thesixsmashblitz
- 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].
4.11.2009 at 02:49am - Comment by thesixsmashblitzI agree, this may not be a permanent solution, but if they can make fuel $150 cheaper, then I say that justifies it as a temporary measure while other technologies and systems are developed.
Download Our iPhone App
Stay up to date on the latest news of the future of science and technology from your iPhone with full articles, images and offline viewing
Follow Us On Twitter
Featuring every article from the magazine and website, plus links from around the Web. Also see our PopSci DIY feed
Become a Fan On Facebook
Share links with friends, comment on stories and more
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.
Check out the best of what's new here.
Popular Science Photo Pool
Popular on Popsci
Most Viewed
- IBM's Blue Gene Supercomputer Models a Cat's Entire Brain
- Intel Wants Brain Implants in Its Customers' Heads by 2020
- Mesmerizing, Isn't It?
- Batteryless Remote Control Pulls Power from Your Button Presses
- New Reactor Uses Sunlight to Turn Water and Carbon Dioxide Into Fuel
- High-Pressure Diamond Anvil Creates a New Solid from Xenon and Hydrogen
- The Dubai Airshow As Seen From Orbit
- So Do Prosthetic Limbs Give Sprinters an Advantage Or Not?
- Robotic Surrogate Takes Your Place at Work
- Boeing's Latest Mobile Laser Weapon Tracks and Shoots Down Drone
Most Commented
- Guess This Part, Win a Tool
- This Week in the Future, November 16-20, 2009
- Intel Wants Brain Implants in Its Customers' Heads by 2020
- This Week in the Future, November 23-26, 2009: Thanksgiving Special
- IBM's Blue Gene Supercomputer Models a Cat's Entire Brain
- New Reactor Uses Sunlight to Turn Water and Carbon Dioxide Into Fuel
- So Much For "Hopenhagen"
- CERN Successfully Brings Large Hadron Collider Back Online
- NASA Robotic Rocket Plane To Survey Martian Surface
- Rat Brain Modelers Denounce IBM's Cat Brain Simulation as "Shameful and Unethical" Hoax
Most Emailed
- New Reactor Uses Sunlight to Turn Water and Carbon Dioxide Into Fuel
- World's First Osmotic Power Plant Goes Live in Norway
- High-Pressure Diamond Anvil Creates a New Solid from Xenon and Hydrogen
- President Obama Hopes to Jumpstart Science and Technology Education With New Initiative
- Mourning the Death of the Meta Media Experience
- The (Slightly) Poorer Man's Tesla: ECOS Harbinger
- Decoded Corn Genome Promises Higher Yields, Better Biofuels, New Plastics
- Everything You Need To Know About Chrome OS
- Roboticists Want to Make You an Electric Car Customized for Your Personal Commute
- "Time Traveling" Web Browser Let's You Search Like It's 1999
Today on PopSci.com
Copyright © 2009 Popular Science
A Bonnier Corporation Company. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.
