Biofuel takes flight

Continental Airlines has used a sustainable biofuel to power a commercial aircraft for the first time in North America, states The Engineer.

The demonstration flight - which was conducted in partnership with Boeing, GE Aviation/CFM International, and Honeywell's UOP - marks the first sustainable biofuel demonstration flight by a commercial carrier using a twin-engine aircraft, a Boeing 737-800 powered by CFM International CFM56-7B engines.

The biofuel blend included components derived from algae and jatropha plants.

Researchers at the University of Southern California have created a clear, colourless disk about five inches in diameter, which bends and twists like a playing card, with a lattice of more than 20 000 nanotube transistors, reports Inventorspot.

It is capable of having high-performance electronics printed on it using a potentially inexpensive low-temperature process.

The research has a wide range of potential applications: it could be used as affordable "head-up" car windshield displays, and the lattices could also be used to create cheap, ultra-thin, low-power e-paper displays.

At this year's JP Morgan Healthcare Conference, the largest and most prestigious conference for healthcare investors, biotechnology companies will need to be armed with more than a compelling drug development story, writes MSNBC.

In today's harsh markets, life science investment specialists want to see how biotech companies are making tough decisions to manage their cash, according to BioCentury Publications.

"The directive from investors is simple: biotechnology companies need to hit the brakes on all non-core programmes, put fewer shots on goal and narrow the focus to assets that can be partnered and monetised sooner rather than later," says Karen Bernstein, BioCentury's chairman and editor-in-chief.