In Wisconsin, researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) examined whether corn and perennial grassland fields in southern Wisconsin could provide both biomass for bioenergy production and bountiful bird habitat. The research team found that where there are grasslands, there are birds. Grass-and-wildflower-dominated fields supported more than three times […]
In Michigan, discovery of a cellular snooze button has allowed a team of Michigan State University scientists to potentially improve biofuel production and offer insight on the early stages of cancer. The discovery that the protein CHT7 is a likely repressor of cellular quiescence, or resting state, is published in the current issue of the […]
In California, NASA researchers recently took to the skies for the second year in a row with a DC-8 and other aircraft to study the effects on emissions and contrail formation of burning alternative fuels in jet engines. This follow-up set of Alternative Fuel Effects on Contrails and Cruise Emissions flight tests, known as ACCESS […]
In New Hampshire, researchers at Keene University are studying the toxicology of biodiesel particulates. The team mounted particle impactors in the operator’s cabs in machinery at the Center, collecting samples of both petroleum diesel and biodiesel exhaust. The impactors can separate out different sizes of extremely tiny particles, which lets the researchers see exactly what […]
In Missouri, the grand opening of the Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) Center for Agricultural Development at the University of Missouri College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources (CAFNR) was held on Thursday. The ADM Center for Agriculture Development will provide students with opportunities for experiential learning in the latest theories of biofuel development, food production and […]
In Massachusetts, researchers at MIT and the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research have identified a new way to boost yeast tolerance to ethanol by simply altering the composition of the medium in which the yeast are grown. They report the findings, which they believe could have a significant impact on industrial biofuel production, in this […]
In the UK, research by scientists at the University of Bristol has challenged one of the key axioms in biology — that enzymes need water to function. The breakthrough could eventually lead to the development of new industrial catalysts for processing biodiesel. Enzymes are large biological molecules that catalyze thousands of different chemical reactions that […]
In Sweden, with a simple mutation, yeast can grow in higher than normal temperatures. Researchers at Chalmers demonstrate this in an article in the scientific journal Science. The findings may result in ethanol being more effectively manufactured for vehicle fuel, as well as increase the possibility of using residual waste as a raw material. The […]
In Sweden, researchers at Chalmers University of Technology have now resolved the issue of what makes yeast thermotolerant, and with a simple mutation, the team can alter yeast to grow in higher than normal temperatures. The findings may result in ethanol being more effectively manufactured for vehicle fuel, as well as increase the possibility of […]
In Oregon, the first year of a canola trial to determine whether the crop might be viable in the Willamette Valley after 43 of 61 fields of brassica varieties became infected with black leg disease. The canola seeds were treated to prevent black leg and were not related with the unprecedented outbreak, but Oregon State […]
