Warrior skeletons reveal Bronze Age Europeans couldn’t drink milk

Re:Warrior skeletons reveal Bronze Age Europeans couldn’t dr... by jaggederest on Sunday September 06, 2020 @08:22PM (#24395757)

You can convert cellulose into glucose but it takes things like this (special cultured bacteria, extremely processed cellulose, and an ultrafilter to remove glucose to drive the reaction): https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/bit.26022080...

Or strong acids and 190°C over a catalyst.

Cellulose is remarkably strong, especially with lignin in the structure too. We're lucky anything can digest it at all.

Which brings me to mycology, probably the best way to extract energy from cellulose for humans. Sterilize, inoculate, keep moist, and harvest a significant percentage of the source material as good carbohydrates and protein.

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Re:Warrior skeletons reveal Bronze Age Europeans couldn’t dr... by bluGill on Monday September 07, 2020 @02:04AM (#24396964)

My understanding is cows don't digest cellulose either. They have those stomachs to provide an environment for bacteria that can to live. Cows then digest that bacteria.

Which is digestion of course, but it isn't that cows can do it. Our large intestine does the same thing but it isn't anywhere near big enough to get a significant amount of energy from cellulose.

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Re:Warrior skeletons reveal Bronze Age Europeans couldn’t dr... by pvaldes on Monday September 07, 2020 @06:51PM (#24403616)

Seeing cows as bacteria eaters is a challenging but powerful image. Really clever point.

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