Breaking the ties that bind: New hope for biomass fuels
(PhysOrg.com) -- Los Alamos National Laboratory researchers have discovered a potential chink in the armor of fibers that make the cell walls of certain inedible plant materials so tough. The insight...
View ArticleNew technique can fast-track better ionic liquids for biomass pre-treatments
They've been dubbed "grassoline" - second generation biofuels made from inedible plant material, including fast-growing weeds, agricultural waste, sawdust, etc. - and numerous scientific studies have...
View ArticleMaking New Enzymes to Engineer Plants for Biofuel Production
(PhysOrg.com) -- Brookhaven scientists have created a new enzyme with the potential to interfere with a key cell-wall component in plants, possibly leading to plants that are easier to "digest" and...
View ArticleCellulosic ethanol: Expanding options, identifying obstacles
Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists are figuring out how to turn wheat straw into ethanol "gold," and learning more about the bacteria that can "infect" ethanol plants and interfere with...
View ArticleBreaking biomass better
One of the challenges in making cellulosic biofuels commercially viable is to cost-effectively deconstruct plant material to liberate fermentable energy-rich sugars. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)...
View ArticleCSI at the service of cellulose synthesis
(PhysOrg.com) -- Grains, vegetables and fruit taste delicious and are important sources of energy. However, humans cannot digest the main component of plants - the cellulose in the cell wall. Even in...
View ArticleNatural tick control tested
Nootkatone, a component of essential oil in grapefruit peels and other sources, is used in many food, beverage and personal-care products because of its clean, citrusy taste and smell.
View ArticleTailoring fungi-based biofuels to meet the needs of current, advanced...
(PhysOrg.com) -- Engine experts and biofuels researchers at Sandia National Laboratories are working on a project that aims to modify an endophytic fungus so that it will produce fuel-type hydrocarbons...
View ArticleNew research reveals insight into lignin biosynthesis
Lignin is the durable biopolymer that gives carrots their fiber and crunch and meat grilled over a campfire its characteristic smoky flavor. Acting as the glue that holds the plant cell wall together,...
View ArticleSame fungus, different strains
Fungi play key roles in nature and are valued for their great importance in industry. Consider citric acid, a key additive in several foods and pharmaceuticals produced on a large-scale basis for...
View ArticleGenome sequence could reveal 'Achilles' heels' of important wheat disease
Research published in PLoS Genetics today provides insights into how an important fungal disease is able to evade wheat's defences. The researchers hope that the study, which reveals the fungus'...
View ArticleORNL neutrons, simulations reveal details of bioenergy barrier
A first of its kind combination of experiment and simulation at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory is providing a close-up look at the molecule that complicates next-generation...
View ArticleMolecular chaperones traffic signaling proteins between cells in plant...
Like all living things, plants depend for their growth and sustenance on elaborate signaling networks to maintain stem cells, cells that have an almost magical regenerative capacity. The signals sent...
View ArticleCracking cellulose: a step into the biofuels future
Scientists from the University of York have played a pivotal role in a discovery which could finally unlock the full potential of waste plant matter to replace oil as a fuel source.
View ArticlePretreatment, proper harvest time boost ethanol from switchgrass
Adding a pretreatment step would allow producers to get more ethanol from switchgrass harvested in the fall, according to a Purdue University study.
View ArticleDividing corn stover makes ethanol conversion more efficient
(PhysOrg.com) -- Not all parts of a corn stalk are equal, and they shouldn't be treated that way when creating cellulosic ethanol, say Purdue University researchers.
View ArticleToward more cost-effective production of biofuels from plant lignocellulosic...
In 1925, Henry Ford observed that fuel is present in all vegetative matter that can be fermented and predicted that Americans would some day grow their own fuel. Last year, global biofuel production...
View ArticleA corny turn for biofuels from switchgrass
Many experts believe that advanced biofuels made from cellulosic biomass are the most promising alternative to petroleum-based liquid fuels for a renewable, clean, green, domestic source of...
View ArticleDiscovery changes how scientists think about plant cell wall formation
University of Georgia researchers have discovered that two proteins come together in an unexpected way to make a carbohydrate, a chain of sugar molecules, in plant cell walls. This fundamental...
View ArticleGrowing knowledge in space
Plants are critical in supporting life on Earth, and with help from an experiment that flew onboard space shuttle Discovery's STS-131 mission, they also could transform living in space.
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