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Biology Could Be Used To Turn Sugar Into Diesel

Posted by samzenpus on from the goodbye-mr.-fusion dept.

ABCTech has an interesting article about an Emeryville-based tech startup, Amyris Biotechnologies, that is planning to use microbes to turn sugar into diesel. Ethanol is made by adding sugar to yeast, but Amyris believes that it can reprogram the microbes to make something closer to gasoline. The company was initially given a $43 million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to attempt to research the applications of Synthetic Biology for making a cost-effective malaria drug. Jack Newman, the Vice-President of Amyris said, "Why are we making ethanol if we're trying to make a fuel? We should be making something that looks a lot more like gasoline. We should be making something that looks a lot more like diesel. And if you wanted to design, you name it, a jet fuel? We can make that too."

4 of 355 comments (clear)

  1. I can't wait... by CRCulver · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'm sure this will be on the market just in time for me to fill up my flying car.

  2. the magical fruit by macadamia_harold · · Score: 5, Funny

    Ethanol is made by adding sugar to yeast, but Amyris believes that it can reprogram the microbes to make something closer to gasoline.

    They should add suger to beans. They're great for making gas.

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  3. This is GREAT! by kmhebert · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'm going to go pour sugar into my gas tank! Wait here!

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  4. Re:Next they'll work on snakeoil by uvajed_ekil · · Score: 5, Funny
    No, really, they'll use snakes to make oil. Get it? Got it? Good.

    Which means instead of dino juice fueling air travel, we may have snakes on a plane. I'm not sure of the source now but something I saw recently makes me think this may not be such a great idea, to have snakes on a plane. (Maybe it's just me, as I don't trust reptiles in any form, since that one pretty good book, anyway.)

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