http://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. Researchers have engineered a strain of electricity-producing bacteria that can grow using hydrogen gas as its sole electron donor and carbon dioxide as its sole source of carbon. Researchers at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst report their findings at the 113th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology. http://phys.org/news288237388.html Technology Mon, 20 May 2013 02:56:47 EST news288237388 (Phys.org) —Iron is a critical part of many biological processes; however, it is often not biologically available or it can be toxic in high quantities. So, biological systems have developed intricate methods for its use and storage. Scientists at DOE's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory combined chromatography, proteomics and a database search strategy to find higher numbers of modified iron-containing protein fragments (called peptides) that play an important role in respiration, metal reduction and nitrogen fixation by environmental microbes. The microbes containing these proteins are being studied because of their potential use in microbial fuel cells and electrosynthesis of valuable biomaterials. http://phys.org/news287738084.html Biology Tue, 14 May 2013 08:30:01 EST news287738084 (Phys.org) —Scientists at the University of East Anglia have made an important breakthrough in the quest to generate clean electricity from bacteria. http://phys.org/news283458820.html Biology Mon, 25 Mar 2013 19:33:54 EST news283458820 (Phys.org)—University of the West of England scientists have unveiled a robot that uses an unusual source of power - human poo. http://phys.org/news273395811.html Technology Thu, 29 Nov 2012 07:17:30 EST news273395811 Could our waste be part of the answer to humanity's energy problems? Some researchers think so, thanks to bacteria that chow down on everything from sewage to heavy metals and give off electricity as one of their own waste products. http://phys.org/news267432054.html Nanotechnology Fri, 21 Sep 2012 07:41:07 EST news267432054 A by-product of biofuel manufacture can power microbial fuel cells to generate electricity cheaply and efficiently, according to scientists presenting their work at the Society for General Microbiology's Autumn Conference. The work could help develop self-powered devices that would depollute waste water and be used to survey weather in extreme environments. http://phys.org/news266034996.html Technology Wed, 05 Sep 2012 03:37:03 EST news266034996 Engineers at Oregon State University have made a breakthrough in the performance of microbial fuel cells that can produce electricity directly from wastewater, opening the door to a future in which waste treatment plants not only will power themselves, but will sell excess electricity. http://phys.org/news264085880.html Technology Mon, 13 Aug 2012 14:11:29 EST news264085880 A new biofuel production process created by Michigan State University researchers produces energy more than 20 times higher than existing methods. http://phys.org/news261145083.html Technology Tue, 10 Jul 2012 13:18:19 EST news261145083 Engineers at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) have identified a catalyst that provides the same level of efficiency in microbial fuel cells (MFCs) as the currently used platinum catalyst, but at 5% of the cost. http://phys.org/news259577929.html Chemistry Fri, 22 Jun 2012 10:00:38 EST news259577929 A team of scientists from University of Colorado Denver has developed a novel energy system that increases the amount of energy harvested from microbial fuel cells (MFCs) by more than 70 times. The new approach also greatly improves energy efficiency. MFCs are emerging as a way to use bacteria to directly harvest electricity from biodegradable materials, such as wastewater or marine sediments. http://phys.org/news254584299.html Technology Wed, 25 Apr 2012 14:53:52 EST news254584299 Production of energy from the difference between salt water and fresh water is most convenient near the oceans, but now, using an ammonium bicarbonate salt solution, Penn State researchers can combine bacterial degradation of waste water with energy extracted from the salt-water fresh-water gradient to produce power anywhere. http://phys.org/news249830868.html Technology Thu, 01 Mar 2012 14:00:10 EST news249830868 Robotic exploration to remote regions, to include distant planetary bodies, is often limited by energy requirements to perform, in repetition, even the simplest tasks. With this in mind, researchers at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory are looking into a novel approach that could some day aid scientific space and planetary research without the need for power-intense options often used today. http://phys.org/news244821012.html Technology Tue, 03 Jan 2012 13:50:20 EST news244821012 (PhysOrg.com) -- Urine can be an abundant fuel for electricity generation, according to British scientists in the first study of its kind. http://phys.org/news239380014.html Chemistry Tue, 01 Nov 2011 15:27:12 EST news239380014 All of us use water and in the process, a lot of it goes to waste. Whether it goes down drains, sewers or toilets, much of it ends up at a wastewater treatment plant where it undergoes rigorous cleaning before it flows back to the environment. The process takes time, money and a lot of energy. http://phys.org/news233219567.html Technology Mon, 22 Aug 2011 08:13:17 EST news233219567 (PhysOrg.com) -- Like mutual back-scratching, two common bacteria involved in what was thought to be only a marginally important relationship actually help each other thrive when grown together in bioreactors, Cornell scientists have discovered. http://phys.org/news226902715.html Chemistry Fri, 10 Jun 2011 05:33:26 EST news226902715 (PhysOrg.com) -- In efforts to reduce contamination at a former uranium mill tailings site, Dr. Krishna Mahadevan is developing genome-scale models to determine why certain bacteria reduce uranium better than others. The University of Toronto professor is part of a scientific team studying the Department of Energy's Integrated Field-Scale Subsurface Research Challenge site in Rifle, Colorado. He collaborates with Dr. Derek Lovley at the University of Massachusetts and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory scientists Dr. Timothy Scheibe and Dr. Philip Long. http://phys.org/news226747314.html Biology Wed, 08 Jun 2011 10:40:01 EST news226747314 Using bacteria to generate energy is a signifiant step closer following a breakthrough discovery by scientists at the University of East Anglia. http://phys.org/news225373141.html Biology Mon, 23 May 2011 15:00:01 EST news225373141 Knowing an organism's metabolism can give scientists essential insights into how the organism uses its resources. These insights can then enable them to tweak the metabolism to enhance the microbe's use of these resources in beneficial ways, such as to reduce contamination in soil or to produce biofuels or other desirable chemicals efficiently. http://phys.org/news202574236.html Biology Wed, 01 Sep 2010 15:37:48 EST news202574236 (PhysOrg.com) -- UK researchers have developed an autonomous robot with an artificial gut that enables it to fuel itself by eating and excreting. The robot is the first bot powered by biomass to be demonstrated operating without assistance for several days. Being self-sustaining would enable robots of the future to function unaided for long periods. http://phys.org/news198817988.html Electronics Tue, 20 Jul 2010 07:00:01 EST news198817988 (PhysOrg.com) -- As fossil fuels increasingly fall out of favor, many are looking into alternative energy sources to help us power our lives with a smaller impact on the environment. You already know about solar power and wind energy, and hydro-electric power and nuclear power have been around for decades. But scientists are increasingly looking to the natural world for additional solutions. http://phys.org/news184508468.html Technology Thu, 04 Feb 2010 12:21:33 EST news184508468 (PhysOrg.com) -- In their most recent experiments with Geobacter, the sediment-loving microbe whose hairlike filaments help it to produce electric current from mud and wastewater, Derek Lovley and colleagues at the University of Massachusetts Amherst supervised the evolution of a new strain that dramatically increases power output per cell and overall bulk power. It also works with a thinner biofilm than earlier strains, cutting the time to reach electricity-producing concentrations on the electrode. http://phys.org/news168019852.html Chemistry Tue, 28 Jul 2009 17:20:03 EST news168019852 Bacteria are single cell organisms with no nervous system or brain. So how do individual bacterial cells living as part of a complex community called a biofilm "decide" between different physiological processes (such as movement or producing the "glue" that forms the biofilm)? http://phys.org/news157615651.html Biology Mon, 30 Mar 2009 07:07:54 EST news157615651