Scientists find new cellulose for producing future renewable fuels, antibiotic drugs

A group of scientists with U.S. Stanford University have discovered a new type of cellulose in bacteria that could be used as a source for renewable fuels and antibiotic drugs in the future. A study by the Stanford researchers, whose findings were carried in the latest version of the journal Science, said the new modified cellulose, called pEtN, was extracted from one of the best studied bacteria -- E. coli, which is a large group of bacteria that can cause diarrhea, urinary tract infections, respiratory illness, pneumonia and other illnesses.Lynette Cegelski, an assistant professor of chemistry at Stanford and senior author of the research, discovered that the new cellulose had properties that were thought to be made to improve other sources of cellulose such as switchgrass or poplar for producing ethanol for fuels.