Blatant Reality

Recently, researchers have discovered that algae can grow much needed proteins used for health treatments better than traditional bacteria methods. Take a look:

The scientists reported in their paper that all of the algal-produced proteins in their study showed biological activity comparable to the same proteins produced by traditional commercial techniques. And because algae cells can be grown cheaply and quickly, doubling in number every 12 hours, they noted that algae could be superior to current biological systems for the production of many human therapeutic proteins.

“Currently, human therapeutic proteins are primarily produced from either bacteria or mammalian cell culture,” they said. “Complex mammalian proteins and monoclonal antibodies are primarily produced by the culture of transgeneic mammalian cells, while simpler proteins are generally produced by E. coli.”

“Due to high capital and media costs, and the inherent complexity of mammalian cell culture, proteins produced by mammalian cell culture are very expensive,” they added. “Bacterial production is generally more economical in terms of media components, but bacteria are often inefficient at producing properly folded complex proteins, requiring a denaturation and renaturation step that adds significant costs to bacterial protein production.”

The scientists said the percentage of human proteins produced in their algal cultures that were properly folded in three dimensions was comparable to the fraction produced by mammalian cell cultures and much better than that produced by bacterial systems. And because algae generate their energy from sunlight and have relatively simple nutrient needs, they said the costs for using them at large scale to commercially produce human proteins should be much lower than for mammalian cell culture, which require expensive fermentation facilities.

Ultimately, if this is found to be feasible, it could be another co-product for algae biofuel, thus helping cut down the cost for growth as well as providing another reason to continue research and funding into this field.

The Department of Energy just announced that it will be investing in
developing the next generation of Nuclear Plants. This announcement
comes after the actions of the Obama Administration to halt the
development of the Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Repository without any
alternatives being offered.

Here is the press release:

Department of Energy Announces $40 Million to Develop
the Next Generation Nuclear Plant

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu today announced
selections for the award of approximately $40 million in total to two
teams led by Pittsburgh-based Westinghouse Electric Co. and San
Diego-based General Atomics for conceptual design and planning work
for the Next Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP). The results of this
work will help the Administration determine whether to proceed with
detailed efforts toward construction and demonstration of the NGNP.
If successful, the NGNP Demonstration Project will demonstrate
high-temperature gas-cooled reactor technology that will be capable of
producing electricity as well as process heat for industrial
applications and will be configured for low technical and safety risk
with highly reliable operations. Final cost-shared awards are subject
to the negotiation of acceptable terms and conditions.

About 16 percent of the Nation’s greenhouse gas emissions come from
industrial process heat applications. The process heat or steam
generated by the high-temperature nuclear reactors could be used for
highly-efficient electricity co-generation, which has the potential to
help energy-intensive industries, such as petrochemical producers,
reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

“This investment reflects President Obama’s commitment to building the
next generation of nuclear reactors that will create thousands of jobs
and supply the clean energy to power our economy,” said Secretary Chu.
“It’s time for America to recapture the lead in the nuclear energy
industry and lay the foundation for a stronger, cleaner, and more
competitive economic future.”

The NGNP project is being conducted in two phases. Phase 1 comprises
research and development, conceptual design and development of
licensing requirements. The selections announced today will support
the development of conceptual designs, cost and schedule estimates for
demonstration project completion and a business plan for integrating
Phase 2 activities. The Department of Energy will use information from
its independent Federal advisory committee, the Nuclear Energy
Advisory Committee, information and data gathered in Phase 1, and
other factors in determining whether the project should continue to
Phase 2.

Phase 2 would entail detailed design, license review and construction
of a demonstration plant.

The Department will now negotiate the final terms and conditions for
the awards with the intention of completing conceptual designs by
August 31, 2010.

Aurora Biofuels was able to produce 1,000 gallons of algae based biofuel in a 1/8 acre open pond over the course of 18 months. The fuel was ATSM quality which means that it can be used in current engines. Aurora believes that they will be able produce 6,000 gallons per acre a year in full production mode.
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Click Here for the Article

OriginOil CEO Riggs Eckelberry proposed that algae biofuel corporations should take a more collaborative outlook in order to quickly implement algae as a leading fuel source worldwide.
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Click here for more of this story

Many catfish farmers in Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Alabama are thinking about converting to algae production. If they do this and sell the alge to PetroSun, the profits could be quite lucrative. Farmers could make about $1,000/acre per year.
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Click here for more

Algae is once againg makings its way into the headlines with a Japanese airline looking to be the fourth airline to use biofuels in a test flight tomorrow. However, the most interesting tidbit in this article is the claim that an algae farm the size of Belgium would produce enough fuel to power all commercial airlines worldwide.
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P.S. For those of you who aren’t near a map, Belgium is quite a small country.
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Click here for story

Why does this not even surprise me? I mean, when you want to increase the government’s control of our energy use, which will in turn affect every other aspect of our country, you can’t help but have socialist tendencies.
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We really are in for a tough four years.
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Click to read the whole Canada Free Press article

I hope everyone had a great and safe New Year’s Eve last night and I wish my readers a very successful New Year!

Finallly, someone recognizes what global warming alarmism is about: increasing governmental power.

Its extent and scale may still be an issue among scientists, but politicians have latched on to this crusade fervently. The reason is simple. It increases the power of government

It has taken some time but now people are beginning to see that all the proposed government regulations are unnecessary and only lead to bigger government.
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Read more here

Merry Christms Everyone! Hope you have a blessed day with your families and be sure to remember to take some time and remember why we celebrate.