Bacteria Births New Industry

When cheese becomes moldy, do you wonder about the steps that it takes to turn mold into penicillin?  Now there is a new scientific discovery to ponder.

We all know that bacteria is powerful.  But researchers have recently discovered that its power might be used to fuel engines.

The Department’s BioEnergy Science Center achieved an advance in the drive toward next generation biofuels: using bacteria to convert plant matter directly into isobutanol, which can be burned in regular car engines with a heat value higher than ethanol and similar to gasoline.  Using consolidated bioprocessing, a research team led by James Liao of the University of California at Los Angeles for the first time produced isobutanol directly from cellulose.

“Today’s announcement is yet another sign of the rapid progress we are making in developing the next generation of biofuels that can help reduce our oil dependence,” said U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu.  “This is a perfect example of the promising opportunity we have to create a major new industry – one based on bio-material such as wheat and rice straw, corn stover, lumber wastes, and plants specifically developed for bio-fuel production that require far less fertilizer and other energy inputs.  But we must continue with an aggressive research and development effort.”

Recruiters may wish to consider how this new development may affect future job markets.  As Chu states, this development may create a demand to create a whole new industry.