Southern Research moving ‘green chemistry’ team to new Birmingham lab
Southern Research has moved a team of scientists working to develop promising clean-energy technologies from North Carolina to a new state-of-the-art laboratory it is opening on the organization’s downtown Birmingham campus. The research team, led by Amit Goyal, Ph.D., has devised cost-efficient, environmentally friendly methods to produce valuable industrial chemicals from sources such as waste materials and harmful carbon dioxide. “These leading-edge technologies hold significant potential for commercialization, and relocating our talented scientists to an ultra-modern laboratory in Birmingham will help them advance their important work,” said Art Tipton, Ph.D., president and CEO of Southern Research. “We are committed to supporting the research being conducted by Amit’s team because it fully aligns with Southern Research’s core mission – finding innovative solutions to make the world a better place,” Tipton said. Southern Research is investing $1 million to outfit an existing 7,200-square-foot building on its Southside campus as the Sustainable Chemistry and Catalysis Laboratory. Work is under way to install pilot-scale chemical reactors and other equipment at the facility. Funds raised through the recent Change Campaign effort are also helping to drive this important project forward. The lab is expected to be operational by mid-February, and Goyal’s team, comprising eight researchers, is already working full time in Birmingham, according to Corey Tyree, Ph.D., senior director in Energy & Environment (E&E) at Southern Research. “This will be a world-class lab where brilliant inventors are creating new technologies that offer a better way of manufacturing everyday products,” Tyree said. “This group is doing award-winning work, and now that work will be carried out right here in Birmingham, where Southern Research has made many groundbreaking discoveries in its history.” Green technologies Goyal and his team have developed a method to convert biomass sugars into acrylonitrile, the chemical building block of carbon fiber, which is increasingly used in airplanes, automobiles and other manufactured products because of its strength and light weight. The Southern Research process to produce acrylonitrile for high-performance carbon fiber is around 20 percent cheaper than conventional production methods and sustainable, lowering greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 40 percent. Goyal’s team has also developed a process to transform CO2 into high-value chemicals known as olefins, which are used to make a sweeping range of products such as packaging, plastics, textiles, paints and electronics. Energy-intensive methods are currently used to produce ethylene and other widely used chemicals in the olefin family, so the Southern Research technology could yield significant environmental benefits while also converting a greenhouse gas. “This relocation represents an exciting and important opportunity to capitalize on significant Southern Research infrastructure and the scientific community in Birmingham,” said Goyal, director of Sustainable Chemistry and Catalysis for Southern Research. “This puts science at the heart of everything we do because our long-term success depends on improving R&D productivity and achieving scientific leadership.” Expanding capabilities Mayor Randall Woodfin welcomed Goyal’s team to the city where Southern Research works to discover and develop new medicines, tackles engineering challenges for major government agencies, and researches energy and environmental technologies. “Birmingham is increasingly becoming a key location for world-class research and a place where important discoveries are being made on almost a daily basis,” Woodfin said. “Southern Research’s decision to move its ‘green chemistry’ scientists to a new lab in the city will add to this momentum. I look forward to seeing their work advance in Birmingham.” As a result of the team’s relocation, Southern Research has closed its office in Durham, North Carolina. The organization’s Environmental Technology Verification team, led by Tim Hansen, P.E., will continue to operate from the city, evaluating new clean technologies around the world. Tyree said the decision to close the Durham office will yield cost savings and increase efficiency for the nonprofit organization. The move also unites the Sustainable Chemistry team with other E&E researchers in Birmingham, who focus on issues such as energy storage systems and solar panel durability. Southern Research opened the Durham office in 1992 to support work for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which at the time operated a major research and development facility in Research Triangle Park. In recent years, the work in Durham has focused primarily on various green energy technologies from the U.S. Department of Energy and other customers, making the location in North Carolina less necessary than when it was tied to the EPA work. Republished with permission from Alabama NewsCenter
Huntsville scientists find colon polyp marker, could lead to an end of some colonoscopies
Huntsville-based HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology researchers have discovered a measurable indicator in blood plasma that could identify patients who have colon polyps. The finding is an important first step in developing a blood test to screen for colon polyps that could become cancerous or even for colon cancer. The study was published online last week in Clinical Cancer Research, a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research. “A blood test that fulfills the role currently played by colonoscopies would have major positive impacts,” said Brian Roberts, a senior scientist in the Myers Lab at HudsonAlpha and the lead author for the published study. “A lot of people joke about how they’d love to avoid the discomfort of colonoscopies,” he said, “but there’s a serious issue with people not actually getting screened.” According to the American Cancer Society, of the adults age 50 and older for whom physicians recommend a colonoscopy screening, only about 65 percent comply. For the project, Roberts and a group of scientists from four labs across HudsonAlpha studied small RNA – short strands of ribonucleic acid – in blood plasma collected from patients at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) School of Medicine. The sample collection was part of a collaboration with Dr. Robert Kimberly and Meredith Fitz-Gerald at the Center for Clinical and Translational Science at UAB; and Dr. C. Mel Wilcox, director of the Gastroenterology and Hepatology Division in the Department of Medicine at UAB. RNA is present in all cells, and while its best-known role is to act as a messenger carrying instructions from DNA for making proteins, the RNA types found in this study have diverse and complex functions. The team focused on “cell-free” RNA, found outside of cells in the liquid portion of blood, called plasma. Differences in the amount of certain cell-free RNA molecules identified patients with colorectal adenomas from those without. Colorectal adenomas are the type of colon polyp that can turn into cancer. The patients in the study were a diverse group, representing nearly equal numbers of men and women mostly over 50 years old, with some younger patients as well. In addition, about 30 percent of the patients were African-American, which means the RNA measurement method described in the paper works nearly equally well for men and women of both African and European descent, across a range of ages. In the short term, these findings won’t affect patient care, according to Richard Myers, president and science director at HudsonAlpha. The study was conducted in the Myers Lab at HudsonAlpha, where Myers is also a faculty investigator. “There’s a lot more work to do before patients might see a test like this at the clinic, but we’re optimistic that with more research and after clinical trials, eventually, we will see blood-based screening for colon polyps and colon cancer itself offered routinely to patients,” Myers said. Moving forward, the group is considering other physical markers that could be measured in blood, such as cell-free DNA, proteins or immune system measurements, that could add to the RNA signature found in their study. They are also looking to repeat the study in a larger patient population. In addition to Roberts and Myers, HudsonAlpha researchers who worked on the study include Andrew Hardigan, Dianna Moore, Ryne Ramaker, Angela Jones and Greg Cooper. Republished with permission from the Alabama NewsCenter.
Martha Roby: Highlighting outstanding 2nd District STEM programs
Studies increasingly show that the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields are the drivers of our global economy and that these disciplines are the primary source of all innovation. Reports also show that many firms desperately need STEM-skilled employees but are struggling to find qualified individuals. It has become clear that we’re simply not producing enough individuals trained in STEM fields to fulfill current demand, and that’s a big problem if we want our country to remain globally competitive. I’m proud to report that our district’s own military installations, Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base and Fort Rucker, are taking their own measures to expose elementary school students to the STEM fields and encourage students to pursue educations in these disciplines. This past Monday I had the opportunity to visit Starbase, Maxwell Air Force Base’s five-week STEM education program, that is available to 5th graders in the River Region. Students from Montgomery, Autauga, and Elmore Counties visit Maxwell Air Force Base for classes once per week for five weeks for classroom instruction and hands-on learning experiences leading up to a final robotics project. The Starbase experience is offered to all 5th graders, regardless of learning abilities, physical challenges, and disciplinary concerns. Starbase will serve approximately 2,000 students this year alone, but due to funding limitations, schools must rotate participation from year to year, meaning that each school participates in the program approximately every other year. I’m excited to report that Congress has restored $25 million to the national Starbase program in the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which went to President Trump’s desk this week. I also recently had the opportunity to meet with COL Craig Taylor, Commander of the U.S. Army Aeromedical Research Laboratory (USAARL) at Fort Rucker, and he filled me in on their program called Gains in the Education of Mathematics and Science (GEMS). GEMS is an extracurricular STEM education program that enables 4th-11th grade students from the Wiregrass region of our state to engage in grade-appropriate, hands-on experiments. These students learn valuable math and science concepts, gain exposure to laboratory settings, and interact with military and civilian technicians, scientists, and engineers. USAARL’s GEMS program aims to reach those students who are underserved or underrepresented in STEM fields. GEMS is provided at no cost to students and since 2011 has been offered to more than 950 students from Fort Rucker, Enterprise, Ozark, Daleville, Dothan, and other communities. The Wiregrass is fortunate to have GEMS available to students in the area, and I’m excited to see its continued development of STEM students for our state. It is critically important that we train up future generations of STEM professionals in order to maintain our competitive edge in innovation. Our district’s military installations are answering that call in a big way, and we are fortunate to have the Starbase and GEMS programs available to our students. I’m proud of the work being done for STEM education at Maxwell and Fort Rucker, and I am eager to see it continue and flourish. ••• Martha Roby represents Alabama’s Second Congressional District. She lives in Montgomery, Alabama with her husband Riley and their two children.
Critics say Donald Trump birth control rule ignores science
The Trump administration’s new birth control rule is raising questions among some doctors and researchers, who say it overlooks known benefits of contraception while selectively citing data that raise doubts about effectiveness and safety. “This rule is listing things that are not scientifically validated, and in some cases things that are wrong, to try to justify a decision that is not in the best interests of women and society,” said Dr. Hal Lawrence, CEO of the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, a professional society representing women’s health specialists. Two recently issued rules – one addressing religious objections and the other, moral objections – allow more employers to opt out of covering birth control as a preventive benefit for women under the Obama health care law. Although the regulations ultimately address matters of individual conscience and religious teaching, they also dive into medical research and scholarly studies on birth control. It’s on the science that researchers are questioning the Trump administration. They say officials ignored some recent research and stretched other studies. “The interpretation is very selective in terms of the science that they use,” said Alina Salganicoff, director of women’s health policy at the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation. “It’s always possible to find one study that validates your claim, but you have to look at the quality of the study and the totality of the research. You can make an argument that you don’t agree because of your religious or moral objections, but that is a different discussion.” In a statement, Health and Human Services Department spokeswoman Caitlin Oakley responded to critics, saying: “The rules are focused on guaranteeing religious freedom and conscience protections for those Americans who have a religious or moral objection to providing certain services based on their sincerely held beliefs.” The administration also says some parts of the rules are meant to illustrate the sorts of concerns that religious objectors may have, and don’t necessarily reflect government policy. Here’s a look at examples from the Trump administration’s birth control rules that are raising questions: THE MORNING-AFTER PILL Emergency contraception is birth control for use after unprotected sex, often called the “morning-after pill.” Referring to the morning-after pill as well as intrauterine devices or IUDs, the regulations state that the Food and Drug Administration “includes in the category of ‘contraceptives’ certain drugs and devices that may not only prevent conception (fertilization), but also may prevent implantation of an embryo.” Because of that, “many persons and organizations” believe emergency contraception methods cause “early abortion,” the regulations add. But Princeton researcher James Trussell said that while studies years ago suggested the morning-after pill might affect the lining of a woman’s uterus and interfere with the implantation of a fertilized egg, more recent studies have not found such an effect. “The preponderance of the evidence, and certainly the most recent evidence, is that there is no post-fertilization effect,” said Trussell. That’s not included in the administration’s rule. “The actual medical evidence is that it blocks ovulation,” or the release of an egg from the ovaries, explained Lawrence, the ob-gyn. “If you don’t ovulate, there is no egg to get fertilized. It’s not blocking implantation.” EFFECTIVENESS OF BIRTH CONTROL The Trump administration’s rule takes issue with the science behind the Obama-era decision to require most employers to cover birth control as preventive care. It suggests that some studies cited in a key 2011 report did not show a direct cause-and-effect link between increased birth control use by women and a decline in unintended pregnancy. But Adam Sonfield of the Guttmacher Institute said solid research does in fact exist. The organization does studies on reproductive health that are cited by opposing sides in the political debate. For example, Sonfield cited a Guttmacher report which found that women who used birth control consistently year-round accounted for only 5 percent of unintended pregnancies in 2008. “The vast majority of women use birth control at some point in their lives,” said Sonfield. “As a medical service, it’s far more universal than almost anything covered by insurance.” George Washington University public health professor Susan Wood, a former women’s health chief for the FDA, said there’s very clear clinical data that contraception prevents pregnancy. Why else would the FDA approve birth control pills? “They are just using this as a smoke screen,” Wood said of the administration. “They are picking out things that they like, and leaving out (studies) that support access to contraception.” THE SEXUAL REVOLUTION The Trump administration’s rule suggests there may be a link between birth control and promiscuity. It cites a study finding that between 1960 and 1990, “as contraceptive use increased, teen sexual activity outside of marriage likewise increased.” (The administration added a caveat that the study did not prove a cause-and-effect link.) Lawrence, the ob-gyn, said he thinks that’s a stretch. “There were a whole lot of other things going on in the ’60s,” he said, such as changing social mores about sex before marriage. Also, many people relied on condoms, diaphragms and spermicides. “The world of birth control in 2018 is about as similar to the world of birth control in 1960 as a Ralph Nader Chevy Corvair is to a space shuttle,” he said. Republished with permission from the Associated Press.
Gary Palmer: Clean power plan means “enormous harm” to U.S. economy
U.S. Rep. Gary Palmer on Thursday cosigned a letter to the governors and attorneys general of all 50 states stridently opposing the Environmental Protection Agency’s new “Clean Power Plan,” which would shut down several coal-fired power plants among other changes to the nation’s energy regime. Palmer, who was joined in his epistolary effort by Science, Space and Technology Committee Chairman Lamar Smith, said in the letter the Obama administration’s new EPA regulations would do “enormous harm” to the domestic economy, “The Clean Power Plan will do enormous harm to America’s economy, necessitating the loss of millions of jobs and substantially increasing household energy costs that disproportionately hurt low-income and fixed income families,” Palmer said. “The hope that the CPP will ‘trigger global action’ on climate change is an insufficient reason to damage the economic opportunities and future aspirations of millions of Americans.” Palmer and Smith cited recent precedent on the U.S. Supreme Court, hinting that the judiciary may head off the Clean Power Plan before it is even enacted, making a 10th amendment-based “states’ rights” argument that the federal government cannot coerce states into drastic action without due consideration. “The Supreme Court recently halted the EPA’s Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS), since it did not adequately consider the costs of the rule along with the benefits,” said Palmer. “Additionally, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has also enjoined the EPA’s Waters of the U.S. rule. States are not required to help implement this onerous rule and they should not do so, at least until the rule’s legal future is decided, since they risk incurring billions in costs for a rule that may not survive legal scrutiny.” Palmer and Smith urged the state executive branch leaders to extend the new rules’ implementation process by filing a State Implementation Plan, or SIP, after current legal challenges are exhausted. “The Clean Air Act gives states the right to submit a SIP at any point in the process. We urge you not to move forward until after legitimate legal challenges to the Clean Power Plan have been resolved,” wrote the congressmen.
Gary Palmer opposes new EPA methane rule that punishes energy production
U.S. Rep. Gary Palmer (AL-06) is taking a stand against the Environment Protection Agency‘s newly proposed rule that would apply to new or modified oil or natural gas sources. The proposal aims to cut methane by 40 to 45 percent of the 2012 levels by 2025 and would require drillers to plug leaks and capture lost gas in wells intended to extract only oil. The EPA said the move was a commitment by the Obama administration to take action on climate change and protect public health. However, Palmer believes the rule is designed to discourage the development of America’s vast untapped energy reserves and to increase the cost of energy and will disproportionally hurt the poorest and most vulnerable Americans. “In 2014, the EPA noted that methane emission from fracking has fallen 73 percent since 2011, and overall methane emission from U.S. natural gas emissions has declined by at least 15 percent percent since 1990,’’ said Palmer, a member of the U.S. House Science, Space and Technology Subcommittee on Environment. “The research noted that a small number of sites accounted for the majority of those emissions, suggesting that technology already in use across the industry is effectively managing methane leakage.” Chairman of the U.S. House Science, Space and Technology Committee, U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith (TX-21), shares Palmer’s concerns saying this is another sign of the EPA’s opposition to responsible energy development. “The EPA’s proposed methane rule is yet another example of the Obama administration’s war on American energy jobs,” Smith said. “The EPA’s own data shows that methane emissions in the United States decreased by almost 15 percent between 1990 and 2013, yet EPA is forging ahead with this extraneous and unnecessary regulation. EPA should stop. According to the EPA’s own data, the current leakage rate is only about 1.5 percent, well within the recommended limits of the scientific community’s standard of 2-3 percent of total production. “EPA’s data seems to agree that we’re controlling methane leakage,’’ Palmer said. “And data from a high profile environmental group like the Environmental Defense Fund implies methane emissions are not a problem. So this begs the question, why is the EPA proposing unnecessary regulations?”
Email Insights: Gary Palmer challenges EPA Administrator McCarthy on overreach
Congressman Gary Palmer, a member of the Science, Space and Technology Committee, questioned EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy at a hearing today on the Environmental Protection Agency‘s overreach: The EPA is an agency that increasingly claims more authority than it rightfully ought to have. It claims the authority to regulate ditches and small ponds as ‘navigable waters.’ It is busy crafting some of the most expensive regulations in history on power plants. It unreasonably refuses to consider the potential costs of regulations on to the economy,” said Palmer. “The EPA’s agenda is destroying jobs and hurting the poorest Americans disproportionately. This is especially true in the minority community. According to a report by the National Black Chamber of Commerce, due to the EPA’s regulatory agenda, by 2025, blacks will lose almost 2.2 million jobs and Hispanics 3.8 million. Also, the poverty rate will increase for blacks by 23% and Hispanics by 26%. During her testimony, Administrator McCarthy admitted that the proposed new ozone standard would be achieved by the majority of counties without additional regulations. Additionally, Administrator McCarthy admitted that the previous standard has yet to be implemented. Palmer asked why, if this were true, the EPA is now proposing a new standard which cannot be met by many counties using currently available technology. You can watch Congressman Palmer’s exchange with Administrator McCarthy below:
Gary Palmer backs EPA ‘overreach’ bill delaying new emissions rules
On Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Gary Palmer took part in a dual effort in Congress to stop what he called “overregulation” aimed at delaying the implementation of new rules under the federal Clean Air Act of 1963. Palmer said the regulatory changes were coercive in nature and constitute a de facto regressive tax increase as he argued in favor of the “Ratepayer Protection Act,” which passed the House 287-180 yesterday and now goes before the Senate for a vote. Palmer, who represents Alabama’s 6th congressional district based in the suburbs of Birmingham, offered a scathing critique of the Environmental Protection Agency, whose power to tighten restrictions on energy production as part of new so-called Clean Power Plant requirements is authorized under the Clean Air Act. “The EPA makes a habit out of claiming more authority than it rightfully has, particularly under this Administration,” said Palmer in a news release Wednesday. “The EPA’s proposed ‘Clean Power Plant’ rule is an example of this. This rule would require power plants to reduce emissions by 30% in the next 15 years in order to achieve little to no environmental benefit. According to the NERA, an economic consulting and analysis firm, this proposal would cost between $41 and $73 billion per year. There is a strong possibility this rule will be struck down in court. In the meantime, it could do significant economic damage. “This rule amounts to a massive tax increase on those Americans least able to pay it. The Ratepayer Protection Act would shield states from being forced or coerced into complying with this unwise and possibly illegal rule. I am glad to support this first step toward rolling back EPA’s overregulation.” Palmer is a member of the Science, Space and Technology Subcommittee on the Environment. In a meeting of the panel yesterday on Capitol Hill, the first-term Republican inveighed against the EPA’s alleged incursions into the legislative branch and vowed to oppose any measure that would raise the price of domestic energy production. Alabama’s 6th congressional district is tied with Texas’ 13th district as the most Republican-leaning in the nation. Cook Political Report rates it “R +28.”
