Showing posts with label bacteria. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bacteria. Show all posts

2012-04-06

Portable Plasma Flashlight Kills Bacteria

New Plasma Flashlight Could Instantly Rid Skin of Bacteria | Healthland | TIME.com

A battery-powered, hand-held plasma-emitting device created by Chinese and Australian scientists could speed wound sterilization in the field.

In a disaster zone, whether it’s the aftermath of a tornado or on a battleground, emergency medical personnel have to work fast to save lives. In an effort to speed good care, scientists have developed a handheld, battery-operated “flashlight” that can instantly sterilize wounds by beaming plasma at bacteria.

Plasma Flashlight Zaps Bacteria - ScienceNOW

[...] Powered by a normal 12-volt battery and operating in open air without a gas supply, the prototype, which they call a plasma flashlight, should be portable enough to take anywhere. "It generates the plasma even being disconnected from wall power, even using very low power," says group member Kostya Ostrikov of CSIRO Materials Science and Engineering in Lindfield, Australia.

Light therapy . A portable plasma flashlight can kill bacteria in minutes. (Credit: X. Pei et al., Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics)
Credit: X. Pei et al., Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics (2012)

Handheld plasma flashlight rids skin of pathogens | KurzweilAI

Plasma jet circuit, powered by a 12 V DC battery at 60 mW. It generates ~20 kHz pulses with ~100 ns duration. (Credit: X. Pei et al./IOP Publishing)

In an experiment, the plasma flashlight effectively inactivated a thick biofilm with 17 different layers of one of the most antibiotic- and heat-resistant bacteria, Enterococcus faecalis — which often infects root canals during dental treatments.

The plasma penetrated deep into the very bottom of the layers to kill the bacteria in five minutes.
[...]
It can be easily made and costs less than $100 to produce. No external power or gas feed is required. It operates at close to room temperature and prevents damage to the skin.


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2012-02-24

Electricity Production by Use of Space Bacteria Found in British River

Space bacteria found in British river could be new power source for the world | Mail Online



Bacteria usually found orbiting high above the Earth have been found in a British river - and could be a new power source for the world.

The mysterious organisms, found in the the mouth of the River Wear, in Sunderland, can generate electricity using a special battery called a microbial fuel cell.

The Bacillus stratosphericus - usually found 20 miles above the Earth - is believed to have been brought to the surface by atmospheric cycling, which causes evaporated water rise into the stratosphere and then fall again.

Microbial fuel cell: How bacteria can generate electricity

Inside an MFC, the organisms produce carbon dioxide, protons and electrons when kept in a solution without oxygen.

Liberated electrons form a negatively charged anode while the protons create a positively charged cathode.This produces both charges necessary to produce an electric current.


Bugs from space offer new source of power - Press Office - Newcastle University

Publishing their findings today in the American Chemical Society’s Journal of Environmental Science and Technology, Grant Burgess, Professor of Marine Biotechnology at Newcastle University, said the research demonstrated the “potential power of the technique.”

“What we have done is deliberately manipulate the microbial mix to engineer a biofilm that is more efficient at generating electricity,” he explains.

“This is the first time individual microbes have been studied and selected in this way.  Finding B.Stratosphericus was quite a surprise but what it demonstrates is the potential of this technique for the future – there are billions of microbes out there with the potential to generate power.”

The use of microbes to generate electricity is not a new concept and has been used in the treatment of waste water and sewage plants.

Microbial Fuel Cells, which work in a similar way to a battery, use bacteria to convert organic compounds directly into electricity by a process known as bio-catalytic oxidation.

A biofilm – or ‘slime’ – coats the carbon electrodes of the MFC and as the bacteria feed, they produce electrons which pass into the electrodes and generate electricity.

Until now, the biofilm has been allowed to grow un-checked but this new study shows for the first time that by manipulating the biofilm you can significantly increase the electrical output of the fuel cell.







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2010-11-23

BacillaFilla: Fixing Cracks in Concrete

Engineered Bacteria Can Fill Cracks In Aging Concrete | Popular Science



Researchers at the University of Newcastle in the UK have created a new kind of concrete glue that can patch up the cracks in concrete structures, restoring buildings that have been damaged by seismic events or deteriorated over time. But the glue isn’t an adhesive or some kind of synthetic material; the researchers have custom-designed a bacteria to burrow deep into the cracks in concrete where they produce a mix of calcium carbonate and a special bacteria glue that hardens to the same strength of the surrounding concreate.


Press Releases - - Newcastle University

Cracks in your concrete? You need ‘BacillaFilla’

[...]
The BacillaFilla spores only start germinating when they make contact with concrete – triggered by the very specific pH of the material – and they have an in-built self-destruct gene which means they would be unable to survive in the environment.

Once the cells have germinated, they swarm down the fine cracks in the concrete and are able to sense when they reach the bottom because of the clumping of the bacteria.

This clumping activates concrete repair, with the cells differentiating into three types: cells which produce calcium carbonate crystals, cells which become filamentous acting as reinforcing fibres and cells which produce a Levans glue which acts as a binding agent and fills the gap.
[...]


Team:Newcastle/solution - 2010.igem.org

[,,,] BacillaFilla repairs concrete by 3 different processes:
  1. Some of the cells with produce calcium carbonate crystals,
  2. Some of the cells will become filamentous thereby acting as reinforcing fibres in the crack and
  3. All the cells will produce Levans glue which acts as a binding agent and at the same time it fills up the whole crack.
Therefore the mixture of all the three elements together will make a strong repair.




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2010-10-09

Walking Bacteria

Cosmic Log - Bacteria can walk on 'legs'

Alan Boyle writes: Bacteria have legs? That suggestion seemed surprising to Gerard Wong, a bioengineering professor at the University of California at Los Angeles, when his students told him they were seeing some strange behavior in movies of the microbes.

A bacterium can "walk" on a surface while in a vertical orientation, as shown in this schematic.


For directional motion, bacteria generally favor "crawling" in a horizontal orientation, as shown in this schematic.

Videos of walking bacteria, courtesy of Gerard Wong:

Researchers discover 'walking' properties of bacteria

(PhysOrg.com) -- Many drug-resistant infections are the result of bacterial biofilms, structured aggregates of bacteria that live on surfaces and that are extremely resistant to environmental stresses. These biofilms impact human health in many ways -- cystic fibrosis, for example, is a disease in which patients die from airway bacterial biofilm infections that are invulnerable to even the most potent antibiotics.

Now, UCLA researchers and their colleagues have found that during the initial stages of biofilm formation, can actually stand upright and "walk" as part of their adaptation to a surface.

Bacteria Strut Their Stuff - Science News


Researchers had already documented bacteria swimming through liquids or crawling on their bellies across a surface, but no one had ever seen bacteria getting up and walking. No one, that is, until a group of undergraduate students at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign made movies of Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria moving on a microscope slide. Working under the supervision of Gerard Wong, a biophysicist now at UCLA, the students adapted a technique used by physicists to track microscopic particles. Computer programs allowed the researchers to quickly sort through video footage of teeming bacteria to find out what individual cells were up to.

Notre Dame researcher helps discover "walking" properties of bacteria // News // Notre Dame News // University of Notre Dame

Talk about a walk on the wild side: University of Notre Dame researcher Joshua Shrout is co-author of a new paper that shows that bacteria are capable of “standing up” and moving while vertical.


UCLA-led research team finds that bacteria can stand up and walk / UCLA Newsroom

Now, UCLA researchers and their colleagues have found that during the initial stages of biofilm formation, bacteria can actually stand upright and "walk" as part of their adaptation to a surface.

Conrad Research Group

Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Houston

Cool Image

Walking motility 

Visualization of vertical "walking" motility mechanism in Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a pathogenic bacterium implicated in many infections in immune-compromised patients. While walking, bacteria can cover large areas more efficiently; in additional, vertical orientation helps bacteria detach from surfaces. See Gibiansky, Conrad, Wong, et al., Science (2010) for more information.

Collected from: Conrad Research Group

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2010-09-02

Bio-Couture -- Growing Clothes from Bacteria

BioCouture: U.K. Designer "Grows" an Entire Wardrobe From Bacteria | Ecouterre




Suzanne Lee can conjure clothing out of thin air. No, wait, that’s not entirely accurate. She’ll need at least a couple of bathtubs, some yeast, a pinch of bacteria, and several cups of sweetened green tea. Lee, who is a senior research fellow at the School of Fashion & Textiles at Central Saint Martins in London, is the brains (and brawn) behind BioCouture, an experiment in growing garments from the same microbes that ferment the tasty caffeinated beverage.

Collected from: YouTube - Bio-Couture

Haute culture - The Scientist - Magazine of the Life Sciences

Early on in the inception of BioCouture, Lee partnered with David Hepworth, a materials scientist she met in the museum, and they began to informally explore the idea by growing bacterial cellulose in his garage and her bathroom. Today, to improve upon that process, Lee collaborates with researchers at Imperial College London.


Cellulose naturally absorbs water, which doesn't make it an ideal material to sport on a rainy day. "The [cellulose] clothing takes up huge amounts of water and swells, making wearing it a bit unpleasant," says Alexander Bismarck, an Imperial College materials scientist. Rather than chemically altering the cellulose after it has been made, a tedious and not particularly eco-friendly process, Bismarck and Lee, along with Paul Freemont, head of molecular biosciences at Imperial College, are trying to modify the bacteria or growth medium directly to make the cellulose more hydrophobic. It hasn't been easy, says Bismarck: There's a fine line between clothes that turn to goo in the rain and clothes with no moisture absorption all. "Hopefully we will be able to produce a leather-like material from cellulose that has [appropriate] properties for the fashion world," says Bismarck. "I believe, a couple of years down the line, there will be a market for it."


Bio_material_1.jpg

Suzanne Lee

Suzanne Lee is Senior Research Fellow at St Martins School of Art & Design. Her recent AHRC funded project Bio Couture looks at ecological and sustainability issues surrounding fashion.    By harnessing nature she proposes a radical future for textiles.   Her focus is to observe the use of bacterial-cellulose, grown in a laboratory, to produce clothing...literally, to "grow a dress in a vat of liquid".  
Collected from: Suzanne Lee | TFRGDEV

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2010-01-24

UCSD Researchers Synchronize Genetic Clocks in Bacteria

Clipped from: Researchers synchronize blinking 'genetic clocks' -- genetically engineered bacteria that keep track of time


Researchers Synchronize Blinking 'Genetic Clocks' -- Genetically Engineered Bacteria That Keep Track of Time


ScienceDaily (Jan. 24, 2010) — Researchers at UC San Diego who last year genetically engineered bacteria to keep track of time by turning on and off fluorescent proteins within their cells have taken another step toward the construction of a programmable genetic sensor. The scientists recently synchronized these bacterial "genetic clocks" to blink in unison and engineered the bacterial genes to alter their blinking rates when environmental conditions change.

Their latest achievement, detailed in a paper published in the January 21 issue of the journal Nature, is a crucial step in creating genetic sensors that might one day provide humans with advance information about temperature, poisons and other potential hazards in the environment by monitoring changes in the bacterium's blinking rates.

Clipped from: UC San Diego Researchers Synchronize Blinking “Genetic Clocks”






A supernova burst in a colony of coupled genetic clocks show them flashing in synchrony. (Credit: UCSD)





Tal Danino (foreground), Octavio Mondragon (left to right), Lev Tsimring and Jeff Hasty synchronized the genetic clocks in bacteria. (Credit: UCSD)


Clipped from: YouTube - Bacteria make Mexican wave


Bacteria make Mexican waves



By synchronising our clocks, we can coordinate our activities with people around the world. Now, scientists have engineered bacteria to synchronise their molecular timekeepers, creating the stunning fluorescent waves you see in this video. Hear more about synthetic biology on the Nature Podcast (http://www.nature.com/nature/podcast) or read the original research



Clipped from: A synchronized quorum of genetic clocks : Abstract : Nature

Nature 463, 326-330 (21 January 2010) | doi:10.1038/nature08753; Received 20 August 2009; Accepted 4 December 2009

A synchronized quorum of genetic clocks


Tal Danino, Octavio Mondragón-Palomino, Lev Tsimring & Jeff Hasty

Clipped from: Genetic Clock Makers at UC San Diego Publish Their Timepiece in Nature [Jacobs School of Engineering: News & Events]
UCSD Jacobs School of Engineering

Hasty has been working on building a robust genetic clock from scratch since his years as a postdoctoral researcher in the early 2000s.

“We finally determined that a crucial aspect is a small time delay in the negative feedback loop of the genetic network,” explained Hasty. “This is an example in which synthetic biology can lead to a better understanding of the importance of specific aspects of gene regulatory networks. Because you can’t model every aspect of a genetic network, you have to figure out what needs to be accounted for in your models and what doesn’t.”



Network diagram of the dual-feedback oscillator. Adding a two minute time delay led to the synthetic biology breakthrough.

Sources:
  1. Researchers synchronize blinking 'genetic clocks' -- genetically engineered bacteria that keep track of time
  2. UC San Diego Researchers Synchronize Blinking “Genetic Clocks”
  3. A synchronized quorum of genetic clocks : Abstract : Nature
  4. YouTube - Bacteria make Mexican waves
  5. Genetic Clock Makers at UC San Diego Publish Their Timepiece in Nature [Jacobs School of Engineering: News & Events]
Related:
  1. UC San Diego Home Page
  2. Biodynamics Lab
  3. Hasty Lab
  4. Video: Bacteria Transformed Into Living, Blinking Clocks Could Provide Precisely Timed Drug Delivery | Popular Science
  5. Researchers synchronize blinking 'genetic clocks' (w/ Video)
  6. BBC News - Synthetic biology cells produce light show
  7. Technology Review: A Synchronous Clock Made of Bacteria
  8. Researchers Synchronize Blinking 'Genetic Clocks' - Science News - redOrbit
  9. Bacterial clocks chime in unison : Nature News
  10. Is There Nothing E. coli Cannot Do? The Borg Edition | The Loom | Discover Magazine
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2009-12-26

Bacteria-Powered Machines

clipped from www.engadget.com

Bacteria taught to spin microscopic gears right round, could make for better solar panels

Bacteria taught to spin microscopic gears right round, could make for better solar panels
clipped from www.anl.gov
Argonne National Laboratory

Argonne scientists use bacteria to power simple machines

Organisms turn microgears in suspended solution by swimming

ARGONNE, Ill. (Dec. 16, 2009) — Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory and Northwestern University have discovered that common bacteria can turn microgears when suspended in a solution, providing insights for designs of bio-inspired dynamically adaptive materials for energy.

“The ability to harness and control the power of bacterial motion is an important requirement for further development of hybrid biomechanical systems driven by microorganisms," said Argonne physicist and principal investigator Igor Aronson. “In this system, the gears are a million times more massive than the bacteria."

Northwestern University
NERC Non-Equilibrium Research Center LOGO

Bacteria Power Micromachines - 12/15/2009

clipped from www.youtube.com

Bacteria turn tiny gears

clipped from www.youtube.com

Bacteria turn a tiny gear


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Sources:
  1. Bacteria taught to spin microscopic gears right round, could make for better solar panels -- Engadget
  2. Argonne scientists use bacteria to power simple machines
  3. Home : Northwestern University
  4. Non-Equilibrium Energy Research Center at Northwestern University || Evanston Illinois
  5. News || Non-Equilibrium Energy Research Center at Northwestern University || Evanston Illinois
  6. YouTube - Bacteria turn tiny gears
  7. YouTube - Bacteria turn a tiny gear
Related:
  1. Bacteria Give Stirring Performance | Physical Review Focus
  2. Bacteria-Powered Machines! - Forbes.com
  3. Bacterial Micro Machines Turn Tiny Gears | Wired Science | Wired.com
  4. Argonne scientists use bacteria to power simple machines
  5. Working as a Team, Bacteria Spin Gears - The New York Times
  6. Bacteria used to power simple machines: Organisms turn microgears in suspended solution by swimming
  7. Argonne scientists use bacteria to power simple machines (w/ Video)
  8. Bacteria-powered micromachines // Current
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2009-10-27

A Bacterial Ratchet Motor

clipped from medgadget.com

Scientists Enslave Bacteria to Power Tiny Microsized Motor


Italian scientists from the University of Rome managed to harness free floating E. coli bacteria to turn a tiny crankshaft. Although potential uses for such a tiny and unusual motor drive are not yet clear, no doubt interesting applications in medicine and life sciences should present themselves over time.

Luca Angelani


Micromotors pushed by bacteria

Micromotors pushed by biological entities constitute a fascinating way to
convert chemical energy into mechanical work at the micrometer scale. We show
that a properly designed asymmetric object can be spontaneously set into the
desired motion when immersed in a chaotic bacterial bath.


Self-starting micromotors in a bacterial bath

Micromotors pushed by biological entities, constitute a fascinating way to convert chemical energy into mechanical work at the micrometer scale. We show that a properly designed asymmetric object can be spontaneously set into the desired motion when immersed in a chaotic bacterial bath. [more]

A Bacterial Ratchet Motor

A nano-fabricated asymmetric gear (48 μm external diameter, 10 μm thickness)
rotates clockwise at 1 rpm when immersed in an active bath of motile
E.coli cells, visible in the background.

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Sources:
  1. Scientists Enslave Bacteria to Power Tiny Microsized Motor
  2. Luca Angelani - Home
  3. Roberto Di Leonardo - Home
  4. RDL - Tube
Related:
  1. Technology Review: Blogs: arXiv blog: Self-Propelling Bacteria Harnessed to Turn Gears
  2. Bacteria Harnessed To Power Micro-Motor | Singularity Hub
  3. [0812.2375] Self-Starting Micromotors in a Bacterial Bath
  4. [0910.2899] A bacterial ratchet motor
  5. Miss Atomic Bomb: Letting bacteria work for you
  6. Random motion of bacteria could drive micromotors - physicsworld.com
  7. Column: The crucible
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2009-01-11

Fuel Producing Bacteria

clipped from memebox.com

Luca Technologies raises $76 million for microbes that 'eat' coal, 'breathe out' natural gas

Luca Technologies
Technology Review - Published By MIT

Fuel from Coal-Eating Microbes

A process for converting coal into natural gas could help reduce emissions.

Luca Technologies, a startup based in Golden, CO, has raised $76 million to scale up a process that uses coal-digesting microorganisms to convert coal into methane. The process is designed to operate underground, inside coal beds. Methane, the key component of natural gas, can then be pumped out and used to generate electricity or power vehicles.

Gas bugs: Methane-generating bacteria on a coal sample from Wyoming's Powder River Basin, viewed by scanning electron microscopy.
Credit: Luca Technologies

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Technology BackgrounderCore InventoryPatentsBibliographyFlash Photo Gallery
How a Geobioreactor Functions

The biogenic creation of methane from a higher molecular weight hydrocarbon source is a multi-step process, most likely accomplished by a consortium of microorganisms acting together in a symbiotic fashion. Through a series of steps, various organisms in the consortium breakdown the large hydrocarbon molecules in coal or oil into intermediate, water-soluble compounds, which are then reduced to even smaller hydrocarbon molecules, and finally metabolized into methane by a group of organisms known as methanogens.

In order for a Geobioreactor to function, the appropriate environmental conditions must be present, including an abundant hydrocarbon substrate (such as a coal bed), a water-saturated environment, a complete absence of free oxygen, and the presence of the correct consortia of organisms.


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Related:
Luca Technologies raises $76 million for microbes that 'eat' coal, 'breathe out' natural gas
Technology Review: Fuel from Coal-Eating Microbes
Luca Technologies
Green Technology Forum » Blog Archive » Luca harnessing microbes that convert coal into methane
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