Will pandas save us from the energy crisis?

In Colorado, researchers from Mississippi State University have discovered that microbes found in the feces of giant pandas can better breakdown the tough cellulose that has been in a barrier to cellulosic ethanol production.

Presenting at the National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society in Denver, the researchers said the bacteria they found were similar to those found in the guts of termites that facilitate breaking down the cell walls. The researchers spent a year analyzing panda feces at the Memphis zoo.