Plastic that grows on trees

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Scientists have discovered the most effective method yet to convert glucose found in plants worldwide and natures most abundant sugar to HFM a chemical that can be broken into components for products now made from petroleum. (Illustration credit: Pac ...
Scientists have discovered the most effective method yet to convert glucose, found in plants worldwide and nature's most abundant sugar, to HFM, a chemical that can be broken into components for products now made from petroleum. (Illustration credit: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory)

Scientists took a giant step closer to the biorefinery this week, reporting in the June 15 issue of the journal Science that they have directly converted sugars ubiquitous in nature to an alternative source for those products that make oil so valuable, with very little of the residual impurities that have made the quest so daunting.


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Landmark study unlocks stem cell, DNA secrets to speed therapies

Oct 10, 2008 | User rating: not rated yet
In a groundbreaking study led by an eminent molecular biologist at Florida State University, researchers have discovered that as embryonic stem cells turn into different cell types, there are dramatic corresponding ...

Fat-regenerating 'stem cells' found in mice

Oct 10, 2008 | User rating: not rated yet
Researchers have identified stem cells with the capacity to build fat, according to a report in the October 17th issue of the journal Cell, a Cell Press publication. Although they have yet to show that the cells can ...

Polls may underestimate Obama's support by 3 to 4 percent, researchers say

Oct 10, 2008 | User rating: not rated yet
(PhysOrg.com) -- Current polls of the presidential election may be underestimating Barack Obama's support by 3 to 4 percent nationally and possibly larger margins in the Southeast and some strongly Republican states, according ...

Unique fossils capture 'Cambrian migration'

Oct 10, 2008 | User rating: not rated yet
(PhysOrg.com) -- A unique set of fossils indicates that 525 million years ago marine animals congregated in Earth’s ancient oceans, most likely for migration, according to an international team of scientists.

Early planting lets farmers be both mean and green, study shows

Oct 10, 2008 | User rating: not rated yet
(PhysOrg.com) -- Farmers can be both mean and green when protecting their canola fields from a pesky insect that poses a chronic threat, says a University of Alberta researcher.
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