Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology and the
Joint BioEnergy Institute have engineered a bacterium to synthesize pinene, a
hydrocarbon produced by trees that could potentially replace high-energy fuels,
such as JP-10, in missiles and other aerospace applications. With improvements
in process efficiency, the biofuel could supplement limited supplies of
petroleum-based JP-10, and might also facilitate development of a new
generation of more powerful engines.