Diesel derived from coffee is less thick and can usually be burned in an engine with little or no tinkering.

ECONOMIST: Monitor

However, most policymakers agree that the industry must move beyond corn ethanol, which is less efficient than the sugar-derived stuff and pushes food prices upwards.

ECONOMIST: A dysfunctional system may become more so

Stem cells derived from umbilical cords are less versatile than embryonic stem cells, which could conceivably replace any cell in the body.

FORBES: Small Stem Cells Find Big Backers

Substantial improvements would be required to meet those criteria, and many lawmakers and other NASA critics argue a faster and less expensive path would be to rely on a space-shuttle derived alternative.

WSJ: Lockheed Martin Sees Space Capsule Test Flight in 2013

It prevented strokes at least as well as warfarin, the 60-year-old drug derived from rat poison, and, if anything, caused less serious bleeding.

FORBES: Big Pharma's Comeback?

Insect-resistant corn containing the BT toxin, derived from a bacterium and used in organic farming, does kill butterflies and other good insects but far less than 1% of them.

FORBES: Green Genes