Building on previous work in the creation of carbon-negative biosynthesis of chemical compounds, Michael Jewett and his collaborators at LanzaTech and the University of South Florida have developed a cyclic reverse beta-oxidation (r-BOX) pathway for the production of butanol, butanoic acid, hexanol, and hexanoic acid.  While the discoveries themselves are impressive, the rapid development of several such processes in parallel represents a major step forward for similar projects going forward in a field where designs are often too specialized to adapt to similar chemicals.  With source carbon derived from industrial waste gasses, biosynthetic production provides a renewable, low-carbon source of ubiquitous materials that could help to blunt the impact of fossil fuels.  Learn more here.