Scientists find bugs that eat waste and excrete petrol
By The Times staff and news service reports
Scientists are using tiny bugs to make renewable petroleum. The bugs are genetically altered so that they excrete petrol (which can be used to make crude oil). The tiny bugs eat agricultural waste such as wood chips and wheat straw. A barrel of oil usually costs around $140, but the renewable bug made oil could be as cheap as $50. The bug produced oil takes longer to manufacture than conventional oil and would require lots of space for production. America consumes 143 million barrels of oil a week. To make this much oil, scientists would need a space about the size of Chicago for manufacturing. Read more here.

Genetically modified mosquitoes may combat malaria
By Maria Cheng
A group of scientists in London, England, have been trying to determine if genetically engineered mosquitoes could help reduce the spread of malaria. Malarial parasites are transmitted to humans by the bite of a female mosquito. The scientists hope to release new malaria-resistant mosquitoes which cannot spread the disease into the wild, where they will mate with non-resistant mosquitoes and produce resistant offspring.
Learn more about this possible new pest control strategy here.