MnDRIVE Stories
Research stories from the MnDRIVE Environment Initiative.
Harnessing Microbes for Better Health
UMN researchers study how bacteria can contribute to safer drinking water
Tapping the Talents of Enzymes
BTI researchers are working to discover, understand, and improve our ability to enlist the help of molecules that catalyze life.
Byproduct
Art installation at the Fulton brewery taproom sheds light on MnDRIVE sponsored sustainable wastewater treatment research.
Is PFAS a Problem in Municipal Compost?
MnDRIVE brings industry and regulators together to weigh costs, benefits, solutions.
Fighting Farmland Pollution with Fungi
With support from the MnDRIVE Environment Initiative, doctoral candidate Laura Bender harnesses the power of soil fungi to help plants absorb pollutants.
An End in Sight For “Forever Chemicals”
MnDRIVE researchers Mikael Elias and Lawrence Wackett are studying Acidimicrobium in hopes of harnessing the bacteria’s PFAS-degrading power.
Understanding a Toxic Necessity
Jannell Bazurto, assistant professor of Plant and Microbial Biology at the University of Minnesota, is pursuing a better understanding of formaldehyde, a chemical that is carcinogenic, toxic, and produced by all living things.
Clean Energy from Beer Waste?
MnDRIVE-funded researcher harvests natural gas from brewery wastewater
Stopping PFAS in Its Tracks
UMN researchers trap harmful chemicals before they can pass through the environment to our drinking water.
Signal and Noise
Enzyme-based coatings developed at the University of Minnesota help protect port infrastructure by disrupting bacterial signaling.
The Fight for Safer Food
To confront the threat of persistent foodborne pathogens, Steve Bowden turns to novel techniques.
Making the Best of the Rest
MnDRIVE initiative helps Second Harvest Heartland turn inedible food into a useful product.
A Micro Lens on a Macroscopic Question
A Q&A with PhD Candidate Anna Bennett
The Promise of Peat
UMN researcher Dr. Brandy Stewart studies carbon-rich peat to filter harmful metals from wastewater
Battling Biocorrosion in Duluth-Superior Harbor
University of Minnesota researchers develop novel bioactive coating to protect valuable port infrastructure. by Annamarie Rutledge Duluth’s shipping industry has always been vulnerable to shifts in global commodity prices. But the Great Lakes busiest transportation...
Synthesizing Sustainability
UMN scientists produce high-value beta-lactones from waste for use in antibiotic and anti-cancer therapies.
The Plant Microbe Match
University of Minnesota researchers pair plants with microbes to remove arsenic from contaminated soils
Engineering a self-cleaning environment
UMN researchers create self-cleaning Biohubs to mitigate the impact of pollutants in Minnesota’s waterways
Managing Manganese with Microbes
UMN researchers bring back microbes from Japan for water treatment in Minnesota
Breaking the code
UMN researcher in the Elias Lab searches for clues to bacterial communication
Fertilizer of the Future
UMN researchers investigate nutrient recycling to mitigate the impact of agricultural runoff and carbon emissions.
Minnesota Lakes in Peril
UMN researchers use DNA technology to track fecal contamination in Minnesota waters
Saving Little Brown Myotis
Can native microbes help protect Minnesota’s bat population from the deadly white-nose bat syndrome?
Electrifying Opportunities from Beer Waste
MnDRIVE investigators are developing distributed wastewater treatments that transform carbon waste into clean electricity
Advancing Biotech Byte by Byte
How computational biology is solving the big data dilemma, one question at a time. Plus Q&A's with Dan Knights and Chad Myers When you log onto Facebook, your profile provides the company with a truckload of data about you — where you hang out, what you “Like”,...
Insights from our Insides, a Q&A with Dan Knights
We are what we eat but there’s also a host of microbes living in our guts that help us make the most of all that food. Computational Biologist, Dan Knights investigates the dynamic and rapidly evolving relationship between humans and the bugs living within.
Life? There’s a Map for That. Q&A with Chad Myers
Computational Biologist Chad Myers applies his expertise in leading edge techniques in computer science to the latest genome-scale technologies in order to understand the genetic architecture of life.
Q&A with Michael Freeman
New BTI faculty member translates unknown microbial languages into novel possibilities for biotech. By Colleen Smith Michael Freeman joins the Biotechnology Institute this Spring as a new faculty in the College of Biological Sciences. Hired in the Synthetic Biology...
Fungal Pests Reassessed
Some fungi have developed a bad reputation as pests eating wood from the buildings where people live and work. But BTI researcher Jonathan Schilling is challenging old assumptions and finding new reasons to study the ubiquitous microorganisms.
Science, It’s What’s for Dinner
If it’s on the shelf at the grocery store, it must be safe to eat… right? Hopefully, that answer is yes. Yet a dazzling array of microorganisms — not all of them friendly — enjoy human grub in our gastrointestinal tracts as much as we do. How can science help to guarantee the safety of our foods and bodies against an army of opportunist bugs?
Bio-machines and Nanospheres
Imagine for a moment, the conditions necessary to sustain life. What comes to mind? Water? Oxygen? Sunlight? Think again. Many of the world’s smallest organisms have evolved and adapted to live under extreme conditions where these basic building blocks are scarce or absent altogether.