News & inspiration for the bioeconomy
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Ever wonder why the color in your clothes comes at such a heavy cost to the planet? On this episode of the Grow Everything podcast, Karl and Erum keep their BioDye series going with Roya Aghighi, the founder of Lite-1. Roya grew up in her mom’s fashion studio, spent years inside the industry stress testing […] The post 192. Reading Between the Dyes: Roya Aghighi Unlocks Biological Pigments at…
What happens when an evolutionary biologist and an aerospace engineer both arrive at the same conclusion — that the future of drug manufacturing isn’t steel, it’s biology? In this episode, Karl Schmieder and Erum Azeez Khan sit down with Sam Levin (Co-Founder & CTO) and Dimi Kellari (Co-Founder & CEO) of Neion Bio to unpack […] The post 188. Which Came First: Chicken, Egg, or Medicine? Neion Bio…
Recorded live at New York Tech Week, Karl and Erum sit down with Brenton Alexander (CTO at Roebling) to unpack one of the biggest bottlenecks in scaling “biology as technology”: figuring out what it really takes to design and finance physical infrastructure. Brenton walks through how Roebling uses AI alongside deterministic engineering models (physics/thermodynamics) to […] The post 186. N.Y. Tech…
Senator Todd Young joins the Grow Everything podcast to discuss the critical intersection of biotechnology and national security, sharing how his military background, Indiana roots, and role as chairman of the National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology shaped his understanding of the bioeconomy as a strategic imperative. From DARPA’s shelf-stable powdered blood to the America’s […] The…
Karl and Erum are back from SynBio Beta 2026 in San Jose — and they brought home an Impact Award. In this special recap episode, they break down the biggest moments from the conference: Neon’s audacious plan to engineer chicken eggs as bioreactors, P&G’s push into bio ceramides with their Native brand, Twist Bioscience’s expansion […] The post 182. SynBioBeta 2026 Recap, It’s Biologist Approved…
Gerit Tolborg, CEO and co-founder of Chromologics, joins Karl and Erum to explore how filamentous fungi can replace synthetic and plant-extracted food dyes with a fermentation-derived red pigment called Tellurin. Gerit shares how a PhD discovery in Denmark led to a venture-backed startup producing a tasteless, odorless, and highly vibrant natural color that performs across […] The post 181. Can…
Ricky Cassini, CEO of Michroma and a former logistics professor turned biotech founder, breaks down why replacing synthetic food dyes is harder than it sounds—and why fermentation-based colorants can outperform both petrochemical dyes and many plant-based “natural” extracts. The conversation covers the core technical constraints that matter to food companies (thermal stability, pH stability,…
Recorded live during DC Climate Week, the Grow Everything team sits down with investors Veronica Breckenridge, Jillian Chase, and Michael Luciani to unpack the real state of the US bioeconomy race with China, why fermentation and scale-up capacity are a persistent bottleneck, and how policy, non-dilutive funding, and better founder execution can close the gap. […] The post 179. D.C. Climate Week…
Karl and Erum talk with Jesse Adler, founder of Pitri, about why color is not just aesthetic, but chemical, biological, and deeply tied to human and environmental health. Jesse traces their path from biomolecular science and biodesign into building fungal pigments that can replace synthetic and animal-derived colorants, starting with the beauty industry as a […] The post 178. Pretty in Pigments:…
In this replay episode of Grow Everything, Karl and Erum catch up after recent travel, reflect on a standout mainstream biotech article about biology reshaping the global chemical industry, and discuss why “tissue-on-a-chip” experiments in space matter for long-duration missions. They then kick off a deeper dive into bio-based dyes by revisiting their interview with […] The post 177. Dye Another…
