BIOtechNow

The next round of discussion on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) began yesterday in nearby Leesburg, VA.  The TPP currently includes eleven countries (Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, U.S. and Vietnam) and other countries in the region, such as Japan and Korea, may join in the future. The TPP will set an important precedent for global trade rules.  It is described by the U.S. Trade Representative as “an ambitious, 21st-century … Read More 

Wednesday at the National Press Club, several advanced biofuels companies joined BIO to showcase the progress the industry has made in recent years. U.S. companies have worked to rapidly scale up advanced biofuel technology – through pilot and demonstration projects – and a number are now constructing and commissioning commercial-scale biorefineries. The Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) has been the industry’s bedrock policy behind this innovation. It provides the fundamental foundation driving private investment in America’s Read More 

Earlier this month eight biofuel industry organizations formed the Biofuels Producers Coordinating Council to advocate for national policy advancing biofuel technology. Brent Erickson, executive vice president of BIO’s Industrial and Environmental Section is a member along with Michael McAdams, Advanced Biofuels Association; Brooke Coleman, Advanced Ethanol Council; Mary Rosenthal, Algal Biomass Organization; Brian Jennings, American Coalition for Ethanol; Tom Buis, Growth Energy; Anne Steckel, National Biodiesel Board; and Bob Dinneen, Renewable Fuels Association. The group Read More 

For months, the defense industry has taken the Hill and media outlets by storm detailing the potentially catastrophic impact “sequestration” will have on national security, defense jobs, and our economy. The “S” word stands for automatic spending cuts that will take into effect if Congress does not reach a budget agreement to reduce the deficit by the end of the year. Members of Congress have expressed concern over the potential cuts to defense programs, and even Read More 

BIO released the following statement on the Federal Circuit’s decision in the AMP v. Myriad case on remand from the Supreme Court to reconsider in light of Mayo v. Prometheus. “Today’s decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit confirms long-standing law under which valuable DNA preparations, bacterial enzymes, plant-derived antibiotics and other industrially and medically useful substances can be considered for patenting. Such patents have long provided critical incentives for expensive Read More 

Terry Wanzek, ND State Senator and Jamestown farmer authored an editorial on the need for drought resistant crops for Truth About Trade & Technology: More than half of the United States is now suffering through drought conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. Only the droughts of 1934, 1939, and 1954 spread across larger areas. Every plant requires water to grow, but some plants survive with less. The cactus flourishes in hot and dry climates Read More 

IPWatchdog published an article by former Senator Birch Bayh highlighting a BIO commissioned study showing the economic impact of technology transfer on the U.S. economy.  “A new study shows that this spinning of straw into gold is precisely what our academic research organizations have been quietly doing year after year.  The just released report “The Economic Contribution of University/Nonprofit Inventions in the United States: 1996-2010” provides a much needed dose of good economic news when Read More 

The Brazilian government has set an aggressive goal: To train 101,000 Brazilian students and researchers in top universities worldwide in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields by 2014. Launched in 2011, the Science without Borders program is a Brazilian scholarship program, primarily funded by the government of Brazil, that seeks to strengthen and expand science and technology initiatives, innovation and competitiveness through international mobility of undergraduate and graduate students and researchers. Brazilian students and Read More