Note to users. If you're seeing this message, it means that your browser cannot find this page's style/presentation instructions -- or possibly that you are using a browser that does not support current Web standards. Find out more about why this message is appearing, and what you can do to make your experience of our site the best it can be.

Science 8 December 2006:
Vol. 314. no. 5805, p. 1512
DOI: 10.1126/science.314.5805.1512h
Prev | Table of Contents | Next

This Week in Science

Successful biofuels development will require the creation of microbial strains that have high ethanol and glucose tolerance and necessitate the reprogramming of whole segments of metabolism. Alper et al. (p. 1565) changed one member of the global transcription machinery so that the levels of the multitude of genes necessary to achieve ethanol and glucose tolerance could be altered simultaneously. To date, biofuels are produced from monocultures grown on fertile soils. These biofuels are"carbon-positive" because their production and combustion increases atmospheric CO2, although not as much as do fossil fuels. Tilman et al. (p. 1598, see the cover) now find that biofuels produced by polycultures of multiple species can be"carbon negative" and may provide a substantial portion of global energy needs in a sustainable and environmentally beneficial manner without competing with food production for fertile lands.




To Advertise     Find Products

Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)