation lags and people multiplies so fast. But improving biofuel is a good news aside from

producing it from a new way or new method. They found out that zeolites help improve the quality and efficiency of the certain fuel. We all know that zeolites are known to help a certain product to dry fast. It acts

as an absorbent. But it is on moisture. Maybe on fuels, it will further remove the unwanted moist which produced from final thermal cracking.

15. 15-million-year-old mollusk protein found


Source: Carnegie Institution

Summary: Scientists have found 'beautifully preserved' 15-million-year-old thin protein sheets in fossil shells from

southern Maryland. The team collected samples from Calvert Cliffs, along the shoreline of the Chesapeake Bay, a popular fossil collecting area. They found fossilized shells of a snail-like mollusk called Ecphora that lived in the mid-Miocene era.

A Team of Carnegie scientists have found "beautifully preserved" 15 million-year-old thin protein sheets in fossil

shells from southern Maryland. Their findings are published in the inaugural issue of Geochemical Perspectives Letters.

The team--John Nance, John Armstrong, George Cody, Marilyn Fogel, and Robert Hazen--collected samples from Calvert Cliffs, along the shoreline of the Chesapeake Bay, a popular fossil collecting area. They found fossilized

shells of a snail-like mollusk called Ecphora that lived in the mid-Miocene era--between 8 and 18 million years ago.

Ecphora is known for an unusual reddish-brown shell color, making it one of the most distinctive North American mollusks of its era. This coloration is preserved in fossilized remains, unlike the fossilized shells of many other fossilized

mollusks from the Calvert Cliffs region, which have turned chalky white over the millions of years since they housed living creatures.

Shells are made from crystalline compounds of calcium carbonate interleaved with an organic matrix of proteins

and sugars proteins and sugars. These proteins are called shell-binding proteins by scientists, because they help hold the components of the shell together.They also contain pigments, such as those responsible for the reddish-brown

appearance of the Ecphora shell. These pigments can bind to proteins to form a pigment-protein complex.

The fact that the coloration of fossilized Ecphora shells is so well preserved suggested to the research team that shell proteins bound to these pigments in a complex might also be preserved. They were amazed to find that the shells,

once dissolved in dilute acid, released intact thin sheets of shell proteins more than a centimeter across. Chemical analysis including spectroscopy and electron microscopy of these sheets revealed that they are indeed shell proteins that

were preserved for up to 15 million years.

"These are some of the oldest and best-preserved examples of a protein ever observed in a fossil shell," Hazen said.

Remarkably, the proteins share characteristics with modern mollusk shell proteins. They both produce thin,

flexible sheets of residue that's the same color as the original shell after being dissolved in acid. Of the 11 amino acids found in the resulting residue, aspartate and glutamate are prominent, which is typical of modern shell proteins. Further

study of these proteins could be used for genetic analysis to trace the evolution of mollusks through the ages, as well as potentially to learn about the ecology of the Chesapeake Bay during the era in which Ecphora thrived.

REFERENCE:

Carnegie Institution. (2015, February 5). 15-million-year-old mollusk protein found.ScienceDaily. Retrieved

February 5, 2015 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/02/150205083702.htm

REFLECTION:

Aside from researches there are also searches for certain biological organisms which are found at the surface or

even at the bottom of the earth. This historical organism is said to be found 15 million years ago, which means that

it existed before anyone else. Some of the proteins found in this mollusk were studied to be preserved. And some

were for further studies. IF there is a mollusk found, for sure there are many of it which werent discovered yet.

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