Researchers Expand Yeast's Sugary Diet to Include Plant Fiber (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/09/100909141531.htm)
QuoteScienceDaily (Sep. 9, 2010) â€" University of California, Berkeley, researchers have taken genes from grass-eating fungi and stuffed them into yeast, creating strains that produce alcohol from tough plant material -- cellulose -- that normal yeast can't digest.
Potentially huge impact on biofuel production and imagine all the grass cuttings et al from gardens and parks now becoming a valuable product!
Alcohol from plant waste? Nice.
The new Miller Lite:
Great taste, less chewy!
Quote from: "Tank"Potentially huge impact on biofuel production and imagine all the grass cuttings et al from gardens and parks now becoming a valuable product!
... I like the idea, but what if it gets out into the wild?
Watch the news for the term "Yeast Blight"!
(What Has Science Done!)
JoeActor
Quote from: "joeactor"Quote from: "Tank"Potentially huge impact on biofuel production and imagine all the grass cuttings et al from gardens and parks now becoming a valuable product!
... I like the idea, but what if it gets out into the wild?
Watch the news for the term "Yeast Blight"!
(What Has Science Done!)
JoeActor
You know, that is the very first thought that crossed my mind. In particular silage (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silage) where grass is fermented to create additional sugars. If this yeast gets into that process we are going to see cattle staggering around as pissed as farts!
The funny thing is, there need not be any bioengineered yeast. Methanol can't be drank but is identical to ethanol for engineering purposes and is made by burning cellulose in a vacuum. We're ALREADY ready to produce methanol from aggro waste.