Escherichia coli can cause serious food poisoning but Korean scientists have come up with a more helpful use for the sometimes-deadly bacteria: producing gasoline.

Using genetically modified E. coli to generate biofuel isn't new. U.K. scientists said in April they have developed a process under which the bacterium turns biomass into an oil that is almost identical to conventional diesel--a development that followed similar research by U.S. biotechnology firm LS9 in 2010.

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