This from the WOW – “where can I get some of that” category. A fungus has been found growing in the Patagonian Rainforest that naturally synthesizes a hydro-carbon compound that dramatically resembles diesel. From the article:

A fungus that lives inside trees in the Patagonian rain forest naturally makes a mix of hydrocarbons that bears a striking resemblance to diesel, biologists announced today. And the fungus can grow on cellulose, a major component of tree trunks, blades of grass and stalks that is the most abundant carbon-based plant material on Earth.

“When we looked at the gas analysis, I was flabbergasted,” said Gary Strobel, a plant scientist at Montana State University, and the lead author of a paper in Microbiology describing the find. “We were looking at the essence of diesel fuel.”

What’s fantastic about this is that it could basically synthesize diesel fuel from any cellulose matter (the waste matter from corn plants for example) allowing us to make use of the OTHER components of plants for food or whatever other purposes we need.

Amongst the impacts and bottom line to take out of this: 1) no ideas yet as to production scales of this 2) essentially make diesel a (hydrocarbon) from cellulose, 3) is petroleum then REALLY a “fossil fuel” or could it be produced from a similar process… 4) the ultimate benefit of this may come from the genome research that’s already started on this fungus.