Cellulose
noun
A complex substance in plants that is not soluble in water, used in making paper, textiles, and other materials.
Cellulose is the main component of plant cell walls.

Often appears as...
- cellulose fiber
- cellulose insulation
Usage tips
Academic
noun
A type of dietary fiber found in plants that helps maintain bowel health.
Whole grain bread is a good source of cellulose, which aids in digestion.

Often appears as...
- dietary cellulose
- cellulose intake
Usage tips
Academic
noun
A complex substance in plants that is not soluble in water, used in making paper, textiles, and other materials.
Cellulose is the main component of plant cell walls.

Often appears as...
- cellulose fiber
- cellulose insulation
Usage tips
Academic
noun
A type of dietary fiber found in plants that helps maintain bowel health.
Whole grain bread is a good source of cellulose, which aids in digestion.

Often appears as...
- dietary cellulose
- cellulose intake
Usage tips
Academic
Definition 1 of 2

Industrial Uses
Cellulose is often mentioned in the context of manufacturing and industry.

Recycled cellulose is increasingly popular in sustainable packaging solutions.
Not Digestible
Humans can't digest cellulose like some other organisms, important for understanding its uses.

Unlike cows, humans lack the enzymes to digest cellulose efficiently.
Non-Water Soluble
Cellulose doesn't dissolve in water, which is why it's useful in water-resistant products.

Cellulose-based materials are used for waterproof outdoor gear.
Industrial Uses
Cellulose is often mentioned in the context of manufacturing and industry.

Recycled cellulose is increasingly popular in sustainable packaging solutions.
Not Digestible
Humans can't digest cellulose like some other organisms, important for understanding its uses.

Unlike cows, humans lack the enzymes to digest cellulose efficiently.
Non-Water Soluble
Cellulose doesn't dissolve in water, which is why it's useful in water-resistant products.

Cellulose-based materials are used for waterproof outdoor gear.
Industrial Uses
Cellulose is often mentioned in the context of manufacturing and industry.

Recycled cellulose is increasingly popular in sustainable packaging solutions.
Not Digestible
Humans can't digest cellulose like some other organisms, important for understanding its uses.

Unlike cows, humans lack the enzymes to digest cellulose efficiently.
Non-Water Soluble
Cellulose doesn't dissolve in water, which is why it's useful in water-resistant products.

Cellulose-based materials are used for waterproof outdoor gear.
Video examples
The science of macaroni...
you'll notice it's made of a lot of this stuff, starch, which is this molecule, otherwise known as amylose. Turns out, if you break some bonds, amylose is made up of smaller molecules of glucose, a simple sugar. If you take a bunch of these same glucose molecules and rearrange them in a different way, you get cellulose,
Video examples
Why Do Gorillas Have...
trees they'll eat leaves and a lot of cellulose and they've got to digest that so they have a slightly different system than we do and sometimes that can give them that bloated look but i'd never tell one it's got a big belly because they might be best pleased can gorillas swing from trees so they
Video examples
Biofuels and bioprospecti...
means first unwrapping that protective sheath and then chopping up the cellulose into its individual glucose molecule. Only once we have unpacked each glucose molecule, can we begin fermentation. But some microorganisms, like bacteria or fungi, break down cellulose for energy all the time.
Video examples
What's the World's Most...
took off tobacco companies transitioned to marketing it as a way to reduce smoking hazards today with more than 6 trillion cigarettes being manufactured every year that filter made from cellulose acetate aka plastic became one of the most littered plastic items in the world
Video examples
Toothpaste PIPE Ingredients...
binders which keep your toothpaste from becoming a runny watery disgusting mess or separating out like natural peanut butter so the ones that we have in this toothpaste are cellulose gum and carrageenan which come from trees and red seaweed respectively okay so we are
Video examples
The simple story of...
That little glucose molecule then helps to build bigger and better carbohydrates like cellulose. Cellulose is a type of carbohydrate found in plants that our body cannot break down. We call it fiber and we eat it in vegetables like lettuce, broccoli, and celery.
Video examples
Cell vs. virus: A battle...
They all have functions, like helping cells adhere to their neighbors or binding to nutrients the cell will need. Animal and plant cells have cell membranes. Only plant cells have a cell wall, which is made of rigid cellulose that gives the plant structure.
Video examples
Why is cotton in...
are the remains of those dense, dried out walls of cellulose. Tens of thousands of these fibers spun into yarn will go on to make everything from fabric, to coffee filters, diapers, and fishing nets. And with the help of modern science,
Video examples
6 ways mushrooms can...
The mushrooms then are harvested, but very importantly, the mycelium has converted the cellulose into fungal sugars. And so I thought, how could we address the energy crisis in this country?
Video examples
Creating a Bio-Industrial...
way at rebuild cellulose elegant structure there are no dyes in this picture it's all structural color and now that we can lay down the layer by layer let's make the color come from the
Video examples
The science of macaroni...
you'll notice it's made of a lot of this stuff, starch, which is this molecule, otherwise known as amylose. Turns out, if you break some bonds, amylose is made up of smaller molecules of glucose, a simple sugar. If you take a bunch of these same glucose molecules and rearrange them in a different way, you get cellulose,
Video examples
Why Do Gorillas Have...
trees they'll eat leaves and a lot of cellulose and they've got to digest that so they have a slightly different system than we do and sometimes that can give them that bloated look but i'd never tell one it's got a big belly because they might be best pleased can gorillas swing from trees so they
Video examples
Biofuels and bioprospecti...
means first unwrapping that protective sheath and then chopping up the cellulose into its individual glucose molecule. Only once we have unpacked each glucose molecule, can we begin fermentation. But some microorganisms, like bacteria or fungi, break down cellulose for energy all the time.
Video examples
What's the World's Most...
took off tobacco companies transitioned to marketing it as a way to reduce smoking hazards today with more than 6 trillion cigarettes being manufactured every year that filter made from cellulose acetate aka plastic became one of the most littered plastic items in the world
Video examples
Toothpaste PIPE Ingredients...
binders which keep your toothpaste from becoming a runny watery disgusting mess or separating out like natural peanut butter so the ones that we have in this toothpaste are cellulose gum and carrageenan which come from trees and red seaweed respectively okay so we are
Video examples
The simple story of...
That little glucose molecule then helps to build bigger and better carbohydrates like cellulose. Cellulose is a type of carbohydrate found in plants that our body cannot break down. We call it fiber and we eat it in vegetables like lettuce, broccoli, and celery.
Video examples
Cell vs. virus: A battle...
They all have functions, like helping cells adhere to their neighbors or binding to nutrients the cell will need. Animal and plant cells have cell membranes. Only plant cells have a cell wall, which is made of rigid cellulose that gives the plant structure.
Video examples
Why is cotton in...
are the remains of those dense, dried out walls of cellulose. Tens of thousands of these fibers spun into yarn will go on to make everything from fabric, to coffee filters, diapers, and fishing nets. And with the help of modern science,
Video examples
6 ways mushrooms can...
The mushrooms then are harvested, but very importantly, the mycelium has converted the cellulose into fungal sugars. And so I thought, how could we address the energy crisis in this country?
Video examples
Creating a Bio-Industrial...
way at rebuild cellulose elegant structure there are no dyes in this picture it's all structural color and now that we can lay down the layer by layer let's make the color come from the
Example 1 of 10
Quote examples
Michael Pollan
American Educator
A cow out on grass is just an incredible thing to behold... Cows and other ruminants can do things we just can't do. They have the most highly evolved digestive organ on the planet, called the rumen. And the rumen can digest grass. It takes grass, cellulose in grass, and turns it into protein, very nutritious protein. We can't do that.

Quote examples
Gregory Benford
American Physicist
The simplest way to remove carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas, is to grow plants - preferably trees, since they tie up more of the gas in cellulose, meaning it will not return to the air within a season or two. Plants build themselves out of air and water, taking only a tiny fraction of their mass from the soil.

Quote examples
Elon Musk
South African Businessman
It's obviously tricky to convert cellulose to a useful biofuel. I think actually the most efficient way to use cellulose is to burn it in a co-generation power plant. That will yield the most energy and that is something you can do today.

Quote examples
Suzanne Lee
Designer
I'm not suggesting that microbial cellulose is going to be a replacement for cotton, leather or other textile materials. But I do think it could be quite a smart and sustainable addition to our increasingly precious natural resources.

Quote examples
Suzanne Lee
Designer
I started to grow microbial cellulose to explore an ecofriendly textile for clothing and accessories but, very quickly, I realized this method had potential for all sorts of other biodegradable consumer products.

Quote examples
Frances Arnold
American Scientist
Cellulose has physical and chemical properties that make it difficult to access and difficult to break down.

Quote examples
Stephen Hillenburg
American Actor
SpongeBob is just made of cellulose, but he has parents who are natural sponges - he got the square gene.

Quote examples
Michael Pollan
American Educator
A cow out on grass is just an incredible thing to behold... Cows and other ruminants can do things we just can't do. They have the most highly evolved digestive organ on the planet, called the rumen. And the rumen can digest grass. It takes grass, cellulose in grass, and turns it into protein, very nutritious protein. We can't do that.

Quote examples
Gregory Benford
American Physicist
The simplest way to remove carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas, is to grow plants - preferably trees, since they tie up more of the gas in cellulose, meaning it will not return to the air within a season or two. Plants build themselves out of air and water, taking only a tiny fraction of their mass from the soil.

Quote examples
Elon Musk
South African Businessman
It's obviously tricky to convert cellulose to a useful biofuel. I think actually the most efficient way to use cellulose is to burn it in a co-generation power plant. That will yield the most energy and that is something you can do today.

Quote examples
Suzanne Lee
Designer
I'm not suggesting that microbial cellulose is going to be a replacement for cotton, leather or other textile materials. But I do think it could be quite a smart and sustainable addition to our increasingly precious natural resources.

Quote examples
Suzanne Lee
Designer
I started to grow microbial cellulose to explore an ecofriendly textile for clothing and accessories but, very quickly, I realized this method had potential for all sorts of other biodegradable consumer products.

Quote examples
Frances Arnold
American Scientist
Cellulose has physical and chemical properties that make it difficult to access and difficult to break down.

Quote examples
Stephen Hillenburg
American Actor
SpongeBob is just made of cellulose, but he has parents who are natural sponges - he got the square gene.

Example 1 of 7
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