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New BioFactory Technique Developed using sRNAs
Professor Sang Yup Lee - published on the online edition of Nature Biotechnology. “Expected as a new strategy for the bio industry that may replace the chemical industry.”- KAIST Chemical & Biomolecular engineering department’s Professor Sang Yup Lee and his team has developed a new technology that utilizes the synthetic small regulatory RNAs (sRNAs) to implement the BioFactory in a larger scale with more effectiveness. * BioFactory: Microbial-based production system which creates the desired compound in mass by manipulating the genes of the cell. In order to solve the problems of modern society, such as environmental pollution caused by the exhaustion of fossil fuels and usage of petrochemical products, an eco-friendly and sustainable bio industry is on the rise. BioFactory development technology has especially attracted the attention world-wide, with its ability to produce bio-energy, pharmaceuticals, eco-friendly materials and more. For the development of an excellent BioFactory, selection for the gene that produces the desired compounds must be accompanied by finding the microorganism with high production efficiency; however, the previous research method had a complicated and time-consuming problem of having to manipulate the genes of the microorganism one by one. Professor Sang Yup Lee’s research team, including Dr. Dokyun Na and Dr. Seung Min Yoo, has produced the synthetic sRNAs and utilized it to overcome the technical limitations mentioned above. In particular, unlike the existing method, this technology using synthetic sRNAs exhibits no strain specificity which can dramatically shorten the experiment that used to take months to just a few days. The research team applied the synthetic small regulatory RNA technology to the production of the tyrosine*, which is used as the precursor of the medicinal compound, and cadaverine**, widely utilized in a variety of petrochemical products, and has succeeded developing BioFactory with the world’s highest yield rate (21.9g /L, 12.6g / L each). *tyrosine: amino acid known to control stress and improve concentration **cadaverine: base material used in many petrochemical products, such as polyurethane Professor Sang Yup Lee highlighted the significance of this research: “it is expected the synthetic small regulatory RNA technology will stimulate the BioFactory development and also serve as a catalyst which can make the chemical industry, currently represented by its petroleum energy, transform into bio industry.” The study was carried out with the support of Global Frontier Project (Intelligent Bio-Systems Design and Synthesis Research Unit (Chief Seon Chang Kim)) and the findings have been published on January 20th in the online edition of the worldwide journal Nature Biotechnology.
2013.02.21
View 8914
High Efficiency Bio-butanol production technology developed
KAIST and Korean Company cooperative research team has developed the technology that increases the productivity of bio-butanol to equal that of bio-ethanol and decreases the cost of production. Professor Lee Sang Yeop (Department of Biological-Chemical Engineering) collaborated with GS Caltex and BioFuelChem Ltd. to develop a bio-butanol production process using the system metabolism engineering method that increased the productivity and decreased the production cost. Bio-butanol is being widely regarded as the environmentally friendly next generation energy source that surpasses bio-ethanol. The energy density of bio-butanol is 29.9MJ (mega Joule) per Liter, 48% larger than bio-ethanol (19.6MJ) and comparable to gasoline (32MJ). Bio-butanol is advantageous in that it can be processed from inedible biomass and is therefore unrelated to food crises. Especially because bio-butanol shows similar characteristics especially in its octane rating, enthalpy of vaporization, and air-fuel ratio, it can be used in a gasoline engine. However barriers such as difficulty in gene manipulation of producer bacterium and insufficient information prevented the mass production of bio-butanol. Professor Lee’s team applied the system metabolism engineering method that he had invented to shift the focus to the production pathway of bio-butanol and made a new metabolism model. In the new model the bio-butanol production pathway is divided into the hot channel and the cold channel. The research team focused on improving the efficiency of the hot channel and succeeded in improving the product yield of 49% (compared to theoretical yield) to 87%. The team furthered their research and developed a live bio-butanol collection and removal system with GS Caltex. The collaboration succeeded in producing 585g of butanol using 1.8kg of glucose at a rate of 1.3g per hour, boasting world’s highest concentration, productivity, and rate and improving productivity of fermentation by three fold and decreasing costs by 30%. The result of the research was published in world renowned ‘mBio’ microbiology journal.
2012.12.21
View 7855
Ph.D. students Hyowon Park and Won Ma receive Grand Prizes in Mathematics and Biology respectively.
Researchers in KAIST received best paper awards in two out of three fields at this year’s award ceremony for the “Second Annual Best Thesis Paper Award” held collectively by the Korea University Presidents’ Federation (with Chairman DaeSoon Lee) and the Korean Academy of Science and Technology (with Director GilSang Jung). Two researchers from KAIST, Hyowon Park (Department of Mathematics) and Won Ma (Department of Biology) received best paper awards. This prize, given by the both the Korea University Presidents’ Federation and the Korean Academy of Science and Technology since last year, is awarded to researchers and assistant professors who write the most outstanding thesis papers in the field of basic sciences. Park, who received the best paper award this year, did research on graph braid groups. He was supervised by Professor Kihyung Ko, who received the best supervisor reward. Ma, who received the best paper award in the field of biological science, researched about the Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder due to deficiency of the GIT1 synapse protein. His supervising professor also received the supervisor award. The award ceremony was held in the auditorium of the S-OIL headquarters in Seoul on November 30. Meanwhile, NASA researcher Jaehwa Lee received the best paper award in the field of earth science, and his supervising professor, Professor Jun Kim from Yonsei University who studies atmospheric science, received the best supervisor award.
2012.12.21
View 8336
Liver Damage Mechanism of Hepatitis C Proven
KAIST researchers found mechanics behind a Hepatitis C virus, thereby taking a step closer to the development of a cure for Hepatitis C. Professor Choi Chul Hui (Department of Biological and Brain Engineering) and Professor Shin Eui Chul (Graduate School of Medical Sciences) proved, for the first time in the world, the mechanism behind liver damage of a patient with Hepatitis C. It is anticipated that this discovery will allow for the development of a Hepatitis C cure that has no side effects and little Liver damage. Hepatitis C is an immune response of the body to the Hepatitis C virus and causes liver irritation. Around 170million people are infected with Hepatitis C worldwide including 1% of the Korean population. Once infected, most cases turn into chronic cases and may lead to liver cancer. However it was impossible to infect Hepatitis C within a test tube cell environment until 2005 and up till then Chimpanzees were used to study the virus which proved to be a huge barrier to research. The research team used cells infected with Hepatitis C virus and found out that the virus works by increasing the destruction of cells by the TNF-a protein responsible for the cell’s immune response. In addition the protein structure of the virus that causes this reaction was successfully found. Conventionally the Hepatitis C medication focused on the suppressing the growth of the virus and therefore had many side effects. The experimental results allow new medication aimed at suppressing the actual mechanism of liver damage to be discovered. The result was selected as the cover dissertation of the September Edition of the Hepatolog magazine.
2012.09.11
View 10203
KAIST researchers verify and control the mechanical properties of graphene
KAIST researchers have successfully verified and controlled the mechanical properties of graphene, a next-generation material. Professor Park Jung Yong from the EEWS Graduate School and Professor Kim Yong Hyun from the Graduate School of Nanoscience and Technology have succeeded in fluorinating a single atomic-layered graphene sample and controlling its frictional and adhesive properties. This is the first time the frictional properties of graphene have been examined at the atomic level, and the technology is expected to be applied to nano-sized robots and microscopic joints. Graphene is often dubbed “the dream material” because of its ability to conduct high amounts of electricity even when bent, making it the next-generation substitute for silicon semiconductors, paving the way for flexible display and wearable computer technologies. Graphene also has high potential applications in mechanical engineering because of its great material strength, but its mechanical properties remained elusive until now. Professor Park’s research team successfully produced individual graphene samples with fluorine-deficiency at the atomic level by placing the samples in Fluoro-xenon (XeF2) gas and applying heat. The surface of the graphene was scanned using a micro probe and a high vacuum atomic microscope to measure its dynamic properties. The research team found that the fluorinated graphene sample had 6 times more friction and 0.7 times more adhesiveness than the original graphene. Electrical measurements confirmed the fluorination process, and the analysis of the findings helped setup the theory of frictional changes in graphene. Professor Park stated that “graphene can be used for the lubrication of joints in nano-sized devices” and that this research has numerous applications such as the coating of graphene-based microdynamic devices. This research was published in the online June edition of Nano Letters and was supported by the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Education and the National Research Foundation as part of the World Class University (WCU) program.
2012.07.24
View 12533
Successful Development of Excavation System of Biomarkers containing Protein Decomposition Control Enzyme Information
A Korean team of researchers successfully developed a biomarker excavation system named E3Net that excavates biomarkers containing information of the enzymes that control the decomposition of proteins. The development of the system paved the possibility of development of new high quality biomarkers. *Biomarker: Molecular information of unique patterns derived from genes and proteins that allow the monitoring of physical changes from genetic or environmental causes. Professor Lee Kwan Soo’s team (Department of Biological Sciences) composed of Doctorate candidate Han Young Woong, Lee Ho Dong Ph.D. and Professor Park Jong Chul published a dissertation in the April edition of Molecular and Cellular Proteomics. (Dissertation Title: A system for exploring E3-mediated regulatory networks of cellular functions). Professor Lee’s team compiled all available information of the enzyme that controls protein decomposition (E3 enzyme) and successfully compiled the inter-substrate network by extracting information from 20,000 biology related data base dissertations. The result was the development of the E3Net system that analyzes the related cell function and disease. Cells have a system that produces, destroys, and recycles proteins in response to the ever changing environmental conditions. Error in these processes leads to disease. Therefore finding the relationship between E3 enzymes that control the decomposition of proteins and the substrates will allow disease curing and prevention to become much easier. E3 enzyme is responsible for 80% of the protein decomposition and is therefore predicted to be related to various diseases. However the information on E3 enzyme and inter-substrate behavior are spread out among numerous dissertations and data bases which prevented methodological analysis of the role of the related cells and characteristics of the disease itself. Professor Lee’s team was successful in creating the E3Net that compiled 2,201 pieces of E3 substrate information, 4,896 pieces of substrate information, and 1,671 pieces of inter-substrate relationship information. This compilation allows for the systematic analysis of cells and diseases. The newly created network is 10 times larger than the existing network and is the first case where it is possible to accurately find the cell function and related diseases. It is anticipated that the use of the E3Net will allow the excavation of new biomarkers for the development of personalized drug systems. The research team applied the E3Net to find tens of new candidate biomarkers related to the major modern diseases like diabetes and cancer.
2012.05.30
View 10544
Production of chemicals without petroleum
Systems metabolic engineering of microorganisms allows efficient production of natural and non-natural chemicals from renewable non-food biomass In our everyday life, we use gasoline, diesel, plastics, rubbers, and numerous chemicals that are derived from fossil oil through petrochemical refinery processes. However, this is not sustainable due to the limited nature of fossil resources. Furthermore, our world is facing problems associated with climate change and other environmental problems due to the increasing use of fossil resources. One solution to address above problems is the use of renewable non-food biomass for the production of chemicals, fuels and materials through biorefineries. Microorganisms are used as biocatalysts for converting biomass to the products of interest. However, when microorganisms are isolated from nature, their efficiencies of producing our desired chemicals and materials are rather low. Metabolic engineering is thus performed to improve cellular characteristics to desired levels. Over the last decade, much advances have been made in systems biology that allows system-wide characterization of cellular networks, both qualitatively and quantitatively, followed by whole-cell level engineering based on these findings. Furthermore, rapid advances in synthetic biology allow design and synthesis of fine controlled metabolic and gene regulatory circuits. The strategies and methods of systems biology and synthetic biology are rapidly integrated with metabolic engineering, thus resulting in "systems metabolic engineering". In the paper published online in Nature Chemical Biology on May 17, Professor Sang Yup Lee and his colleagues at the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon, Korea present new general strategies of systems metabolic engineering for developing microorganisms for the production of natural and non-natural chemicals from renewable biomass. They first classified the chemicals to be produced into four categories based on whether they have thus far been identified to exist in nature (natural vs. nonnatural) and whether they can be produced by inherent pathways of microorganisms (inherent, noninherent, or created): natural-inherent, natural-noninherent, non-natural-noninherent, and non-natural-created ones. General strategies for systems metabolic engineering of microorganisms for the production of these chemicals using various tools and methods based on omics, genome-scale metabolic modeling and simulation, evolutionary engineering, synthetic biology are suggested with relevant examples. For the production of non-natural chemicals, strategies for the construction of synthetic metabolic pathways are also suggested. Having collected diverse tools and methods for systems metabolic engineering, authors also suggest how to use them and their possible limitations. Professor Sang Yup Lee said "It is expected that increasing number of chemicals and materials will be produced through biorefineries. We are now equipped with new strategies for developing microbial strains that can produce our desired products at very high efficiencies, thus allowing cost competitiveness to those produced by petrochemical refineries." Editor of Nature Chemical Biology, Dr. Catherine Goodman, said "It is exciting to see how quickly science is progressing in this field – ideas that used to be science fiction are taking shape in research labs and biorefineries. The article by Professor Lee and his colleagues not only highlights the most advanced techniques and strategies available, but offers critical advice to progress the field as a whole." The works of Professor Lee have been supported by the Advanced Biomass Center and Intelligent Synthetic Biology Center of Global Frontier Program from the Korean Ministry of Education, Science and Technology through National Research Foundation. Contact: Dr. Sang Yup Lee, Distinguished Professor and Dean, KAIST, Daejeon, Korea (leesy@kaist.ac.kr, +82-42-350-3930)
2012.05.23
View 10143
Biomimetic reflective display technology developed
Professor Shin Jung Hoon The bright colors of a rainbow or a peacock are produced by the reflection and interference of light in transparent periodic structures, producing what is called a structural color. These colors are very bright and change according to the viewing angle. On the other hand, the wings of a morpho-butterfly also have structural colors but are predominantly blue over a wide range of angles. This is because the unique structure of the morpho-butterfly’s wings contains both order and chaos. Professor Shin Jung Hoon’s team from the Department of Physics and the Graduate School of Nanoscience and Technology at KAIST produced a display that mimics the structure of the morpho-butterfly’s wings using glass beads. This research successfully produced a reflective display (one that reflects external light to project images), which could be used to make very bright displays with low energy consumption. This technology can also be used to make anti-counterfeit bills, as well as coating materials for mobile phones and wallets. The structure of the morpho-butterfly’s wings seems to be in periodic order at the 1-micrometer level, but contains disorder at the 100-nanometer level. So far, no one had succeeded in reproducing a structure with both order and disorder at the nanometer level. Professor Shin’s team randomly aligned differently sized glass beads of a few hundred nanometers to create chaos and placed a thin periodic film on top of it using the semiconductor deposition method, thereby creating the morpho-butterfly-like structure over a large area. This new development produced better color and brightness than the morpho-butterfly wing and even exhibited less color change according to angle. The team sealed the film in thin plastic, which helped to maintain the superior properties whilst making it more firm and paper-like. Professor Shin emphasized that the results were an exemplary success in the field of biomimetics and that structural colors could have other applications in sensors and fashion, for example. The results were first introduced on May 3rd in Nature as one of the Research Highlights and will be published in the online version of the material science magazine, Advanced Materials. This research was jointly conducted by Professor Shin Jung Hoon (Department of Physics / Graduate School of Nanoscience and Technology at KAIST), Professor Park NamKyoo (Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Seoul National University), and Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology. The funding was provided by the National Research Foundation of Korea and the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology as part of the World Class University (WCU) project. Figure 2. The biomimetic film can express many different colors Figure 3. The biomimetic diplay and a morpho-butterfly
2012.05.07
View 11950
10 Technolgies to Change the World in 2012: The Future Technology Global Agenda Council
The Future Technology Global Agenda Council which is under the World Economy Forum and which KAIST’s biochemical engineering department’s Prof. Sang Yeob Lee is the head of, chose the 10 new technologies that will change the world in year 2012. The ten technologies include: IT, synthetic biology and metabolic engineering, Green Revolution 2.0, material construction nanotechnology, systematic biology and the simulation technology of biological systems, the technology to use CO2 as a natural resource, wireless power transmission technology, high density energy power system, personalized medical/nutritional/disease preventing system, and new education technology. The technologies were chosen on the basis of the opinions various science, industry, and government specialists and is deemed to have high potential to change the world in the near future. The Future Technology Global Agenda Council will choose ten new technologies yearly starting this year in order to solve the problems the world now faces. The informatics systems that was ranked 1st place, sifts only the data necessary for decision making out of the overflowing amount of data. Much interest has been spurred at the Davos forum. The synthetic biology and metabolic engineering chosen is expected to play an important role in creating new medicines and producing chemical substances and materials from reusable resources. Biomass has also been chosen as one of the top ten most important technologies as it was seen to be necessary to lead the second Green Revolution in order to stably provide food for the increasing population and to create bio refineries. Nanomaterials structured at the molecular level are expected to help us solve problems regarding energy, food, and resources. Systematic biology and computer modeling is gaining importance in availing humans to construct efficient remedies, materials, and processes while causing minimum effects on the environment, resource reserves, and other people. The technology to convert CO2, which is considered a problem all over the world, into a useful resource is also gaining the spotlight Together with such technologies, wireless power transmission technology, high density energy power system, personalized medical/nutritional/disease preventing system, and new education technology are also considered the top ten technologies to change the world. Prof. Lee said, “Many new discoveries are being made due to the accelerating rate of technological advancements. Many of the technologies that the council has found are sustainable and important for the construction of our future.”
2012.04.04
View 9158
Distinguished Professor Sang-Yeop Lee gave keynote speech in '2011 China Bio-Refinery Summit'
Distinguished Professor Sang-Yeop Lee gave keynote speech in ‘2011 China Bio-Refinery Summit’ held in Chang’an, Beijing Professor Lee gave a lecture on the vitalization strategy of ‘Bio-Refinery’, which is ‘A bio-based chemical industry to replace fossil fuel-based petro chemistry. Professor Lee, insisted that for the successful construction of ‘Bio-Refinery’, there should be innovation in all value chain of biomass; biomass producer, bio-refinery business, consumer, government, etc. ▲Securement and distribution of Biomass ▲Development of strain and process for fermentation separation to effectively change biomass into chemical substance and fuel ▲Optimization of transportation and marketing. During this summit, high-ranking government officials in politics and economics, executives of multicultural and Chinese business participated. From Korea, Do-Young Seung of Manager of technology research of GS and Hang-Deok Roh of laboratory chief of SK Chemical participated as panelist. World Economy Forum, the gathering of leaders and experts in politics, economics, and policy created a ‘Global Agenda Council’ to find solutions on the issue of ‘sustainable growth of environment of the Earth and humanity’. Professor Lee is the chairperson of ‘Emerging Technologies Global Agenda Council (GAC)’ of Word Economy Forum. Professor Lee, founder of ‘Systems Metabolic Engineering’, has made remarkable achievements world-wide, including a technology that manipulates metabolic circuit of microorganisms to purify various crude-originated chemical substances into environmentally friendly substances. Currently, he is working on Systems biology research business in Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Global Frontier Biomass business, Global Frontier Intelligent Bio-system construction and composition, to make progress in metabolic engineering which is essential for the bio-chemical industry.
2012.03.06
View 9637
Bio Pharmaceutical Business Center: Now Open
The Signboard Hanging Ceremony for the Bio Pharmaceutical Business Center for the Integrated Research for the field of Bio Pharmaceutics. 150 representatives from various bio pharmaceutics related businesses and institutes were present for this ceremony. The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology placed the Molecular Process research team, Personalized Drug Delivery Medium research team, and the newly formed Cancer Cell Detection using Blood research team at the Bio Pharmaceutical Business Center at KAIST.
2012.01.31
View 7112
'Scientist-Engineer of the Month' for December: Professor Choi Joon Ho
Professor Choi Joon Ho (department of Biological Sciences) was made ‘Scientist-Engineer of December’ for his discovery of new gene (twenty-four) that helps biorhythm and proving that this gene helps control biorhythm. Professor Choi published 100 dissertations over the past 25 years and made significant advancements in the field of molecular virus and neurobiology. In 1995 Professor Choi uncovered the fact that the NS3 protein in C type hepatitis function as RNA helicase thereby opening the path to developing a cure for C type hepatitis; this is an international patent with Chiron corporation. The result was published in Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications Journal and was the most domestically referred to dissertation in biological sciences in 1999. In addition Professor Choi published in Nature magazine in 1999, a dissertation that uncovered the fact that the DNA of papillomar virus has another protein (hSNF5) that direct it apart from ordinary proteins. In 2000~2005 Professor Choi published many dissertations in journals like Immunity, Cancer Research, Molecular and Cellular Biology, Oncogene, Journal of Virology, and etc. Professor Choi screened over 10,000 species of pomace fly mutations and discovered the twenty-four gene that affects the biorhythm of pomace flies. He analyzed this gene further and found a new function that was different from known biorhythm mechanisms. This research allowed a better understanding of biological clock of pomace flies and therefore was another step towards better understanding the control mechanism of human biological clock.
2012.01.31
View 7894
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