Researcher are now looking to make the most of this new discovery.
Did you know that bacteria in the natural world breathe by exhaling excess electrons, causing an intrinsic electrical grid? In a new study, Yale University researchers discovered that light could supercharge this electronic activity within biofilm bacteria, yielding an up to a 100-fold increase in electrical conductivity,"The dramatic current increases in nanowires exposed to light show a stable and robust photocurrent that persists for hours," said senior author Nikhil Malvankar,...
They have therefore developed a way to respire by "breathing minerals” through tiny protein filaments called nanowires. The scientists found that when these types of bacteria were exposed to light, they produced a substantial and surprising increase in electrical current.In the new study, the research team led by postdoctoral researcher Jens Neu and graduate student Catharine Shipps found that this process was powered by a metal-containing protein known as cytochrome OmcS .
These aren’t the only bacteria found to have useful properties. In August of 2018, a team of microbiologists from Washington State Universityin Yellowstone National Park’s Heart Lake Geyser Basin that could “breathe” electricity by passing electrons to outside metals or minerals, using protruding wire-like hairs.
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