CSIR Science Scope - Volume 2, Issue 1, April 2007

Biodiesel is a fatty acid ester derived from fats and oils obtained from biological material. One of the major sources of biodiesel is oils produced from oilseeds such as soya bean and sunflower. The CSIR is conducting an extensive research programme in partnership with the Department of Science and Technology to develop new processes and applications for the soya oilcake - a high-protein by-product stream produced after removal of the oil. The by-product stream typically comprises 60-80% of the total weight of an oilseed, thereby making its sales value critical to ensure the economic viability of such processing plants.

South Africa has an immense wealth of biodiversity and natural resources. Sustainable exploitation of these natural resources through appropriate technology interventions has promise for social and economic growth and can contribute to job creation, skills development and, in some cases, the survival of poor rural households.

Aloe is a succulent plant with many species indigenous to South Africa. Products from aloe have been used in traditional medicine for centuries in the treatment of constipation, burns and skin disorders. In modern therapeutic applications aloe gel is used as an anti-inflammatory, anti-ulcer, anti-diabetic and antioxidant. Aloe products are also used extensively in the cosmetic and health-food industries. The main species of aloe used domestically in pharmaceutical, therapeutic, dermatological or cosmetic applications are obtained from wild harvested Aloe ferox (A. ferox), a species restricted to southern Africa.

Through the promotion and commercialisation of indigenous foods, the CSIR aims to raise awareness of the important role that indigenous food plays, in poverty reduction and the extent to which science and technology (S&T) can unlock sustainable socio-economic development.

Pectin is a water-soluble, colourless, tasteless, odourless and amorphous substance suitable for application as a gelling compound in many processed foods. It is used as a food additive in high-quality jams, jellies and dairy products. Pectin can be found in a variety of sources, but the preferred source is citrus peel (lemon, grapefruit, orange), which contains 30-35% pectin by mass of dried peel (some 2-4% based on wet peel).

Modern forest plantation practices are aligned with increasingly stringent environmental management constraints. This has resulted in the withdrawal of the plantation areas from riparian zones and conservation areas, and the consequential reduction in some plantation sizes.

Scientists at the CSIR are investigating processing technologies to develop potential fructan products from the Agave Americana plant that flourishes in the arid conditions of the Karoo.

The quest to make humans less attractive to mosquitoes has fuelled decades of scientific research on mosquito behaviour and control.

A Northern Cape biotech success story unfolds : beta-carotene from algae.

CSIR scientists are using glyco-engineering technologies to introduce genes involved in the incorporation of human polysaccharides into unicellular organisms to produce pre-determined proteins with therapeutic uses.

The scientific knowledge base and understanding of biological materials has reached a critical point, allowing for the development of exciting new fields of science and technology. Over the past decade, interdisciplinary research has created opportunities at the interface of biology and physics. As it started becoming evident that the principles of mechanical engineering can be applied to biology, the new field of synthetic biology emerged.

Bioinformatics and computational biology are fields where close collaboration exists between the CSIR and the University of Pretoria (UP). The Pretoria node of the National Bioinformatics Network is hosted by the university and also involves the University of Limpopo and the Agricultural Research Centre at Onderstepoort.

Two high-performance computer clusters housed at the Meraka Institute in Pretoria provide a world-class resource for South Africa's bio- and medical informatics research community. Created by Intel and HP, donated by Intel Corporation and managed by the Meraka Institute (a national research centre of the CSIR), these supercomputers will initially be used for research on HIV vaccine definitions, process analyses of health-related data and perform protein structure modelling.

CSIR research and development endeavours impress SA President.