Yale Scientists Discover That Light Accelerates Conductivity in Nature’s “Electric Grid”



The soil and oceans contain a network of microscopic nanowires produced by bacteria that "breathe" by releasing extra electrons, creating an inbuilt electrical grid for the environment.

Scientists from Yale University have discovered that light is an unexpected ally in promoting this electronic activity in biofilm bacteria. They found that exposing bacteria-produced nanowires to light increased their electrical conductivity by up to 100 times.

The senior author, associate professor of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry (MBB) at Yale's Microbial Sciences Institute on Yale's West Campus, Nikhil Malvankar, noted that the photocurrent demonstrated by the dramatic current increases in nanowires exposed to light is stable and robust and lasts for hours.

The findings may offer fresh perspectives as researchers look for new ways to utilize this submerged electrical current. It might be utilized, for instance, to aid in the removal of biohazard waste or produce fresh renewable fuel sources.

For the purpose of getting rid of extra electrons when turning nutrition into energy, almost all living creatures breathe oxygen. However, soil microorganisms that are buried underground or deep beneath oceans lack access to oxygen. They have evolved a method of respiration over billions of years that involves "breathing" minerals through small protein filaments called nanowires, much like snorkeling.

Scientists were astonished by the increase in electrical current when these bacteria were exposed to light because the majority of the examined bacteria are found deep in the earth, away from light. Previous research had demonstrated that exposure to light accelerated the growth of bacteria that produce nanowires.
Nobody was aware of how this occurs, Malvankar claimed.

A Yale University team led by postdoctoral researcher Jens Neu and graduate student Catharine Shipps came to the conclusion that the cytochrome OmcS protein, which makes up bacterial nanowires, functions as a natural photoconductor, greatly facilitating electron transfer when biofilms are exposed to light.

It is a totally distinct type of photosynthesis, according to Malvankar. Because of the quick electron transfer between the nanowires in this area, light is causing bacteria to breathe more quickly.

In order to further optoelectronics, Malvankar's lab is investigating how this understanding of bacterial electrical conductivity may be applied. In this area of photonics, light-finding and light-controlling apparatus and systems are studied. They want to employ this technique to absorb methane, a gas that is known to play a substantial role in causing climate change on a worldwide scale.

The Yale Malvankar Lab's Matthew Guberman-Pfeffer, Cong Shen, Vishok Srikanth, and Sibel Ebru Yalcin, the Yale Department of Chemistry's Jacob Spies, Gary Brudvig, and Victor Batista, and Oxford Instruments' Nathan Kirchhofer are additional authors on the work.

By YALE UNIVERSITY 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Do You Sleep on Your Back or Side? Here's The Research on 'Optimal' Sleep Positions

Image
William Dement, a renowned sleep researcher at Stanford University, is quoted as saying that after 50 years of study, the only reason he can think of for why we sleep is "because we become sleepy." Sleep certainly matters for our health and wellbeing even though it may be, as one researcher put it, "the sole major habit in quest of a function." Do we, however, have it right? What do studies on sleeping positions say? Is there a proper sleeping position? The majority of people favor sleeping on their side. This is encouraging news because people who sleep on their backs are more likely to have trouble falling asleep or breathing during the night. Most of the time, we have a tendency to shift around quite a bit at night. According to a study involving 664 sleepers, on average, participants slept on their side 54% of the time, their back 37% of the time, and their front 7% of the time. Males are more likely to change positions throughout the night and move their arms, ...
Read more

The Science of Beards

Image
Here are a few facts that scientists have learned about beards as the world prepares to celebrate amazing facial hair on World Beard Day (September 3). Strong Manly Beard Men who have beards appear to be more dominant, aggressive, and strong, according to numerous studies[1][2][3] that have been conducted. In fact, men claim that growing facial hair makes them feel[4] more manly. Men who choose to grow beards tend to have higher testosterone levels than men who choose to keep their faces clean-shaven, according to research. They are also more likely to be hostile sexists, or to support the patriarchy and male dominance, as well as to believe that women belong in the kitchen, according to research on this topic. The beards (and muscles) on these males might be used to enforce gender roles. Professor R. D. Guthrie proposed in his book "Evolution of human threat display organs" from the 1970s that beards could be utilized to scare male rivals by improving aggressive and threaten...
Read more

Scientists Uncover a Surprising Connection Between Appetite and Sun Exposure

Image
Recent studies from Tel Aviv University show that women are not affected by sun exposure on their hunger levels, but males are. The study shows how the metabolic pathway is engaged differently in men and women. It was carried out utilizing lab models. Males of both animal and human species, as well as those exposed to the sun, are reportedly triggered to produce a protein called p53 that repairs any DNA damage that may have been done to the skin as a result of the exposure. The body produces the hunger-inducing hormone ghrelin in response to p53 activation. In females, the hormone estrogen stops p53 from interacting with ghrelin, preventing the desire to eat after being in the sun. The ground-breaking investigation was directed by professor Carmit Levy and Ph.D. candidate Shivang Parikh of the Department of Human Genetics and Biochemistry at TAU's Sackler Faculty of Medicine. In addition to the Tel Aviv Sourasky (Ichilov), Assuta, Meir, and Sheba Medical Centers, Drs. Yiftach Gepne...
Read more