How marine bacteria reshape oil to eat it faster

Рет қаралды 11,152

9 ай бұрын

Read the paper: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/s...
After an oil spill, humans rush to the scene to minimize impacts on the environment. But if the oil sticks around long enough, nature’s responders start to roll in. Bacteria such as Alcanivorax borkumensis thrive in these settings, using the components of petroleum as a source of energy and carbon. Now, a group of biophysicists has observed exactly how this bacterium breaks oil down. When Alcanivorax is exposed to oil for a longer period of time, it forms a biofilm around oil that can push and pull the oil’s surface into branching tubes. Watch the video to learn how this transformation facilitates a faster feast for these oil-loving bacteria.

Пікірлер: 16

@JennyBesserit 8 ай бұрын

This study is crazy cool. Those images are unbelievable and I hope this gets a lot of interest (and funding) going forward. Really excited to see this become a viable form of oil spill containment

@NataliDali 6 ай бұрын

Thank you, it is great to know that scientists are seriously working on solving the problem of how to reduce consequences of the nature's contamination and restore its suffering organisms into their normal healthy condition.

@Bfould3120 8 ай бұрын

Was fresh water or salt water used in these tests? How about use in soils found around gas stations? This could be a safer way to clean up these pollutants so I hope research continues and we learn how best to deploy these bacteria as well as any negative side effects they may cause. Great science :)

@GeoffryGifari 8 ай бұрын

what kind of effect those masses of bacteria can have on the sea after they are done consuming oil? can they in turn be consumed by sea creatures?

@lorrainemontel4211 8 ай бұрын

The link after "Read the paper" is not the right one. This link sent me to an unrelated paleontology paper. You may want to correct that.

@ScienceMagazine 8 ай бұрын

Resolved. Thank you!

@TheMadhuPandit 8 ай бұрын

Nature always triumph….

@chunfuxu 8 ай бұрын

Link to paper in the description is incorrect.

@ScienceMagazine 8 ай бұрын

Resolved. Thank you!

@BerylliumOxide 8 ай бұрын

Never underestimate bacteria

@fun_machine 8 ай бұрын

it is was it is

@vangelissotiropoulos7365 8 ай бұрын

artificial sea water?!

@jakejada1632 8 ай бұрын

Tap water and salt?

@manpuro 8 ай бұрын

Solution of salts like NaCl, CaCl2, KCl, MgCl2.... in water with NH4Cl, Na2HPO4, and FeCl2 for Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and iron supplements. N, P, & Fe supplements are vital for cell growth and their normal functioning. However, in artificial seawater, the concentration of the supplements is kept a few orders of magnitude larger than that found in seas, so that the bacteria could grow faster.

@b.a.erlebacher1139 8 ай бұрын

You can buy a mixture of salts that reconstitute to sea water composition. It's usually used by people with marine aquaria. In this situation it gives a standardized medium for experimental work, and is very convenient.