According to a study published in the journal Nature, stem cell researcher Mick Bhatia and his colleagues at McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada, have turned human skin cells directly into blood cells for the first time—without first passing through a middle, stem-cell-like state.

Income Statements are often presented in many different formats. Two popular methods are the Traditional Income Statement, which is required by U.S. law for reporting to governments and stockholders, and the Contribution Margin Income Statement, which is used internally to help guide management decisions. Also, you will want to analyze the Income Statement both horizontally and vertically.

In this session 6 experts provide their research Energy Efficiency, Challenges, and Solutions. They include Joseph Rollin of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Ludovico Cademartiri of Harvard University, Alex Romriell of Brigham Young University, Fanxing Li of The Ohio State University, Danahe Marmolejo-Correa of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, and Yasuki Kansha of the Institute of Industrial Science at The University of Tokyo.

This session presented work from a number of groups from one of three Bioenergy Research Centers sponsored by the DOE; the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (GLBRC), BioEnergy Science Center (BESC), and Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI). A major focus of the Bioenergy Research Centers is to understand how to reengineer biological processes to develop new, more efficient methods for converting the cellulose in plant material into ethanol or other biofuels that serve as a substitute for gasoline. This session focused on the characterization and breakdown of lignin, a main component of plant cell walls.

Stem cells are poised to transform medical treatments for a host of diseases and malignant conditions. Translating stem cell research into clinical therapies, disease models, and drug-screening platforms will require a combination of sound science and innovative chemical and biological engineering.

Neither rain, nor sleet, nor snow can slow down the sessions here at the 2010 AIChE Annual Meeting in Salt Lake City. At the Sustainable Fuel From Renewable Resources Session, Biomass was the name of the game.