Future Now
FIVE technology developments changing industry as we know it
Industry Week
By David Drickhamer
Nov. 16, 2011
For researchers there's nothing like working on what could be the next big thing. But the annals of technology development are littered with anticipated innovations that failed to pan out or failed to live up to commercial expectations. When evaluating technology trends, Adam Gordon, a so-called strategic foresight specialist and the author of "Future Savvy," cautions business leaders to beware of nearsighted experts. Heavily invested in the current technology, experts can be the last ones to see impending changes. Good forecasts, Gordon adds, consider the "frictional resistance of the status quo" and how this resistance might be overcome. None of this makes the latest innovations and discoveries any less exciting. As is happening now with graphene -- and as happened with carbon nanotubes before it -- when a new material is discovered there's a shake-out period when scientists test all of the potential applications before viable commercial uses settle out. And as often as the press pits new technologies against one another -- as is the case with synthetic biologists splicing genes into bacteria or algae or yeast -- it's not so much a competition but the scientific process of determining what approach works best for a given application. Taking such caveats into consideration, IndustryWeek offers five of the latest technology developments, all of which feature commercial products or viable prototypes, that promise to transform industry and our lives.
CHEMICAL PRODUCTION
Synthetic Biology
From nature, more or less
Synthetic biology builds on decades of genetic engineering work to create biological systems not found in nature. Synthetic Genomics, the company led by famous geneticist Craig Venter, made headlines last year when it used biological engineering techniques to create the world's first organism (one of the simplest bacteria) with completely man-made DNA. Such capabilities have provoked ethical concerns and fears of environmental damage or dangerous microbes, and millions of dollars in venture-capital investments.
A number of companies are using these techniques to insert animal or plant genes into bacteria, yeast cells or algae to make them produce desirable compounds. For example, they can make ethanol and diesel fuel from CO2 exhaust and plant sugars or plant cellulose. They also can be used to make specialized compounds that are difficult, and therefore expensive, to extract from natural sources or to synthesize chemically. These low-volume, higher price compounds include vaccines and food additives, which are what Allylix, based in San Diego, is now producing and marketing. "Yeast and a lot of different organisms are more genetically tractable today than they were even a few years ago," says Rich Burlingame, vice president of R&D for Allylix. The company has introduced genes into yeast strains that, through proprietary fermentation processes, make terpene compounds for use as flavors, fragrances, anti-oxidants and other applications. Two of its first products are nookatone and valencene, fragrance and flavor essences derived from grapefruit and oranges, respectively. The synthetic versions offer more consistent quality and availability compared to naturally extracted compounds, which can vary based on the weather. A reliable and cheaper supply could expand their use in a variety of end products. Nookatone, for example, may be used to develop a better smelling insect repellent. "The technical barriers for bringing a product to market are much lower if you have a higher value product," adds Burlingame. "If you're making something that sells for $1,000 per pound, you don't need as efficient a process as something that sells for $1 per pound."
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