Electrified bacteria army kills uranium, gives Captain Planet a run for his money

a definite kind of “hairy” bacteria may be the reply to cleaning up radioactive spills. Scientists on the University of Southern California found that under certain circumstances, Geobacter sulfurreducens can make metals like uranium less soluble — essentially turning the metal into hard droplets instead of being absorbed. Researchers discovered that by lowering the bacteria’s temperature, it caused hair-like pili to increase, which enveloped the poison uranium and ultimately reduced it through long-range electron transfer. The breakthrough could help deplete sources of uranium or other radioactive isotopes where bacteria normally can’t survive — like from the Fukushima nuclear plant that devastated Japan earlier this year. Scientists believe they’ve only scratched the skin with this development and are optimistic in regards to the way forward for bacteria “electromicrobiology,” which we will only guess grew in popularity after this ’80s classic hit the airwaves (video after the break).

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This post is tagged: circumstances, electron transfer, nuclear plant, radioactive isotopes, University of Southern California