Developing green biofuels for Australia
In times of global concern about food security, there is a serious ethical debate about using food crops and arable land for biofuel production.
The Conversation: 14 May 2012
High oleic acid safflower could transform bioeconomy
Using gene silencing techniques, CSIRO has produced safflower seed oil that contains more than 90 per cent of the valuable oleic fatty acid.
CSIRO 26 April 2012
Biofuel tree project discovers Indigenous partners
Australian researchers have planted five hectares of Pongamia trees in north Queensland in a bid to create a commercially viable plantation for biofuel production.
University of Queensland: 1 May 2012
Turning up the heat on biotechnology
Scientists have inserted a foreign gene into a heat-loving microbe to create the first genetically-engineered microorganism which thrives at very high temperatures.
COSMOS: 18 April 2012
Homepage image:
Naturally occuring in hot springs hyperthermophile archae thrive at high temperatures.
Credit: veer
Algae biofuels – the wave of the future?
Researchers have assembled a draft genome of a marine algae that may be capable of producing the oil yields necessary for a viable fuel source.
PhysOrg: 3 April 2012
Device for harvesting energy and water from human waste
UK researchers will develop a prototype system for an inexpensive device for people in the developing world to generate clean water and energy from waste and a sustainable source of hydrogen energy.
Imperial College London 14 March 2012
Seaweed biofuels
Reserchers believe marine macroalgae — common seaweed — can be grown more quickly than land-based crops and harvested as fuel without sacrificing usable land.
Materials Today, 8 March 2012
TechNyou
Personally, I remain to be convinced about the use of seaweed as a biofuel.. If it works it can make a contribution to the biofuels, but how big a contribution remains to be seen. I remain skeptical that it will be a significant one simply because the areas of ocean suitable (ie near the coast and fish farms or other similar human-impacted coastlines) will be limited. Having farms anywhere else will, I would have thought, disrupt natural ecosystems. But then what price are we prepared to pay to have motorised transport?
New microbe turns sugary seaweed into fuel
Scientists have built a microbe capable of digesting seaweed and converting it into ethanol or other fuels or chemicals.
RSC 19 January 2012
The less technical version
Scientific American 19 January 2012
Image: © Bio Architecture Lab
Breeding better grasses for food and fuel
The discovery of a family of plant genes could help us breed grasses with improved properties for diet and bioenergy.
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council: 17 January 2012
Can Bacteria Produce “Drop In” Biofuels?
Scientists are seeking help from microbes to produce road-ready biofuels.