You know that thing about sufficiently advanced #technology being indistinguishable from #magic ?
That's how I feel about #bread.
And #beer.
And #preserving vegetables in brine.
Let's hear it for good guy #microbes.
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#microbes
3 posts3 participants0 posts today
Emulsion technique boosts plant growth with bacteria
https://phys.org/news/2025-03-emulsion-technique-boosts-growth-bacteria.html
phys.orgEmulsion technique boosts plant growth with bacteriaResearchers have demonstrated a technique for successfully encapsulating bacteria that can then be stored and applied to plants to improve plant growth and protect against pests and pathogens. The technique opens the door to creating a wide range of crop applications that allow farmers to make use of these beneficial bacteria in conjunction with agrochemicals. The paper, "Pickering Emulsion for Enhanced Viability of Plant Growth Promoting Bacteria and Combined Delivery of Agrochemicals and Biologics," is published in the journal Advanced Functional Materials.
#Microbes are in a constant battle for survival! Researchers from @LeibnizHKI @unijena @microverse_exc @unibayreuth discovered how the plant pathogen Pseudomonas syringae uses a chemical radar to detect and eliminate predatory #amoebae .The #bacteria produce harmless molecules that the amoebae modify, revealing their presence. P. syringae detects this and produces toxic substances to eliminate the predator. This mechanism could inspire new drugs and pest control strategies! 
@dfg_public #EFRE
Pink snow tints the edges of Antarctica https://english.elpais.com/science-tech/2025-03-24/pink-snow-tints-the-edges-of-antarctica.html
"The #algae that covers Mount Reina Sofía in patches is Sanguina nivaloides, a species first described in 2019. The meaning of its scientific name in Latin is eloquent: blood in the snow. Each creature has a single cell, about 20 thousandths of a millimeter in size, with a molecule inside that gives it its characteristic red color: #astaxanthin... the same pigment that produces the color of salmon"
Exciting work studying the chemical bonds in membrane lipids of #archaea (#marine #microbes) which are often used for #paleoclimate reconstructions suggests improvements to #temperature reconstructions.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0012821X25000925
www.sciencedirect.comStructural characterization of archaeal GDGT cyclization: Linking physiological adaptation to paleotemperature reconstructionGlycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (GDGTs), membrane lipids produced by archaea, have been widely utilized as biomarkers for paleotemperature recon…
Ancient marine organism's dual-layer structure reveals both past and present ocean environments https://phys.org/news/2025-02-ancient-marine-dual-layer-reveals.html
A cosmopolitan calcifying benthic #foraminifera in agglutinated disguise as a geochemical recorder of coastal environments https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2413054122
"This species has a remarkable hidden feature—an inner shell made of calcium carbonate beneath its outer layer of gathered particles... [this] made them an excellent recorder of environmental conditions."
MDPIDirect Meta-Analyses Reveal Unexpected Microbial Life in the Highly Radioactive Water of an Operating Nuclear Reactor CoreThe pools of nuclear reactor facilities constitute harsh environments for life, bathed with ionizing radiation, filled with demineralized water and containing toxic radioactive elements. The very few studies published to date have explored water pools used to store spent nuclear fuels. Due to access restrictions and strong handling constraints related to the high radioactivity level, nothing is presently known about life in water pools that directly cool nuclear cores. In this work, we investigated the microbial communities in the cooling pool of the French Osiris nuclear reactor using direct meta-omics approaches, namely, DNA metabarcoding and proteotyping based on 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing and on peptide analysis, respectively. We identified 25 genera in the highly radioactive core water supply during operation with radionuclide activity higher than 3 × 109 Bq/m3. The prevailing genera Variovorax and Sphingomonas at operation were supplanted by Methylobacterium, Asanoa, and Streptomyces during shutdown. Variovorax might use dihydrogen produced by water radiolysis as an energy source.
Continued thread
They've evidently cleared all the FDA hurdles to enter the American market.
"The greatest thing since sliced bread: Solein® enters America"
"Solein®, the protein made out of thin air, brings the next chapter of culinary innovation to a nation famed for a history of redefining food itself."
https://www.solein.com/blog/the-greatest-thing-since-sliced-bread-solein-enters-america
www.solein.comThe greatest thing since sliced bread: Solein® enters AmericaSolein®, the protein made out of thin air, brings the next chapter of culinary innovation to a nation famed for a history of redefining food itself.
This sounds promising. A microbe that can produce a versatile and complete (containg all 9 essential amino acids, as well as iron and vitamin B12) protein in just under 70 hour with only air, electricity, water and minerals.
"Factory 01: Where the sun never sets on harvest season"
"Solein® – the world’s most sustainable protein – is harvested every day, no matter the weather, the season, or the time of year."
https://www.solein.com/blog/factory-01-where-the-sun-never-sets-on-harvest-season
www.solein.comFactory 01: Where the sun never sets on harvest seasonSolein® – the world’s most sustainable protein – is harvested every day, no matter the weather, the season, or the time of year.
Earth's Underworld Is Full of Life https://www.sciencealert.com/earths-underworld-is-full-of-life-and-it-goes-deeper-than-we-ever-knew
A global comparison of surface and subsurface microbiomes reveals large-scale biodiversity gradients, and a marine-terrestrial divide https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adq0645
"In an ambitious 8-year census, a team has found an astonishing diversity of #microbes living beneath our planet's surface, deeper than anything we've discovered prior... it has turned up lifeforms as deep as 491m below the ocean floor, and even further below land: 4,375m deep"
I, like many other people, used to be largely dismissive of microbes. I've learnt better now, but even I hadn't considered that our futures could be in their hands, or flagella.
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1071697
#sciencenews #environment #microbes
EurekAlert!Scientists discover unique microbes in Amazonian peatlands that could influence climate changeResearchers from Arizona State University, along with their colleagues from the National University of the Peruvian Amazon, have identified an unknown family of microbes uniquely adapted to the waterlogged, low-oxygen conditions of tropical peatlands in Peru’s northwestern Amazonian rainforest.
The new research shows these microbes have a dual role in the carbon cycle and the potential to either moderate or intensify climate change. This process can either stabilize carbon for long-term storage or release it into the atmosphere as greenhouse gases, particularly CO2 and methane.
Mapping #Antarctica's hidden ice-free lands: A blueprint for conservation https://phys.org/news/2025-01-antarctica-hidden-ice-free-blueprint.html paper: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41597-025-04424-y
"The ice-free lands are home to uniquely adapted flora including micro-forests of #lichens, #moss, and two flowering plants, Antarctic hairgrass and pearlwort. They also sustain a variety of #mites, #springtails, #tardigrades, #nematodes, #algae, and #microbes. #Seabirds have established breeding colonies in these areas too."
How tiny algae shaped the #evolution of giant clams https://phys.org/news/2025-01-tiny-algae-evolution-giant-clams.html https://www.nature.com/articles/s42003-024-07423-8
"T. maxima have evolved more genes for sensors to distinguish friendly #algae from harmful #bacteria, #viruses... it has tuned down some of its immune genes in a way that likely helps the #animals tolerate #microbes... As a result of the weakened #ImmuneSystem, its genome contains a large number of #TransposableElements left behind by viruses. These aspects highlight the tradeoffs of #symbiosis"
Newly discovered #microbes in Amazon peatlands could affect global carbon balance https://phys.org/news/2025-01-newly-microbes-amazon-peatlands-affect.html
Functional insights of novel #Bathyarchaeia reveal metabolic versatility in their role in peatlands of the Peruvian Amazon https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/spectrum.00387-24
"Under stable conditions, they enable #peatlands to act as vast carbon reservoirs, reducing #climate risks. However, environmental shifts, including drought and warming, can trigger their activity, accelerating #ClimateChange."
#Microbes and #minerals: How microorganisms accelerate calcification https://www.marum.de/en/Microbes-and-minerals.html
Marine #CarbonBurial enhanced by microbial carbonate formation at hydrocarbon seeps https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-024-01960-0
"#Methane and other hydrocarbons are released from the #ocean floor at so-called cold seeps, forming the basis for ecosystems independent of sunlight. The basic process is methane oxidation without oxygen, which is carried out jointly by #archaea and #bacteria."
"The new research shows these #microbes have a dual role in the carbon cycle and the potential to either moderate or intensify #ClimateChange. This process can either stabilize carbon for long-term storage or release it into the atmosphere as greenhouse gases, particularly CO2 and methane.
Under stable conditions, these microbes enable #peatlands to act as vast carbon reservoirs, sequestering carbon and reducing climate risks."
https://www.miragenews.com/unique-microbes-found-in-amazon-peatlands-1396840/
Mirage NewsUnique Microbes Found in Amazon Peatlands Affect ClimateComplex organisms, thousands of times smaller than a grain of sand, can shape massive ecosystems and influence the fate of Earth's climate, according
An abundant #phytoplankton feeds a global network of marine microbes https://news.mit.edu/2025/abundant-phytoplankton-feeds-marine-microbe-global-network-0103 paper: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adp1949
"#Prochlorococcus shed DNA building blocks into their surroundings, where they are then taken up by other ocean organisms, either as nutrients, energy, or for regulating metabolism... this cross-feeding occurs on a regular cycle: Prochlorococcus tend to shed their molecular baggage at night, when enterprising #microbes quickly consume the cast-offs."
Using digital blueprints, a computational biologist explains how #microbes could colonize space, produce drugs, and generate energy—highlighting how these models could shape the future of #biotechnology, #medicine, and #space exploration. https://theconversation.com/microbes-can-colonize-space-produce-drugs-and-create-energy-researchers-are-simulating-their-inner-workings-to-harness-how-241131 #genomics
The ConversationMicrobes can colonize space, produce drugs and create energy − researchers are simulating their inner workings to harness howUsing digital blueprints of the metabolism of microbes, scientists can simulate expensive and time-intensive experiments set in space, power plants and farm fields.
Using digital blueprints, a computational biologist explains how #microbes could colonize space, produce drugs, and generate energy—highlighting how these models could shape the future of #biotechnology, #medicine, and #space exploration. #genomics https://theconversation.com/microbes-can-colonize-space-produce-drugs-and-create-energy-researchers-are-simulating-their-inner-workings-to-harness-how-241131
#TIL Der C13-Anteil in Erdgas ist hoch. Daher weiß man, dass das meiste Methan (72 GWP20 = in den ersten 20 Jahren 72 mal so schlimm wie CO2) in der Atmosphäre *nicht* vom Erdgas stammt.
Davon wiederum stammt das meiste von trocknenden Feuchtgebieten und weniger aus der Landwirtschaft. Dagegen kann der Mensch kaum etwas unternehmen. Sieht so aus, als könnte der Mensch gegen die Ursachen des Klimawandels allgemein nur sehr wenig unternehmen. Man könnte sich fast fragen, wie er den Wandel überhaupt zustande bringen konnte.
Außerdem: Methan ist geruchlos. Was so stinkt sind Schwefelverbindungen.