The Yuck Factor

These days it seems anything is fair game in the search to turn organic matter into biodiesel-olive pits, coffee grounds, fungus from the Amazon. Last December a Beverly Hills doctor even managed to fuel his SUV on the fat he removed from patients during liposuction. So it's probably no surprise to learn that the latest contender in the crowded race for renewable fuel is E. coli. The bacterium, which can be fatal to humans, was manipulated by researchers at UCLA so that it synthesized isobutanol, an alcohol that could lead to a cheap and easily produced energy source.