amendes08
- Cars
The Gas Bug
E. coli has earned a nasty reputation for upsetting stomachs and killing people. But now scientists at LS9, a start-up in South San Francisco, are putting the bad bug to good use, genetically engineering it to excrete biodiesel. The fuel "burns just like diesel," says Greg Pal, the senior director at LS9 [see Breeding the Oil Bug, about the rise of microbial biofuels].
12.15.2008 at 12:49pm - Comment by amendes08Like bakers and wine makers who use yeast, this technology is helping to revolutionize the way we make fuel so that we can continue to live our life as we know it. Sugar cane is no longer the dominant sweetner in our food, so I highly doubt the use to convert fuel would adversley affect food prices if any. What we have to accomplish from this point forward is to create sustainable crops that will not convert more forestland for agriculture.
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December 2009: Best of What's New
In our December issue, Popular Science names the 100 best innovations of the year: bombproof wallpaper, self-parking cars, the fastest helicopter, and 97 more. Plus inventor profiles and videos.
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