Re­search­ers cul­tiv­ate ar­chaea that break down crude oil in novel ways

How mi­croor­gan­isms deep in the seabed render crude oil harm­less

05-Jun-2023 - The sea­floor is home to around one-third of all the mi­croor­gan­isms on the Earth and is in­hab­ited even at a depth of sev­eral kilo­met­ers. Only when it be­comes too hot does the abund­ance of mi­croor­gan­isms ap­pear to de­cline. But how, and from what, do mi­croor­gan­isms in the deep ...

New light source: A million times brighter than the sun

PhD thesis investigated application of a special white-light laser for semiconductor industry and microbiology

14-Feb-2022 - A new high-performance white-light laser is expected to speed up quality control in the semiconductor industry and provide closer monitoring of toxicity tests in microbiology. In one step, this laser enables the two-sided characterization of surfaces and can be integrated into production chains. ...

Unexpected environmental source of methane discovered

17-Jan-2018 - Nitrogen-fixing bacteria are the chief means by which nitrogen gas in the air is changed into a form that plants and animals can use. Roughly 10 percent of these nitrogen-fixing microorganisms contain the genetic code for manufacturing a back-up enzyme, called iron iron-only nitrogenase, to do ...

From moo to goo

Cooperating microbes convert methane to alternative fuel source

13-Apr-2017 - Oil and gas wells and even cattle release methane gas into the atmosphere, and researchers are working on ways to not only capture this gas but also convert it into something useful and less-polluting. Now scientists at the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have ...

Breakthrough in organic acid production

28-Mar-2017 - Scientists from Wageningen University & Research, in association with oil and gas company Total, have developed a new process for producing organic acids via a biotechnological method. The discovery of the Monascus ruber micro-organism proved to be the crucial step in the new process. The fungus ...

Here comes the long-sought-after iron-munching microbe

26-Oct-2016 - A microbe that ‘eats’ both methane and iron: microbiologists have long suspected its existence, but were not able to find it - until now. Researchers at Radboud University and the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology in Bremen discovered a microorganism that couples the reduction of iron ...

A nemesis for oil spills

Proven Tel Aviv University bacterial technology can clean up the oil that BP's cleaning crew leaves behind

10-Aug-2010 - It's taken millions of dollars to cap it, and it could take billions more to clean it up. BP's oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is acknowledged the environmental catastrophe of the century. But Tel Aviv University has a solution that may help "bioremediate" the remaining problems. Prof. Eugene ...

Elemental bones

Bone samples could be the ultimate biomarker for environmental pollution

18-Jun-2010 - Exposure to chemical pollutants is of growing concern to regulators, health workers, and environmentalist groups alike. Now, researchers in the US and Russia have demonstrated that samples of human bone can act as a biological marker for dozens of metals and toxic elements across the periodic ...

From bacteria to electricity: The future of green energy

21-Apr-2010 - Showcasing its energy research initiatives for an Earth Day event at the Pentagon, the Office of Naval Research (ONR) will highlight the microbial fuel cell, a device that could revolutionize naval energy use by converting decomposed marine organisms into electricity. These fuel cells convert ...

A window that washes itself?

Tel Aviv University's new nano-material may revolutionize solar panels and batteries too

08-Dec-2009 - A coating on windows or solar panels that repels grime and dirt? Expanded battery storage capacities for the next electric car? New Tel Aviv University research details a breakthrough in assembling peptides at the nano-scale level that could make these futuristic visions come true in just a few ...