#China - Major Patent - A Paradigm Shift for Global Food Security
A groundbreaking innovation in synthetic biology has just taken a huge step toward transforming how starch - one of the world’s most essential food and industrial biomolecules is made.
Researchers at the Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology (TIB), Chinese Academy of Sciences have developed a direct enzymatic process that turns carbon dioxide (CO₂) into starch with dramatically improved productivity.
This approach, called the Artificial Starch Anabolic Pathway (ASAP), uses a designed sequence of catalysts to convert CO₂ and hydrogen into starch without plants, achieving productivity reportedly ~10× higher than earlier methods.
This breakthrough redefines starch production, turning it from a crop-dependent agricultural activity into a scalable industrial process — with profound implications for food security, climate resilience, and resource conservation.
Why this matters !?!
Food Security:
Traditional starch comes from crops like corn, which require vast land, freshwater, and inputs. ASAP could slash land/water needs and help feed a growing population.
Climate & Sustainability:
By using CO₂ as a feedstock, this technology turns a major greenhouse gas into valuable nutrition/industrial feedstock.
Industrial Resilience:
A weather-independent starch supply reduces vulnerability to droughts, pests, and crop failures — strengthening food and materials supply chains.
Environmental Benefits:
It eliminates fertilizer, pesticide, and large-scale irrigation demands tied to conventional farming.
interestingengineering.com/inn… #CO2toStarch #ASAP #SyntheticBiology #FoodSecurity #ClimateTech #Innovation #Biotech
CO2 turned into starch: China's new method boosts productivity by 10x
Chinese scientists have developed a way to convert carbon dioxide directly into starch, bypassing crops and farmland.Christopher McFadden (Interesting Engineering)
Jack William Bell
in reply to R. Scott (i47i) • • •RELATED:
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R. Scott (i47i)
in reply to Jack William Bell • • •@jackwilliambell
Wow. The study demonstrated that the starch-regolith composite is a promising candidate for lunar construction:
So starch from CO2 then to bricks 🧱 from #moon dust. Clever.
Mike McRae 🇨🇦
in reply to R. Scott (i47i) • • •R. Scott (i47i)
in reply to Mike McRae 🇨🇦 • • •@mikemcrae
The global landscape of innovation has shifted toward a clear East-West divide in strategy and volume.
As of early 2026, the data from WIPO and IFI Claims shows a staggering gap in raw output:
The Global Patent Gap (2025–2026)
China: Filed 1.8 million patent applications, capturing 49.1% of the world total.
United States: Filed 501,831 patent applications, representing 16.2% of global filings.
The Trend: While China’s output grew by 9.3% year-over-year, U.S. filings saw a 3.7% to 9% decline (depending on the sector), dropping to their lowest levels since 2019.
Generative AI: China has filed over 38,000 GenAI patents over the last decade—6 times more than the U.S. total of roughly 6,200.
Patent Grants: China issued over 1 million patents in the last year, more than 3 times the 323,272 issued by the U.S.
#China has won the "volume war," becoming the world's most prolific factory of ideas. The U.S., however, still holds the "influence crown," prioritizing high-impact, globally enforced intellectual property.
R. Scott (i47i)
in reply to R. Scott (i47i) • • •...more
#China - Scientists say this bismuth-powered chip is 40% faster than Intel’s best - are silicon processors officially finished?
> Peking University transistor could outperform Intel, #TSMC, and #Samsung’s top silicon chips.
Full gate coverage boosts speed and cuts energy use in breakthrough Chinese transistor design
China may have just leapfrogged US chip tech with this silicon-free #transistor innovation
techradar.com/pro/chinese-rese…
Buds_Always_Have_Elbows_Up🇨🇦🇺🇦
in reply to R. Scott (i47i) • • •R. Scott (i47i)
in reply to Buds_Always_Have_Elbows_Up🇨🇦🇺🇦 • • •@buds_always
I know. Yuck! But...
Global starch use:
Food: 58%
Industry: 42%
Industrial usage:
Paper & Packaging: 28%
Textiles: 12%
Bioplastics: 10%
Pharmaceuticals: 7%
Adhesives: 5%
Biofuels: 4%
In the food category starch is used as a thickener, stabilizer, and gelling agent in processed foods, snacks, and dairy
R. Scott (i47i)
in reply to R. Scott (i47i) • • •The "Corn-Smog" Crisis and the Starch Solution
The haze choking Southeast Asia isn't weather—it's industrial agriculture.
Each dry season, #Thailand and #Myanmar burn millions of tons of corn waste (cobs, stalks, leaves) to clear fields for the next planting cycle. This slash-and-burn practice is a major driver of the PM2.5 pollution that turns skies grey across the Mekong region, causing respiratory deaths and economic losses estimated at billions of dollars annually.
Now, breakthrough research in Chemoenzymatic Starch Synthesis (CSS) —converting CO₂ directly into starch in labs—offers a way out. Producing starch synthetically delivers a double environmental win:
Active carbon removal: CSS pulls CO₂ from the atmosphere and locks it into usable carbohydrates
Smog elimination at the source:
Synthetic starch bypasses corn cultivation entirely—no fields, no harvest waste, no fires
If scaled, this te
... show moreThe "Corn-Smog" Crisis and the Starch Solution
The haze choking Southeast Asia isn't weather—it's industrial agriculture.
Each dry season, #Thailand and #Myanmar burn millions of tons of corn waste (cobs, stalks, leaves) to clear fields for the next planting cycle. This slash-and-burn practice is a major driver of the PM2.5 pollution that turns skies grey across the Mekong region, causing respiratory deaths and economic losses estimated at billions of dollars annually.
Now, breakthrough research in Chemoenzymatic Starch Synthesis (CSS) —converting CO₂ directly into starch in labs—offers a way out. Producing starch synthetically delivers a double environmental win:
Active carbon removal: CSS pulls CO₂ from the atmosphere and locks it into usable carbohydrates
Smog elimination at the source:
Synthetic starch bypasses corn cultivation entirely—no fields, no harvest waste, no fires
If scaled, this technology doesn't just decarbonize food systems. It clears the air over one of the world's most polluted regions, protecting millions of lives while addressing climate change.
The choice is stark: continue burning our way through harvest seasons, or grow starch from captured carbon.
science.nasa.gov/earth/earth-o…
google.com/search?q=earthobser…
tdri.or.th/en/2023/04/challeng…
earthobservatory.nasa.gov/imag…
#CleanAir #Sustainability #ClimateTech #PM25 #SoutheastAsia #AgTech #CarbonCapture #StarchSynthesis #Thailand #Myanmar #China #AirPollution #Biotech
Earth Observatory
Kevin Ward (NASA Science)