Half the Energy Needs of Europe from the Oceans?
Saturday, October 30th, 2010
The Marine Board Vision Document, Marine Renewable Energy sees Europe sourcing 50% of its electricity needs from renewable ocean energy, through offshore wind, wave and tidal energy. Such a scenario will have and impact not only on the quality of environment through reducing carbon dioxide emissions and other result but also on energy security, economic and technological development and jobs creation in Europe.
The vision document was presented at the Eurocean 2010 Conference at Ostend during October. The conference sought to highlight the role of the seas and oceans in the earth and climate system and as an important source of wealth and job creation for Europe.
Issues such as sustainable seafood harvest, opportunities from marine biotechnology, blue energy, marine transport, human health, environmental and conservationist challenges such as climate change and marine biodiversity, and governance issues such as maritime spatial planning and importance of international cooperation make the oceans and marine research key focus areas.
Among other things, the conference highlighted the need for clear identification of economic and social benefits arising from marine research and communication of research outputs in a useful and usable format.
Marine Board Position Paper Marine Biotechnology: A New Vision and Strategy for Europe was also presented at the conference. Developments in genomics have created new research possibilities and priorities, for example.
Read about the conference at Afloat, Ireland’s sailing and boating magazine.
Tags: marine biotechnology, oceans, renewable energy
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The Ocean can Provide new Products and Cures
Friday, May 14th, 2010
NFkB is a protein that has a critical role in many cancers, arthritis and asthma. It can switch off the natural death process of cells, allowing some cancerous cells to multiply. Researchers have been studying marine animals including sponges, corals and sea lilies to see whether any of these can prevent NFkB from working.
The researchers have found that one of the molecules isolated during the study can allow normal cell death to restart again. This property is being investigated in more detail.
A compound isolated from a Mediterranean sponge variety can create spores in cell membranes that can be reversed. This property is considered to have vast potential, including drug delivery to desired places in the body. The possibility of using this molecule to deliver drugs to tumors, genes for cystic fibrosis and drugs into the eye are being investigated.
The examples above illustrate the new possibilities that marine life offers for curing diseases. The oceans are also the source of many products with health benefit claims. The potential has hardly been explored.
It is in this context that the Census of Marine Life (COML) becomes significant. The census is a global network of researchers in more than 80 countries. The ten-year scientific initiative is intended to assess and explain the diversity, distribution, and abundance of life in the oceans.
A great deal of information, with stunning pictures, is available at the COML website.
Tags: biotechnology, cures for diseases, marine life census, marine organisms
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