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 ...
Very interesting. Thanks for posting.
Who isn’t in favor of free electron collection and use?
My privilege... I honestly didn’t know they “ate” electrons. Pretty wild electronics there. :)
This reminds me of the processes used by extremophile bacteria in places like the Dead Sea.
Very interesting...
“”This study will aid in designing a bacterial platform where bacteria can feed on electricity and carbon dioxide to produce value-added compounds such as biofuels.”
Global warming problem solved...
Now, what do we do with all the biofuels?
I thought this thread was about stealing elections.
I sometimes wonder if the universe is not populated with “extreme extremophiles” and the UFO’s we see are just “Space Cattle” that wandered onto our little Pollyanna globe. I know, nuttier than a fruitcake concept.
Saline as an electrolyte?
Pigeon is the characteration of the human powder coating process of small boys.
Electrolytes are what plants crave.
I don’t think I want to know what that means.
There are some nasty bacteria that have been trying to steal elections. They’re called democrats.
I once had a dream as a child, about how we lived on a planet that once a day at the same time, if you didn’t grab a hold of something you would float into the air and disappear into space. Everywhere there were grab bars so that you always had something to grab handy.
One time I got caught out away from everything in a field and lost track of time. that time came and I floated away. But just before I met my demise, I saw a giant wielding a vacuum cleaner and realized I had been living on a speck of dust. :)
I remembered this dream when I was older, and realized that there really isn’t much difference between that dream and reality. We live on just a speck of dust in the whole of things.
But what produces the electricity for them? Coal?
Boys (+) attract dirt (-).
“Saline as an electrolyte?”
Yes. They actively pump protons across their cell membrane.
Here’s a link to too much information:
https://jb.asm.org/content/jb/175/6/1555.full.pdf
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.