Source: Clean Tech Rises Again, Retooling Nature for Industrial Use – The New York Times BERKELEY, Calif. — A decade ago, a group of biologists, venture capitalists and computer whizzes gathered under the name “clean tech.” They hoped to overturn polluting industries with microorganisms cheerily excreting industrial chemicals through the miracle of reprogramming nature’s genetic […]
Archives for 2016
Fish Oil Global Commodity Chain
Fish oil is a unique commodity that is known for its high concentration of Omega-3 fatty acids. This health content gives oil use predominantly for use in aquaculture and health supplements. Fish oil is also unique in that it is not produced in isolation. By necessity, fishmeal, or the byproduct fish with the oil taken […]
The Human Body in Relation to Human and Nonhuman Worlds
The relationship between the human and nonhuman worlds plays an important role in defining the development of civilizations. Specific relationships are formed through specific geography and milestones such as the creation of fire, agriculture, and domestication of animals. These factors create unique perspectives and ideas on how the human and nonhuman worlds should interact. However, […]
Neptune Outdoor Gear
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Assessing Agricultural Applications of Synthetic Biology
Background Synthetic Biology is a new field of research that applies engineering principals to biological constructs (Policy 2014). In essence, it boils biology down to its genetic building blocks and rebuilds brand new cells through robotics or a DNA printer (Policy 2014). While related to genetic engineering, synthetic biology extends the focus to entire systems of genes […]
Assessing the Impacts of Autonomous Technology in Agricultural Systems
Background For this project, autonomous technology, or artificial intelligence (AI), is described as “systems in which the designer has not predetermined the responses to every condition. Such systems are capable of surprising their designers and behaving in unexpected ways” (Omohundro 2014). This technology is attractive, especially in militaristic and economic contexts, because of the ability […]
Characterizing Success in AgTech StartUps
Background AgTech, an economic sector devoted to innovation in food and agriculture, has been around formally since biotechnology and seed genetics entered the market in the mid 90s, but only since 2013 has the sector seen rapid growth with new technology in big data, robotics, indoor agriculture, and more (Leclerc et al. 2015). This is reflected […]
Reflection From First Two Concentration Courses
Technologies of the Future This course has been by far one of the most interesting and exciting courses I have ever taken. Throughout the semester we learned through lectures, workshops, and lab work about leadership, design thinking, cultivating a growth mindset, and otherwise applying your skills for new technology creation. For my concentration, I learned […]
Truths in an Environmental Paradigm
The environmental sciences are a relatively new field of study that draw from a diverse set of previously established sciences such as as ecology, geology, and chemistry. Yet, the environmental sciences are also based in a much older philosophical tradition of environmentalism following industrialization that found appreciation for the natural, not yet industrialized environment. Inspired […]
In Vitro Meat Case Study
In 1936, Winston Churchill wrote, “Fifty years hence, we shall escape the absurdity of growing a whole chicken in order to eat the breast or wing, by growing these parts separately under a suitable medium” (Test-Tube 2007). At this time, synthesized meat was science fiction, hypothesized and capturing the public’s imagination, but far from a […]