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Durham Scientists Study Plants for Biofuel
from the (Raleigh, N.C.) News and Observer
These days, downtown Durham is better known for its burgeoning cuisine scene and modernized, reclaimed spaces than its long history with cash crops. The storied days of tobacco curing in the city's brick factories have been replaced with technology research that could, scientists say, bolster the biofuel industry while creating stronger crops.
Inside its redesigned, sustainable lab space near the Durham Performing Arts Center, GrassRoots Biotechnology uses patented research methods to study plant genes. The goal, said company co-founder Philip Benfey, is to pinpoint ways to strengthen plants considered useful in biofuel production, such as switchgrass.
"With this research, we're looking toward the future," said Benfey, a genomics professor with Duke University Institute for Genome & Science Policy. "Over the past five or six years, as the price of oil has risen, there's been increased interest in the idea of biofuels. There's an opportunity to use the discoveries we've made in the academic lab in the commercial system.
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