ORONO, Maine — At the University of Maine, researchers are using wood to help make medicine more affordable. Researchers at UMaine are developing a method to extract glucose sugars from wood products like chips and sawdust and convert them into a chemical compound called (S)-3-hydroxy-γ-butyrolactone, or HBL, a building block found in a variety of pharmaceutical drugs.  HBL has also been identified as a highly valuable precursor to a variety of chemicals and plastics by the U.S. Department of Energy. “We found a way to take advantage of what nature gives us in the sugars in wood,” said Professor Tom Schwartz, who leads the project. HBL is commonly used in medications to treat high cholesterol, as well as things like antibiotics and HIV inhibitors, and producing it the traditional way is expensive. Schwartz says their new method could cut manufacturing costs significantly.