Posted on 11/08/2019 2:33:15 PM PST by Openurmind
Ever since scientists discovered that certain microbes can get their energy from electrical charges, researchers have wondered how they do it.
Bacteria don't have mouths, so they need another way to bring their fuel into their bodies. New research from Washington University in St. Louis reveals how one such bacteria pulls in electrons straight from an electrode source. The work from the laboratory of Arpita Bose, assistant professor of biology in Arts & Sciences, was published Nov. 5 in the scientific journal mBio.
"The molecular underpinning of this process has been difficult to unravel until our work," Bose said. "This is mostly due to the complex nature of the proteins involved in this process. But now, for the first time, we understand how phototrophic microbes can accept electrons from solid and soluble substances."
(Excerpt) Read more at sciencedaily.com ...
Right on, thank you!
Always interested in these things, other than the normal everyday influences of bacteria, I have been into processing gold as a hobby since I was a kid. Found something interesting about gold and other heavy metals and bacteria about 5 years ago that I would like to play with someday for extracting.
https://phys.org/news/2018-02-bacteria-gold-digesting-toxic-metals.html
Thanks. Reminds me of my dog. There’s nothing she won’t eat.
Read your post 13 again.
It said “Pigeon”, not “Pig Pen”
Don’t you just hate autocorrect?
https://interestingengineering.com/15-worst-autocorrect-mistakes-people-have-sent-their-bosses
,,,,Getting the electricity across the outer layer of the bacteria is the key challenge,,,,, the naturally occurring strain of Rhodopseudomonas palustris TIE-1 builds a conduit to accept electrons across its outer membrane.....
Biofuel production is good, What are the medical implications in treating resistant bacteria? A non-toxic conduit across the membrane means a wide open door. Wow. Or creating a cell-based electronically driven robot arm or leg? or?
Sounds like a Roger Corman movie.
I know most people think - how can we harness this for clean energy. My first thought was a electron treading bacteria bomb. Maybe it’s just me.
Damn auto correct. Electron Eating bomb.
Try again...
Pigpen
Had to override auto on that one.
Solar
Thanks Openurmind. A nice two-list ping topic!
Extremophile / panspermia / exobiology / extrasolar planets ping!
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Thanks Openurmind. A nice two-list ping topic!
Here are the other GGG topics introduced since the previous Digest ping:
“Life, Captain. But not as we know it.”
Absolutely my privilege sir. :)
And keep it up, particularly any unfettered praise, I eat that up. ;^)
Hey, there ain’t no denying it, you are good at what you do.
Seriously, all the extra effort you make to keep track of all these is an asset here. :)
Nuff yet? need some more?
Could this have some implications with regard to the blood/brain barrier? If so, might it have medical implications for the treatment of brain cancer an other ills in the brain that medicine can not reach at this time??
[blush]
It's an interesting idea. But try a search, "what causes cancer" and you'll see that over a century of research has turned up nothing much.
Give a microbe an electron, it will eat for a day. Teach a microbe to harvest electrons.....
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