Bioedge: Crippling spinal cord injury has been one of the most powerful arguments for the pursuit of human embryo research. The late quadriplegic Christopher Reeve argued passionately that it would eventually lead to spectacular cures. That hope has faded. Geron, a biotech specialising in human embryonic stem cells, dropped its research into a spinal cure recently. Now Swiss scientists believe that a combination of electrical impulses and drugs could help some spinal trauma victims walk again. In a study published this week in Science, a research team led by Grégoire Courtine of the Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne cut all direct nerve connections to the hind legs of ten rats without completely severing the spinal cord. After a combination of vigorous exercise, electrical stimulation in the motor area of the brain and in the spinal cord below the injury, and growth-inducing drugs, the rats recovered much of their ability to walk. “The way I think about it is that there is this little island of spare tissue in the injured area, and the neurons in that island begin to act as a relay center, bypassing the injury,” Dr. Courtine told the New York Times. He is looking forward to conducting human trials. The therapy will not help all victims of spinal cord injury. The rates had sustained a disabling injury, but their spinal cords were not completely severed. But this is the case for up to a third of all people with spinal cord trauma. Source: Bioedge, Image
Crippled rats walk again with help of electrical stimulation therapy
Bioedge: Crippling spinal cord injury has been one of the most powerful arguments for the pursuit of human embryo research. The late quadriplegic Christopher Reeve argued passionately that it would eventually lead to spectacular cures. That hope has faded. Geron, a biotech specialising in human embryonic stem cells, dropped its research into a spinal cure recently. Now Swiss scientists believe that a combination of electrical impulses and drugs could help some spinal trauma victims walk again. In a study published this week in Science, a research team led by Grégoire Courtine of the Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne cut all direct nerve connections to the hind legs of ten rats without completely severing the spinal cord. After a combination of vigorous exercise, electrical stimulation in the motor area of the brain and in the spinal cord below the injury, and growth-inducing drugs, the rats recovered much of their ability to walk. “The way I think about it is that there is this little island of spare tissue in the injured area, and the neurons in that island begin to act as a relay center, bypassing the injury,” Dr. Courtine told the New York Times. He is looking forward to conducting human trials. The therapy will not help all victims of spinal cord injury. The rates had sustained a disabling injury, but their spinal cords were not completely severed. But this is the case for up to a third of all people with spinal cord trauma. Source: Bioedge, Image
From pine forests to blue skies, new jet biofuel passes rigorous testing
Renewable Energy Magazine: Virent and Virdia, formerly HCL CleanTech, have announced the successful conversion of cellulosic pine tree sugars to drop-in hydrocarbon fuels within the BIRD Energy project, a joint program funded by the US Department of Energy, the Israeli Ministry of National Infrastructure and the BIRD Foundation.The project, which commenced in January 2011, successfully demonstrated that Virdia’s deconstruction process generated high-quality sugars from cellulosic biomass, which were converted to fuel via Virent’s BioForming process.Virent used Virdia’s biomass-derived sugars to produce gasoline and jet fuel, the latter being sent to the US Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) for analysis where it passed rigorous testing. Tim Edwards of the Fuels Branch of the AFRL said, “This fuel passed the most stringent specification tests we could throw at it (such as thermal stability) under some conditions where conventional jet fuels would fail. This fuel is definitely worth further evaluation.” “While Virent’s BioForming process has previously generated fuels and chemicals from sugars in cellulosic biomass,” said Virent Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer Dr. Randy Cortright, “The high-quality sugars generated from pine trees using Virdia’s process leveraged Virent’s conversion process, establishing a viable route to drop-in hydrocarbons from biomass.” “Passing the AFRL’s arduous test requirements for jet fuel further substantiates the superior value proposition of the advanced carbohydrates that Virdia is introducing,” said Philippe Lavielle, Virdia CEO. “As demonstrated by the BIRD Energy project results, Virdia’s CASE™ (Cold Acid Solvent Extraction) process can deliver the high-purity, cost-effective cellulosic sugars needed as the primary raw material for jet fuels and other applications. We are pleased to work with Virent to prove that the value of cellulosic biomass can be unlocked.” Virdia’s CASE process encompasses a sequence of proprietary extraction and separation operations. Originally developed around the Bergius process (concentrated hydrochloric acid hydrolysis of biomass), the CASE process achieves the highest yields in the industry, and produces high purity fractions of sugars and lignin. Its low temperature, low pressure hydrolysis coupled with its closed loops of acid recovery and solvent extraction establish it as one of the most economical and environmentally sustainable processes. Virent’s BioForming platform utilizes a novel combination of catalytic processes to convert water-soluble oxygenated hydrocarbons derived from biomass to non-oxygenated hydrocarbons that can be used as drop-in compounds in gasoline, jet fuel and diesel fuel. Virent’s BioForming platform catalysts and reactor systems are similar to those found in today’s petroleum oil refineries and petrochemical complexes. The development of Virent’s BioForming technology platform is supported through strategic partners including Cargill, Coca-Cola, Honda and Shell. Source: Renewable Energy Magazine
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