Precision Manufacturing

Plant Molecular Genetics

Our fear and disgust that cockroaches can quickly squeeze through the tiniest cracks are well justified, say University of California, Berkeley scientists. Full Story: http://news.berkeley.edu/2016/02/08/cockroach-inspires-robot-that-squeezes-through-cracks/ Not only can they squish themselves to get into one-tenth-of-an-inch crevices, but once inside they can run at high speed even when flattened in half. These are just a couple of the creepy findings from a UC Berkeley study of how American cockroaches (Periplaneta americana) penetrate the tightest joints and seams in less than a second. What the researchers found has inspired a robot that can rapidly squeeze through cracks — a new capability for search-and-rescue in rubble resulting from tornados, earthquakes and explosions. ...

"One-Step Conversion of Sugar to Drop-In Renewable Fuels and Chemicals" Stephen Del Cardayre, vice president for research and development at LS9, the renewable fuel company in South San Francisco, is a specialist on the engineering of whole-cell biocatalysts. Energy Biosciences Institute http://www.energybiosciencesinstitute.org/