Biofuels

Bridging the valley of death

As a child, I learned about the “valley of the shadow of death” from the twenty-third Psalm. A similar image is conjured up by economists who talk about the “valley of death.” They mean that potentially deadly stage in the life of a business when production needs to be massively scaled up but investors aren’t […]

WSU’s On Solid Ground – Biofuels, Stink Bug, Food System – March 27, 2013

Beyond Biofuel: Expanding the Possibilities from Algae Extraction The potential value of an industry based on extracting fuel from algae could be even greater than expected by adding dietary supplements such as DHA and lutein to its list of products. Shulin Chen, professor in the WSU Department of Biological Systems Engineering, presented this innovative idea […]

Drought, Tree Fruit, Gift

Modeling Drought Resistance to Improve Biofuel Production From the number of tomatoes in a backyard garden to the yield of wheat on commerical cropland, the availability of water significantly influences a plant’s productivity. But an equally critical factor is how a plant reacts to the available water supply. Even within the same plot, individual plants […]

Tropical & Dryland Biofuels, Size Matters

On the Matter of Size In the animal kingdom, huge weapons such as elk antlers or ornaments like peacock feathers are sexy. Their extreme size attracts potential mates and warns away lesser rivals. Now researchers led by scientists at the University of Montana and Washington State University have discovered a developmental mechanism they think may […]

Field Days Focus on Oilseed Crops throughout Pacific Northwest

PULLMAN, Wash. – Bright yellow flowering fields of winter canola are more prevalent in the Pacific Northwest this spring, and national statistics indicate that winter and spring canola acreage is expected to increase more than 50 percent in Idaho and Washington compared to last year. Several Washington State University and other university field days and […]