In the extreme world of bacteria , stunts such as living in hot springs or without atomic number 8 are , like , completely unimpressive . But then there are bacteria that live on off electricity , feeding directly on naked electron . Even more surprisingly , scientists are encounter that these bacteria arenot even that rare .
“ Stick an electrode in the land , pump electrons down it , and they will come , ” begins afascinatingNew Scientistpiece on these electricity - eating microbes . For a while now , we ’ve known about two type of bacterium that eat on electrical energy , Shewanella and Geobacter . As scientists cling their electrodes in Herbert George Wells and marine clay and amber mines — not unlike fish with a baited hook — they’ve retrieve several more types of electricity - eat bacterium .
What ’s so surprising about all this is that free electrons are dangerous . Bacteria that eat electricity are like humans who “ power up by shoving our fingers in a DC electrical socket , ” one researcher differentiate New Scientist . These bacteria are begin energy in its purest soma as electrons . The rest of us — by which I mean the repose of all roll in the hay sprightliness on land — also move electron around for free energy , but the unconscious process is make do through a complex circle of reactions involving a molecule called ATP . You may have vague recollections about it from mellow school biology ; it’sreally , really complicated . It ’s also how we keep our cells from being torn apart by free negatron . How these electric bacteria manage it is still a mystery .
In the wild , the bacterium scavenge free electron from rock and sand . In the research lab , Kenneth Nealson of the University of Southern California is essay to acquire them directly on electrodes . grow electric bacterium raises the intriguing possibleness of couch them to use . Researchers have found that “ tens of thousands of electric bacterium can join together organise daisy chains that carry electrons”—essentially a amply living ( and bouncy ) electric biocable . [ New Scientist ]
Bacteria
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