One of the things I like best about this job is finding something new to write about. Having been editor of this magazine for something over 20 years, it sometimes feels quite repetitive. However, this month,I've felt really privileged to report on a couple of interesting developments from fields outside the normal areas of interest.
The first is, for me, completely wonderful. This is the project to sequence the genome of the rubber tree, Hevea brasiliensis. I've heard rumours for some years that this project is under discussion. Last March when I visited Kuala Lumpur, the head of Malaysia's rubber organisation told me that it was a serious project and that one of the aims is to make a transgenic plant.
Currently the rubber tree produces a great deal of water, some polyisoprene and some proteins. These come together in the latex ducts and are tapped for eventual manufacture into gloves, balloons, condoms and latex thread. Unfortunately, those proteins have caused some problems with allergies in some sensitised individuals.
The vision of the Malaysian Rubber Board (LGM) was to create a transgenic species which makes useful proteins instead of the potentially harmful ones. Beyond merely avoiding allergies and sensitisation, the Malaysians have a wide vision which includes making insulin and other proteins in the rubber tree.
Currently, insulin used to treat diabetes is made in pigs and other animals. There is a large population of humans who find it difficult to find a compromise between the need to keep themselves healthy with artificial insulin and the thought of having that medicine made in other animals. Personally I'd be a bit ambivalent about it too.
As soon as I heard of the plan to use genetic engineering to make these kinds of proteins, I realised that there is a bigger vision than just rubber going on in Malaysia, and I welcome that.
The first step on the road to that vision is now complete. It has to be said that the vision of the scientists who completed the genome sequence is much more limited than that of the LGM, but nevertheless, understanding the genetic origins of traits such as disease-resistance, yield and other attributes will prove a major step forward for the agronomists, and will, in my opinion, reduce the probability of a natural rubber shortage into the future.
When we understand the genome correctly, we'll be able to use conventional breeding programmes to create trees which can grow outside the traditional rubber growing band, and more importantly, check for their suitability almost as soon as the sapling has germinated, rather than waiting seven to ten years to find out the characteristics of the tree.
The other development I enjoyed learning about is the electro-active elastomer. If you take a thin sheet of an insulating elastomer and apply a strong electric field through the thickness, then it gets thinner and grows in area. I'd never heard of this effect before, despite 20-odd years in the business, but it seems it's a well-known phenomenon.
The challenge for the industry is to create films which are just a few microns in thickness. If anyone out there has a technology for making rubbery films that thin, then I know a lot of researchers who would be very keen to talk with you about electrical properties.
The requirement is for an elastomer which offers very good elastic properties, with limited viscous properties. It must be a good electrical insulator and highly elastic. And it must be possible to make it in very thin sheets.
I'm told there is a strong potential market for actuators made using such thin films. And in these times of lean profits, that has to be an interesting prospect.
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10 September 2010
