Shiver me timbers
A WOOD-munching pest that has tormented seafarers over the centuries might hold the key to a biofuel breakthrough.
Gribble, which resemble pink woodlice, bored through planks on wooden ships in days gone by.
But British researchers have learned that gribble have a gift for digesting wood not seen in any other animal.
They produce enzymes that break down woody cellulose into energy-rich sugars, which scientists believe might hold the key to converting wood and straw into liquid biofuel.