Feed The Bugs
Well, actually the bugs in the bugs stomachs. Still, a clever idea for those trying to make cellulosic ethanol. I wish they were making bio-diesel but maybe ethanol can be turned into something useful like hydrogen or methane - some day.
Strictly speaking these are microbes but the idea is to use what God gave us to advance. Cellulosic ethanol is a hot topic because it sounds green and keeps farmers busy. I’m not convinced that heat isnt’t the problem instead of CO2 but what do I know.
Termites “are like miniature factories,” said Mel Simon during a presentation at the American Association for the Advancement of Science…
“They use a variety of intermediates, not just bacteria. There are fungi, protozoa,” he said. “We know very little about the guts inside of termites.”
So where do you find the best microbes? The Tropics, where plant matter rots quickly, are good place to start.
My problem with is the time frame. They are looking at the DNA of the bugs, not the bugs themselves. Can researchers ever focus on the short term solution instead of going for the home run?
Scientists at the Joint Genome Institute are extracting the contents of the guts in certain termite species and scanning the DNA of several of the microbes at once, Simon said.
“We haven’t even begun to methodically examine all of the insects in the Brazilian rainforest…
C’mon people, I know you are in the business of getting research funding forever but we need some benefit now. Money is the biggest hurdle to finding solutions - both for and against.
- Posted in : Environment, In the News, Positive Change, Renewable Energy, Science
- Author :Rt
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