News tagged with woody material

Termites' digestive system could act as biofuel refinery

One of the peskiest household pests, while disastrous to homes, could prove to be a boon for cars, according to a Purdue University study.

Biology / Biotechnology

created Jul 05, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 3 | with audio podcast

Unlocking wood's energy

Deftly using a pair of tweezers, Scott Geib pulls apart the insides of a yellowish, wormlike critter - the larva of a tree-devouring pest called the Asian long-horned beetle. Something in the insect's gut allows it to make ...

Technology / Energy & Green Tech

created Mar 01, 2009 | popularity 3.9 / 5 (9) | comments 5

A corny turn for biofuels from switchgrass

Many experts believe that advanced biofuels made from cellulosic biomass are the most promising alternative to petroleum-based liquid fuels for a renewable, clean, green, domestic source of transportation ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Nov 18, 2011 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (4) | comments 4 | with audio podcast

Turning slash piles into soil benefit

Your next bite of an organically grown apple may hold within it a tiny bit of a Washington forest.

Space & Earth / Environment

created Oct 14, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 1

Carbon mitigation strategy uses wood for buildings first, bioenergy second

Proposals to remove the carbon dioxide caused by burning fossil fuel from the atmosphere include letting commercially managed forests grow longer between harvests or not cutting them at all.

Space & Earth / Environment

created Nov 22, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Wood's 'noble rot' fungus genetically decoded

An international team including Empa researcher Francis Schwarze has sequenced the genome of the common split gill mushroom, Schizophyllum commune, a widely distributed fungus which grows on and decomposes wood. The genome ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Jul 19, 2010 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0