Nominate Experts for New Study

A research strategy for ocean carbon dioxide removal and sequestration

This summer, you may find yourself on the shore’s edge admiring the vastness and beauty of the ocean. There’s a lot going on in there! According to The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, the ocean covers about 70% of the Earth’s surface and buffers a large fraction of anthropogenic CO2 emissions—removing roughly 55% of emitted CO2 naturally. BUT, it may be possible to enhance both the uptake and longer-term sequestration potential of these processes. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine is looking to do just that and are currently soliciting nominations for individuals to serve on the Committee on A Research Strategy for Ocean Carbon Dioxide Removal and Sequestration. (more…)

A team lead by Bradley Bundy, chemical engineering associate professor, is paving the way for new life-saving vaccine technology.Image: Mark A. Philbrick

A team lead by Brad Bundy, chemical engineering associate professor, is paving the way for new life-saving vaccine technology.
Image: Mark A. Philbrick

When viruses emerge—spreading in a rapid and extensive way—researchers must scramble to create life-saving vaccines. At Brigham Young University, researchers are working to speed up that process.

A team of chemical engineers has devised a way to create machinery for vaccine production en masse, freeze drying the produced vaccines and stockpiling them for future use. This development could aid in relief efforts when new viruses hit populations, allowing researchers to rapidly produce vaccines.

“You could just pull it off the shelf and make it,” says Brad Bundy, senior author of the study. “We could make the vaccine and be ready for distribution in a day.”

This from Brigham Young University:

Bundy’s idea is a new angle on the emerging method of ‘cell-free protein synthesis,’ a process that combines DNA to make proteins needed for drugs (instead of growing protein in a cell). His lab is creating a system where the majority of the work is done beforehand so vaccine kits can be ready to go and be activated at the drop of a dime.

(more…)