Can Biology Transform Our Energy Future?

The article looks at the U.S. Department of Energy Advanced Research Project Agency - Energy (ARPA-E) program that awards research grants for clean energy ventures, with particular focus on projects incorporating biological research. An overview of several ARPA-E projects is provided, including investigations into the role of the carbon cycle in energy conversion, the plants engineered to replace oil (PETRO) experiment that builds on the process of plant photosynthesis to produce biomass energy, and the electrofuels program that involves the conversion of carbon dioxide into liquid fuel using microorganisms.