Environment

Recent news:

photo of cloth being dyed

Huue Closes a $14.6 Million Series A to Disrupt Denim Dyeing

August 2, 2022

Synthetic biology startup Huue, founded by BioE PhD alumni Tammy Hsu, has raised $14.6 million in a Series A funding round for what it says is the world’s first clean and scalable indigo dye for denim.

photo of Keasling in lab

Bacteria for Blastoff: Using Microbes to Make Supercharged New Rocket Fuel

June 30, 2022

New research led by Professor Jay Keasling took inspiration from an extraordinary antifungal molecule made by Streptomyces bacteria to develop a totally new type of fuel that has projected energy density greater than the most advanced heavy-duty fuels used today, including the rocket fuels used by NASA.

artists impression of nuclear power on Mars

Solar beats nuclear at many potential settlement sites on Mars

April 27, 2022

Research by BioE PhD student Aaron Berliner and Prof Adam Arkin shows that photovoltaics could provide all the power needed for an extended mission to Mars, or even a permanent settlement there. The authors are members of the Center for the Utilization of Biological Engineering in Space (CUBES), led by Adam Arkin.

photo of cloth being dyed

Best Inventions of 2021: Huue

November 15, 2021

Congratulations BioE startup Huue and founder PhD alumna Tammy Hsu! Huue’s process for creating environmentally friendly indigo dye through synthetic biology has been named one of Time Magazine’s Best Inventions of 2021.

Belli Meats logo

Undergrad Bryan Wong takes third in Berkeley Ventures, Berkeley Values Pitch Competition,

July 9, 2021

Bioengineering undergraduate Bryan Wong and his team took third place in the “Berkeley Ventures, Berkeley Values” pitch competition, a recent contest by the Berkeley Startup Cluster focused on ideas to support diversity, equity, and inclusion. Wong pitched Belli Meats, aiming to boost the popularity of faux meats in other cultures with their plant-based pork belly, a product that mimics the real thing with defined layers and distinct meat and fat sections.

photo of Hsu

Alumna Tammy Hsu named to Tech Review 35

July 6, 2021

Tammy Hsu, founder of synthetic biology startup Huue, has been named to the MIT Technology Review 35 Under 35 list for 2021 for developing an environmentally friendly process to create indigo dye using microbes. Tammy is a 2019 PhD graduate from Professor John Dueber’s lab.

The Future Looks Bright for Infinitely Recyclable Plastic

April 23, 2021

The scientists at Berkeley Lab who have pioneered the infinitely-recyclable plastic, PDK, are collaborating with Professor Jay Keasling to design a process for producing PDK polymers using precursor ingredients made through synthetic biology instead of industrial chemicals, for an eco-friendly full lifecycle product.

mylo unleather

Bolt Threads: one of the 10 most innovative fashion and style companies of 2021

March 23, 2021

Bolt Threads, founded by PhD alumnus David Breslauer to produce textiles through synthetic biology, has been named one of the 10 most innovative fashion and style companies of 2021 by Fast Company. They are recognized for their new Mylo product, a leather substitute made from fungal mycelium.

Lygos working to replace polyacrylic acid with biodegradable, synthetic polymers

February 22, 2021

Non-biodegradeable, petroleum-derived, polyacrylic acid is used in everything from detergents to industrial fluids. Lygos, an alumni spinoff company that creates environmentally friendly chemicals through synthetic biology, has formed a partnership with NanoChem Solutions to produce an alternative: polyaspartate polymers. Together they will develop a process to make aspartic acid, the raw material for the polymers, from sugar via fermentation.