News tagged with plant enzymes

Group finds circadian clock common to almost all life forms

(Phys.org) -- A group of biology researchers, led by Akhilesh Reddy from Cambridge University have found an enzyme that they believe serves as a circadian clock that operates in virtually all forms of life. ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created May 17, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (7) | comments 8 | with audio podcast report

Plant enzyme's origins traced to non-enzyme ancestors

(Phys.org) -- As plants began to transition from aquatic habitats to dry land some 500 million years ago, their needs changed. Those primitive ancestors of modern plants were ill-equipped to survive in a dry, sunlight-blasted ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created May 13, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Researchers advance next generation biofuels by turning up the heat on biomass pretreatment processes

The nation's Renewable Fuels Standard calls for annual production of 36 billion gallons of biofuel by 2022. One of the biggest hurdles to achieving this goal lies in optimizing the multistep process involved ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Oct 02, 2011 | popularity 4 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Cows may hold the key to greener fuels

Scientists in Scotland are turning to cows and the tiny organisms and enzymes found in their stomachs for a potential way to create industrial products such as biofuels from plant waste and plan to unveil their ideas at a ...

Technology / Energy & Green Tech

created Jul 29, 2011 | popularity 3.2 / 5 (5) | comments 1 | with audio podcast weblog

How now, inside the cow: Nearly 30,000 novel enzymes for biofuel production improvements

Cows eat grass -- this has been observed for eons. From this fibrous diet consisting mainly of the tough to degrade plant cell wall materials cellulose and hemicellulose, substances of no nutritional value ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Jan 27, 2011 | popularity 3.7 / 5 (3) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Resident bats use pitcher plant as toilet

(PhysOrg.com) -- The pitcher plants are carnivorous species that usually feed on insects and small vertebrates, but one species has been found that prefers to dine on the feces of bats.

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Jan 27, 2011 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (14) | comments 1 | with audio podcast report

Scientists create new enzymes for biofuel production

Researchers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and world-leading gene-synthesis company DNA2.0 have taken an important step toward the development of a cost-efficient process to extract sugars ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Mar 23, 2009 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (9) | comments 3

New CO2-removing catalyst can take the heat

(Phys.org) -- The current method of removing the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) from the flues of coal-fired power plants uses so much energy that no one bothers to use it. So says Roger Aines, principal ...

Chemistry / Materials Science

created May 24, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (9) | comments 19 | with audio podcast

Biologists offer clearer picture of how protein machine systems tweak gene expression

Indiana University biologists have found that specific types of RNA polymerase enzymes, the molecular machines that convert DNA into RNA, can differ in function based on variation in the parts -- in this case ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Mar 01, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Genes may travel from plant to plant to fuel evolution: study

The evolution of plants and animals generally has been thought to occur through the passing of genes from parent to offspring and genetic modifications that happen along the way. But evolutionary biologists ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Feb 16, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 4 | with audio podcast

Making nature's best better to produce biofuels

If a tree falls in the forest and there are no enzymes to digest it, does it break down?

Biology / Biotechnology

created Feb 01, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Moonlighting enzyme works double shift 24/7

A team of researchers led by Michigan State University has discovered an overachieving plant enzyme that works both the day and night shifts.

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Jan 31, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Dividing corn stover makes ethanol conversion more efficient

(PhysOrg.com) -- Not all parts of a corn stalk are equal, and they shouldn't be treated that way when creating cellulosic ethanol, say Purdue University researchers.

Biology / Biotechnology

created Oct 25, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Pretreatment, proper harvest time boost ethanol from switchgrass

Adding a pretreatment step would allow producers to get more ethanol from switchgrass harvested in the fall, according to a Purdue University study.

Biology / Biotechnology

created Aug 31, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Team shows how the honey bee tolerates some synthetic pesticides

A new study reveals how enzymes in the honey bee gut detoxify pesticides commonly used to kill mites in the honey bee hive. This is the first study to tease out the precise molecular mechanisms that allow ...

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Jul 20, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast