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

Originally posted by TheGreatest

I walked over the bridge pictured 2 days ago and I was completely unaware that space bacteria was living in the river below that could be a massive new source of energy.

Field Trip time with a glass jar on a long pole! I'd be collecting some and getting a jump on the technology!

-DB

Originally posted by DanielBrownAU

Originally posted by TheGreatest

I walked over the bridge pictured 2 days ago and I was completely unaware that space bacteria was living in the river below that could be a massive new source of energy.

Field Trip time with a glass jar on a long pole! I'd be collecting some and getting a jump on the technology!

-DB

I'm going to go swimming in the river, hopefully I'll develop some super human powers!

I wonder what they consume as fuel and what they discharge as waste... probably some scarce food that costs millions to produce, and the discharge could be the most toxic thing ever.

Sorry to be a pessimist but these are the excused the oil industry will come up with for the demise of this new technology... Unless of course the new bacteria consumes fossil fuels at an alarming rate

I find the terminology funny... they were space bacteria, that have now been found in a river... why don't they call it river bacteria also found in space? Or, how about just electro-bacterial found in both places. Space bacteria does sound a lot more exciting I guess...

It is known that small particles in the sky is how rain is formed. For raindrops to form there must be particles in the air, such as dust or salt, and small organics, likely this bacteria is partly responsible for the formation of rain, at temperatures above freezing. When the particles are cooled to temperatures below freezing point, water condenses around them in layers. The particles become so heavy they fall through the clouds.

Also I wonder why this particular bacteria generates an electrical charge twice what other bacteria does, could it be they use solar radiation for their energy instead of traditional food? Take them away from their native habitat one may find that process may be halted. Take them out of the atmosphere one might find weather patterns greatly altered.

Organisms can be broadly grouped into two categories, depending on where they get their energy. Autotrophs (self-feeders), such as plants and algae, get their energy from the sun via photosynthesis and only take in materials, such as carbon dioxide and minerals, from the soil in order to grow new parts. Heterotrophs (other-feeders), such as animals and many fungi and microorganisms, get their energy by consuming other organisms. An organism capable of synthesizing its own food from inorganic substances, using light or chemical energy. Green plants, algae, and certain bacteria are autotrophs.

Not sure one can grow these with the same characteristics in a petri dish in a lab, maybe, maybe not.

reply to post by TheGreatest


Wow, just wow.

What a huge impact this could have if it were safe, cost effective and efficient.

I sure hope we (the World) figures out some way to improve our energy resources soon.

Gas prices here in CA have just soared this week. Average is above $4 a gallon now.

Originally posted by TommyG
I wonder what they consume as fuel and what they discharge as waste... probably some scarce food that costs millions to produce, and the discharge could be the most toxic thing ever.

Sorry to be a pessimist but these are the excused the oil industry will come up with for the demise of this new technology... Unless of course the new bacteria consumes fossil fuels at an alarming rate

Well.... these are legitimate concerns and were actually my first questions after reading this. That said based on where they live it seems likely these are nonissues and the most difficult part of this will be adapting them to live under higher pressure or creating an easily to replicate environment that mimics the pressure temperature and humidity these things are used to.

This is a fantastic discover and im very excited for it but realistically i think the applications for this are.... somewhat limited and it will fall by the wayside for bigger and better things before it really has a chance.

Originally posted by Illustronic

Also I wonder why this particular bacteria generates an electrical charge twice what other bacteria does, could it be they use solar radiation for their energy instead of traditional food? Take them away from their native habitat one may find that process may be halted. Take them out of the atmosphere one might find weather patterns greatly altered.

And this is why i love the internet. Good catch. These things almost certainly play a role in the weather. I wonder if that could be the reason for weather changes with solar activity. (sudden blast of radiation kills a bunch of these things off and the whole dynamic changes)

Originally posted by TommyG
I wonder what they consume as fuel and what they discharge as waste... probably some scarce food that costs millions to produce, and the discharge could be the most toxic thing ever.

Sorry to be a pessimist but these are the excused the oil industry will come up with for the demise of this new technology... Unless of course the new bacteria consumes fossil fuels at an alarming rate

I don't want to be a party pooper here but in the article they clearly say that CO2 was the main waste from this type of cell.

So i wonder, is it better than any other source we have right now? I guess that depends of the quantity of waste they produce versus the energy they yield.

I hope it's indeed better than other sources and that this technology gains popularity after they manage to do all the tests needed to see if it's really a viable source of energy and if it's safe or not for humans.

Imagine growing your own bacteria at home to produce your own electricity! (I guess some people will do anything to not let that particular thing happen but at least, i can dream )

Peace out.

So this is the first space faring organism we have discovered, correct? If it has no genetic links to any known organism on Earth, that is the most sensible assumption to make.

First contact has occurred! Is this how everyone imagined it?

On a more speculative note, maybe our alien overlords put them there to help us out because they see we're about to run out of terrestrial resources. Why not eh?

Cheers,
Ben.

reply to post by BenTFH


to be fair its not a space fairing organism but rather an earth organism that lives in the upper atmosphere (they orbit at 20mi apparently).... though they could have originated from space but theres really no telling right now if they did or not so lets not speculate.
The title is misleading but who cares this is AWESOME.

I always knew there was something funny in the water in Sunderland

Originally posted by BenTFH
So this is the first space faring organism we have discovered, correct? If it has no genetic links to any known organism on Earth, that is the most sensible assumption to make.

First contact has occurred! Is this how everyone imagined it?

On a more speculative note, maybe our alien overlords put them there to help us out because they see we're about to run out of terrestrial resources. Why not eh?

Cheers,
Ben.

We made contact thousands of years ago when the first comets landed on earth carrying bacteria from space.

reply to post by sirhumperdink


My bad, I misread somewhere that they had no genetic ties to Earth organisms.
Anyway, this is cool. I'm excited to see what comes from this new discovery, if anything at all.

Originally posted by snewpers
.
So uhm... no side-effects to this thingie then?
.

There's a potential for the dreaded space herpes...

This is a really cool find, although not unexpected in my mind frame. As we make our way to a part of space that has more light I expect more discoveries that we have never even dreamed of.

reply to post by TheGreatest


That is a really interesting find. I wonder if there is anywhere else in the world that the bacteria can be found considering it was found in a river.

It may be more common on the surface of the world than previously thought.

Originally posted by Greensquad414
reply to post by TheGreatest

 

That is a really interesting find. I wonder if there is anywhere else in the world that the bacteria can be found considering it was found in a river.

It may be more common on the surface of the world than previously thought.

edit on 23-2-2012 by Greensquad414 because: (no reason given)

And now we have it we can easily produce more if it is indeed useful.

Originally posted by Greensquad414
reply to post by TheGreatest

 

That is a really interesting find. I wonder if there is anywhere else in the world that the bacteria can be found considering it was found in a river.

It may be more common on the surface of the world than previously thought.

edit on 23-2-2012 by Greensquad414 because: (no reason given)

I would think, as more space debris falls through the bacterias' breeding ground, picking up hitch hikers along the way to earth. We'll find it in more places. I do think it's fortuitous that NASA tries to steer incoming space debris to water areas.

Des

Say they make these space bacteria and everyone is using them.

So what happens when some company like Monsanto develops a GM version of the space bacteria that infects the non GM form and takes over.

Will they then force everyone to pay them as there space bacteria power sources get infected.

What happens if some terrorist group or country comes up with a way to kill the bacteria that spreads through the air. can they wipe out the new power source within days leaving the world "power less"