microbes | Common News Update

Jun152021 by adminNo Comments

Methane-eating microbes in the ocean help moderate Earth’s temperature

Science

June 14 (UPI) -- Methane-eating microbes in the planet's oceans play an unappreciated role moderating Earth's temperature, according to a new study published Monday in the journal Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences. Carbon dioxide is the most abundant and famous greenhouse gas, but methane is plentiful and its warming effect is more than 30 times more powerful. Most methane that ends up in the atmosphere is released by human activities, but several natural processes also produce methane: volcanic activity, subsurface water-rock interactions and microbial metabolism. The majority of naturally produced methane on Earth is produced by microbes, and much of that is in the ocean. Over the last decade or so, a number of studies have shown the planet's oceans to be home to a lot more me...

Oct202019 by adminNo Comments

Ancient microbes are living inside Europe’s deepest meteorite crater

Science

Oct. 18 (UPI) -- Rock cores collected from deep beneath the planet's surface suggest ancient microbes have been living inside Europe's largest meteorite crater for millions of years. Some 400 million years ago, a massive space rock slammed into northern Europe, excavating a giant crater in the middle of what's now Sweden. Today, prospectors are drilling for natural gas within the confines of the ancient crater, the contours of which are called the Siljan Ring. The drilling attempts have yielded fresh rock cores, several of which made their way to geochemistry labs at Linnaeus University in Sweden. When scientists at Linnaeus investigated the rocks, they found evidence of long-term deep microbial activity. "We examined the intensively fractured rock at significant depth in the crater and...

Oct152019 by adminNo Comments

Genetic engineering tool promises to aid discovery of new drugs inside microbes

Health

Oct. 14 (UPI) -- Scientists have found a new way to coax microbes into producing valuable secondary metabolites, chemical compounds that help microbes adapt to changing conditions. Despite the contributions secondary metabolites have made to medical and material science, researchers suspect they have only barely skimmed the surface of the biochemical secrets hiding within microbes -- a tool called chassis-independent recombinase-assisted genome engineering, or CRAGE, may help them unlock those secrets. Secondary metabolites are named so because they're non-essential. Stop a microbe from producing its primary metabolites and it is likely to die. Lock the production of secondary metabolites, however, and the microbe is sure to persist, even if at a disadvantage. But while secondary metabol...

Jul252018 by adminNo Comments

Soil microbes eat alternative plastic, study shows

Science

July 25 (UPI) -- New research shows an alternative plastic called PBAT -- short for poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) -- can be broken down by microbes in the soil. Researchers hope the material can serve as a replacement for polyethylene mulch films. Large amounts of PE films are spread cross agricultural fields to boost crop yields by elevating soil temperature and keeping moisture in the ground. Disposing of the plastic sheeting is difficult and, inevitably, large amounts of the plastic end up accumulating in the soil. Polyethylene contamination can disrupt water transportation and ultimately degrade soil health. Researchers at ETH Zurich wanted to find out if a polymer alternative like PBAT would be more eco-friendly. The polymer had been deemed biodegradable for composting, bu...

May212018 by adminNo Comments

Missing microbes 'cause' childhood cancer

Health

Our modern germ-free life is the cause of the most common type of cancer in children, according to one of Britain's most eminent scientists. Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia affects one in 2,000 children.Prof Mel Greaves, from the Institute of Cancer Research, has amassed 30 years of evidence to show the immune system can become cancerous if it does not "see" enough bugs early in life. It means it may be possible to prevent the disease. Combined eventsThe type of blood cancer is more common in advanced, affluent societies, suggesting something about our modern lives might be causing the disease. There have been wild claims linking power cables, electromagnetic waves and chemicals to the cancer. That has been dismissed in this work published in Nature Reviews...