New source for biofuels discovered

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Left: Two rod-shaped wild type cyanobacteria. Note the conspicuous absence of any cellulose or sugars on the surface of these cells. Right: A genetically altered cyanobacterium that produced highly visible cellulose (marked by cellulase coupled with  ...
Left: Two rod-shaped, wild type cyanobacteria. Note the conspicuous absence of any cellulose or sugars on the surface of these cells. Right: A genetically altered cyanobacterium that produced highly visible cellulose (marked by cellulase coupled with an electron dense gold marker). Credit: Brown and Nobles, the University of Texas at Austin

A newly created microbe produces cellulose that can be turned into ethanol and other biofuels, report scientists from The University of Texas at Austin who say the microbe could provide a significant portion of the nation’s transportation fuel if production can be scaled up.


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All News summaries for April 23, 2008