Editor’s note: As a service to our readers, we provide news about the work of others in ag utilization. Often, research done elsewhere complements AURI’s work.
Biobased materials make Ford vehicles greener
When you take a seat in a Ford, you may be sitting on soy- and other biobased seat cushions and seatbacks. Ford vehicles are now 85 percent recyclable by weight. The Ford Taurus is the eleventh Ford vehicle to feature biobased seat cushions and seatbacks. Ford also has biobased foam in more than two million vehicles and is looking to convert 100 percent of their fleet to it in the future.
In addition, Ford is working with recycled polymeric materials to combine discarded tires with biorenewable content from soy to make environmentally friendly seals and gaskets. More than 2.2 million pounds of rubber from recycled tires has been made into RPM seals and gaskets with more than 210,000 used tires being recycled. In addition, more than 150,000 pounds of soy has been used to create the materials.
From: www.biobasednews.com; AgWeek
April 2010; April 2012
Paper bottle wine to become a reality
There’s bottled wine and boxed wine; what about paper bottle wine? The company GreenBottle is making that idea reality. Their paper bottle has a reduced carbon footprint of 90% compared to glass bottles and weighs less, too, coming in at 55g compared to 500g for a glass bottle. The paper bottle will also cut down on the waste in landfills where glass bottles can take up to 500 years to decompose. GreenBottle hopes to launch the paper wine bottles by mid-2012.
From: Food Production Daily
November 14, 2011
Soy compounds may boost cancer treatment effectiveness
Adding an oral supplement with soy isoflavones could help make radiation treatment of lung cancer tumors more effective while also helping to preserve normal tissue, says a new research report published in Radiation and Oncology. Researchers report that soy isoflavones enhanced the destruction of lung tumors by radiation while also reducing vascular damage, inflammation, and fibrosis caused by radiation injury to normal lung tissue. The research team said their findings suggest a complementary approach that could be applied to the treatment of patients with advanced lung cancer.
From: Nutraingredients.com
December 21, 2011
Soy protein has brain-boosting benefits
According to a new study published in Nutrition, peptides from soybeans may influence the immune system and hormones linked to emotion, and ultimately boost brain function. The soybean peptides are also associated with a decrease in adrenaline levels and an increase in dopamine levels. The study adds to a large body of science that supports the potential benefits of soy consumption, including cholesterol reduction, reduced risk of heart disease, and reduced severity of menopausal symptoms.
From: Nutraingredients.com
January 20, 2012
