Techdirt. Stories filed under "microbes" Easily digestible tech news... http://www.techdirt.com/ en-us Techdirt. Stories filed under "microbes"http://www.techdirt.com/images/td-88x31.gifhttp://www.techdirt.com/ Mon, 18 Feb 2013 17:00:00 PST DailyDirt: Another Day, Another New Species... Joyce Hung http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20101116/10560411890/dailydirt-another-day-another-new-species.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20101116/10560411890/dailydirt-another-day-another-new-species.shtml
  • How many species of life exist on Earth? According to the National Science Foundation's "Tree of Life" project, there may be anywhere from 5 million to 100 million species on Earth. So far we have identified only about 2 million. [url]
  • Penn State researchers have been studying the ultrasmall microbial population found at a depth of over 3,000 meters in a 120,000-year-old Greenland glacier ice core. They were able to isolate a variety of tiny microbes that were either phylogenetically new or related to other ultramicrobacteria. [url]
  • Microbiologists are studying "thermophiles," the bacteria found at deep-sea hydrothermal vents where temperatures can exceed 350 degrees Celsius. The record for life growing at high temperatures is 113.25 degrees Celsius. Thermophiles are not only useful in helping us look for evidence of past and present life on other planets, but they also produce enzymes that can be used at high temperatures and for genetic research. [url]
  • A NASA-sponsored expedition in 2011 found a huge phytoplankton bloom underneath the Arctic ice pack in the Chukchi Sea. This was the first direct observation of an under-ice algal bloom, which was previously thought to be impossible, and now scientists think such algal blooms may actually be more widespread and could be an important indicator of significant shifts in Arctic ecosystems, such as those caused by global warming.[url]
    • If you'd like to read more awesome and interesting stuff, check out this unrelated (but not entirely random!) Techdirt post.

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    ]]>     urls-we-dig-up http://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20101116/10560411890     Wed, 16 Jan 2013 17:00:00 PST DailyDirt: Life, Life Everywhere Michael Ho http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20101110/19051611808/dailydirt-life-life-everywhere.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20101110/19051611808/dailydirt-life-life-everywhere.shtml
  • Astronauts have actually discovered a new species of life... while training in an underground cave. The astronauts were taking a week-long ESA CAVES underground training course to prepare for duties on the international space station and to acclimate to working under extreme conditions, and they found a new kind of crustacean. [url]
  • An ecosystem exists in the deepest layer of the Earth's ocean crust, in the gabbroic layer, living off hydrocarbons such as methane and benzene. This discovery could mean there may be life even deeper, possibly in the Earth's mantle. [url]
  • Microbes isolated beneath 65 feet of Antarctic ice might define a new limit for life to survive. These little organisms live in Lake Vida without much sunlight, without oxygen, at -13°C, in acidic salt water. [url]
    • If you'd like to read more awesome and interesting stuff, check out this unrelated (but not entirely random!) Techdirt post.

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    ]]>     urls-we-dig-up http://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20101110/19051611808     Wed, 26 Dec 2012 17:00:00 PST DailyDirt: Sharing Our Microbes Michael Ho http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20101111/18082811824/dailydirt-sharing-our-microbes.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20101111/18082811824/dailydirt-sharing-our-microbes.shtml
  • The American Gut project is looking to raise $400,000 to create an open source collection of data on the diversity of microbes in our digestive systems. This project is also looking for donations of biological samples to analyze.... [url]
  • uBiome is also collecting samples from volunteers to analyze and create a map of human microbe diversity. The data will be HIPAA compliant, and no personal information will be released -- and you're already spreading your personal flora around everywhere you go anyway. [url]
  • The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has an on-going Human Microbiome Project that catalogs microbial communities that live on the human body. So far, this research has gathered data on the microbes living on 200+ healthy volunteers. [url]
    • If you'd like to read more awesome and interesting stuff, check out this unrelated (but not entirely random!) Techdirt post.

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    ]]>     urls-we-dig-up http://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20101111/18082811824     Thu, 27 Sep 2012 17:00:00 PDT DailyDirt: Fighting Biology With Biology Michael Ho http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20101006/17095311317/dailydirt-fighting-biology-with-biology.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20101006/17095311317/dailydirt-fighting-biology-with-biology.shtml
  • Acne plagues millions of people, and its treatments aren't always effective -- so how about some anti-acne viruses to kill off the bacteria that cause these pimples? The key trick is killing off just those specific bacteria and not all the beneficial natural bacteria that live on everyone's skin. [url]
  • A rare medical procedure, bacteriotherapy or fecal transplantation, attempts to restore a person's natural intestinal flora. Antibiotics can sometimes kill off too many microbes, making people sicker, and sometimes the solution is to re-create the right balance of microbes in a patient. [url]
  • Synthetic biology could create bacteria that prevent cavities, solve lactose intolerance, provide vitamins, and do all sorts of beneficial things for us. Imagine eating a yogurt that would replace the bacteria in your mouth or digestive tract... (and then wait 28 days for the zombie apocalypse). [url]
    • If you'd like to read more awesome and interesting stuff, check out this unrelated (but not entirely random!) Techdirt post.

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    ]]>     urls-we-dig-up http://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20101006/17095311317     Wed, 19 Oct 2011 17:00:00 PDT DailyDirt: Bioengineered Microbes Are Growing Our Way Michael Ho http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20090512/1703444851/dailydirt-bioengineered-microbes-are-growing-our-way.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20090512/1703444851/dailydirt-bioengineered-microbes-are-growing-our-way.shtml
  • The evolution machine is just a prototype right now, but it could speed up genetic engineering projects with directed and automated mutations for microbes. One of the projects for the evolution machine would be to create an organism that was immune to all viruses. What could possibly go wrong with that? [url]
  • Single-cell biological lasers have been created with green fluorescent protein and human embryonic kidney cells. It's not sharks with lasers attached to their heads, but it's a start. [url]
  • The technique of steganography by printed arrays of microbes (SPAM) sounds like the nerdiest way to send a message. Using bacteria to encode secret messages could also be another interesting method for lots of copies keeps stuff safe (LOCKSS). [url]
  • To discover more interesting biological curiosities, check out what's currently floating around the StumbleUpon universe. [url]  
    • By the way, StumbleUpon can recommend some good Techdirt articles, too.

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    ]]>     urls-we-dig-up http://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20090512/1703444851     Tue, 15 Feb 2011 17:00:00 PST DailyDirt: Alternative Energy Michael Ho http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110208/19455113014/dailydirt-alternative-energy.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110208/19455113014/dailydirt-alternative-energy.shtml
  • Researchers at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory are developing a way to produce hydrogen from sunlight using photosynthetic plant proteins (from spinach). There are other ways to get hydrogen from solar power, so getting this proof-of-concept system to be cheap is, as usual, the real trick. [url]
  • Geomicrobiologists may have found subterranean microbes that can extract hydrogen from rocks. The mechanism isn't clear yet, and a critical control experiment for these microbes still needs to be performed. Still, it's neat to see microbes that can catalyze chemical reactions at extreme conditions. [url]
  • Wave energy can be captured very efficiently using a cycloidal turbine in 1:1300 scale experiments. Will it scale up? That's the $400,000 question, in this case. [url]
  • To discover more stuff on alternative energy, check out what's currently floating around the StumbleUpon universe. [url]  
    • As always, StumbleUpon can also recommend some good Techdirt articles, too.

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    ]]>     urls-we-dig-up http://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20110208/19455113014     Thu, 4 Mar 2010 10:20:00 PST Utah Wants To Own State Microbes; May Demand Royalty On Any Products Developed Mike Masnick http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20100204/0236508049.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20100204/0236508049.shtml Kevin Cummings, is about a proposed bill that would effectively grant Utah control over the state's organisms/microbes. Seriously. Apparently the legislator wants to create a patent-like regime that would force anyone to pay up if they made anything with Utah organisms:
    "If they're using Utah organisms, we think Utah as a state should benefit from royalties. Like a patent," said Sen. Lyle Hillyard
    Of course, that's a total bastardization of what a patent is for. A patent is supposed to be a limited incentive to invent in an effort to promote the progress -- and, in exchange for the patent, you're supposed to teach the invention. None of those other aspects apply to what Hillyard is discussing here. There is no limit. There is no incentive (if anything, it takes away incentives from doing stuff in Utah). It doesn't promote progress (just giving money to the state) and there is no teaching or disclosure involved. In other words, it has all of the worst parts of a patent and nothing good at all. It's basically a blatant money-grab, highlighting the concept of ownership culture, where people try to claim ownership of things that cannot and should not be own-able.

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    ]]>     all-your-bugs-are-belong-to-us http://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20100204/0236508049