Science Daily — Using corncob waste as a starting material, researchers have created carbon briquettes with complex nanopores capable of storing natural gas at an unprecedented density of 180 times their own volume and at one seventh the pressure of conventional natural gas tanks.

Super-fermenting Fungus Genome Sequenced; To Be Harnessed For Improved Biofuels Production Science Daily — On the road to making biofuels more economically competitive with fossil fuels, there are significant potholes to negotiate. For cellulosic ethanol production, one major detour has being addressed with the characterization of the genetic blueprint of the fungus Pichia stipitis, by the U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute (DOE JGI) and collaborators at the U.S. Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory (FPL). 

(WCCO) Minneapolis As the president asked Americans to cut back on fossil fuels in his State of the Union address Tuesday night, the University of Minnesota is leading the way.