(Press-News.org)
Researchers led by Prof. GAO Xiang from the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology (SIAT) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Prof. LU Lu from the Harbin Institute of Technology have proposed a novel method to transform wastewater contaminants into valuable chemicals using sunlight, thus paving the way for sustainable and eco-friendly chemical manufacturing.
The study was published in Nature Sustainability on Oct. 16.
Conventional chemical manufacturing relies on energy-intensive processes. Semiconductor biohybrids, integrating efficient light-harvesting materials with superior living cells, have emerged as an exciting advancement in utilizing solar energy for chemical production. However, the challenge lies in finding an economically viable and environmentally friendly approach to scale up this technology.
In this study, the researchers set out to convert pollutants from wastewater into semiconductor biohybrids directly in the wastewater environment. The concept involves utilizing the organic carbon, heavy metals, and sulfate compounds present in wastewater as the raw materials for constructing these biohybrids, and subsequently converting them into valuable chemicals.
Nevertheless, real industrial wastewater usually varies in its composition of major organic pollutants, heavy metals, and complex pollutants, all of which are often toxic to bacterial cells and difficult for them to metabolize efficiently. It also contains high levels of salt and dissolved oxygen that require bacteria with an aerobic sulfate reduction capacity. Thus, it's challenging to use wastewater as bacteria feedstock.
To overcome this, the researchers selected a fast-growing marine bacterium, Vibrio natriegens, which has exceptional tolerance for high salt concentration and a capacity for utilizing various carbon sources. They introduced an aerobic sulfate reduction pathway into V. natriegens and trained the engineered strain to utilize different metal and carbon sources in order to produce semiconductor biohybrids directly from such wastewater.
Their primary target chemical for production was 2,3-butanediol (BDO), a valuable commodity chemical.
By engineering a strain of V. natriegens, they generated hydrogen sulfide, which played a pivotal role in facilitating the production of CdS nanoparticles that efficiently absorb light. These nanoparticles, renowned for their biocompatibility, enabled the in-situ creation of semiconductor biohybrids and enabled the non-photosynthetic bacteria to utilize light.
The results showed that these sunlight-activated biohybrids exhibited significantly enhanced BDO production, surpassing yields achievable through bacterial cells alone. Furthermore, the process displayed scalability, achieving solar-driven BDO production on a substantial 5-liter scale using actual wastewater.
"The biohybrid platform not only boasts a lower carbon footprint but also reduces product costs, leading to an overall smaller environmental impact when compared to both traditional bacterial fermentation and fossil fuel-based BDO production methods," said Prof. GAO. "Remarkably, these biohybrids could be produced using a variety of wastewater sources."
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PHILADELPHIA—Patients with long COVID – the long-term symptoms like brain fog, fatigue, or memory loss in the months or years following COVID-19 – can exhibit a reduction in circulating levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin, according to new research published today in Cell. The study, led by researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, sheds new light on the mechanisms of how persistent inflammation after contracting the SARS-CoV-2 virus can cause long-term neurological symptoms.
According to the CDC, nearly one in five American adults who had COVID-19 experience symptoms of long ...
A research group led by Tokyo Medical and Dental University (TMDU) finds that when common orthopedic symptoms are given, ChatGPT’s diagnosis and recommendations are inconsistent
Tokyo, Japan – ChatGPT, a sophisticated chatbot driven by artificial intelligence (AI) technology, has been increasingly used in health care contexts, one of which is assisting patients in self-diagnosing before seeking medical help. Although it seems very useful at first glance, AI may cause more harm than good to the patient if it is not accurate in its diagnosis and recommendations. A research team from Japan and ...
DALLAS and STAVANGER, Norway, October 16, 2023 — For nearly 20 years, the American Heart Association® (Association) and Laerdal Medical (Laerdal) have together developed and brought resuscitation education, training and technology to the health care market. The Association and Laerdal will now expand their focus beyond education to creating and nurturing health care quality improvement solutions to impact a community “systems of care” approach and influence more positive patient outcomes. This World Restart a Heart Day, the organizations are furthering their collaborative relationship ...
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — A multiyear analysis tested whether management zone maps based on soil conditions, topography or other landscape features can reliably predict which parts of a cornfield will respond best to higher rates of seeding or nitrogen application. The study found that – contrary to common assumptions – crop-plot responses to the same inputs vary significantly from year to year. The most unpredictable factor – the weather – seemed to have the biggest impact on how the crops responded to these inputs.
The ...
CAMBRIDGE, MA -- Human sensory systems are very good at recognizing objects that we see or words that we hear, even if the object is upside down or the word is spoken by a voice we’ve never heard.
Computational models known as deep neural networks can be trained to do the same thing, correctly identifying an image of a dog regardless of what color its fur is, or a word regardless of the pitch of the speaker’s voice. However, a new study from MIT neuroscientists has found that these models often also respond the same way to images or words that have no resemblance to the target.
When these neural networks were used to generate an image ...
TAMPA, Fla. — Targeted cancer drugs are widely used because of their ability to inhibit specific proteins involved in cancer development with fewer side effects compared to chemotherapy drugs. But targeted therapies can often inhibit other unknown proteins. These hidden targets may also contribute to the drug’s anticancer effects and potentially offer a path for the drug to be repurposed for other cancers controlled by the hidden target.
In a new study published in Cell Chemical Biology, Moffitt Cancer Center researchers demonstrate this, showing that the ROS1 inhibitor lorlatinib has activity against an additional protein called PYK2. The team also reveals the mechanisms of ...
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday October 16, 2023
Contact:
Jillian McKoy, jpmckoy@bu.edu
Michael Saunders, msaunder@bu.edu
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Life expectancy has increased substantially for people in the United States with Down syndrome, from a median age of 4 years old in the 1950s to 57 years old in 2019. This longer life span increases the need for adequate healthcare into adulthood for this population, the majority of whom are at high ...
SAN FRANCISCO — The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) today presented Santhanam Suresh, M.D., MBA, FASA, with its 2023 Excellence in Education Award in recognition of his extraordinary educational contributions to advancing regional anesthesia and pain management in children. The award is presented annually to an ASA member who has made significant contributions to the specialty through excellence in teaching, development of new teaching methods or the implementation of innovative educational programs.
Dr. Suresh is the Arthur C. King professor and chair emeritus of pediatric anesthesiology ...
SAN FRANCISCO — The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) today honored Karsten Bartels, M.D., Ph.D., MBA., with its 2023 James E. Cottrell Presidential Scholar Award in recognition of his exemplary research to improve patient outcomes in perioperative and critical care medicine and pain management. The award is presented annually to an ASA member who has dedicated their formative career to research.
Dr. Bartels is the Robert Lieberman Endowed Chair in Anesthesiology, vice chair of research and professor of anesthesiology with tenure at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) in Omaha. Additionally, he is the inaugural director of the Robert ...
Amber B. Sansbury, a doctoral candidate in Mason's School of Education, received $24,576 from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for the project: "Racial Identity Development of Young Black Children in Early Childhood Education: The Roles of Teachers and Families."
Colleen Vesely, Associate Professor, College of Education and Human Development (CEHD), is serving as Sansbury's adviser.
In this qualitative dissertation study, Sansbury will explore how family engagement vis-a-vis relationships between African American teachers and African American families supports racial socialization and young children's emergent racial ...
