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This is Scientific American's 60-Second Science. I'm Cynthia Graber. This will just take a minute.
There’s a push now to find the fuel of the future. Will it come from corn? Sugarcane? How about bugs1? University of Florida entomologist Michael Scharf says termites3 may play a major role. He makes that claim in the November issue of the journal Biofuels, Bioproducts & Biorefining.
Termites produce enzymes4. Those enzymes work with microorganisms in the bug’s gut5. When termites munch6 their way through your house, the enzymes and microbes together turn wood into simple sugars. Biofuels today come from edible7 plant material, such as starch8 in corn or sugar in sugarcane. There’s a great deal of potential energy in tougher parts of the plants, but it’s locked in something called lignocellulose. Researchers have been investigating heating the woody material, or grinding it and treating it. And a handful of research groups are studying the termite2 system.
Scientists have identified a few of the enzymes and microbes involved, but they say it’ll take more research and time to apply this system to our own hunger for biofuels. We may also need to turn to other munching9 bugs like wood-boring beetles10. Maybe someday they’ll be heating our homes, not eating them.
Thanks for the minute for Scientific American's 60-Second Science. I'm Cynthia Graber.
1 bugs | |
adj.疯狂的,发疯的n.窃听器( bug的名词复数 );病菌;虫子;[计算机](制作软件程序所产生的意料不到的)错误 | |
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2 termite | |
n.白蚁 | |
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3 termites | |
n.白蚁( termite的名词复数 ) | |
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4 enzymes | |
n. 酶,酵素 | |
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5 gut | |
n.[pl.]胆量;内脏;adj.本能的;vt.取出内脏 | |
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6 munch | |
v.用力嚼,大声咀嚼 | |
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7 edible | |
n.食品,食物;adj.可食用的 | |
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8 starch | |
n.淀粉;vt.给...上浆 | |
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9 munching | |
v.用力咀嚼(某物),大嚼( munch的现在分词 ) | |
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10 beetles | |
n.甲虫( beetle的名词复数 ) | |
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