I haven't posted in awhile do to a hiatus to my hometown in Wisconsin. I'm back in action, though, and ready to share something I read over at LiveScience.com.
As I'm sure you all are aware, Hydrogen is a very abundant and clean energy source that we'd all love to use daily if there was a way for us to get it efficiently. Currently, however, the processes are too expensive and inefficient for our economy to handle. Fuel-cell vehicles are starting to be commercially available, but are still not as prominent as we'd like.
A new way of acquiring hydrogen gas for fuel is through the use of tiny organisms that expel it during their daily natural processes.
"The production of hydrogen by microorganisms is intimately linked to their cellular processes, which must be understood to optimize bioenergy yields," said Amy VanFossen of North Carolina State University.
Of particular interest are microbes that thrive in hot temperatures, near the boiling point of water. VanFossen and her colleagues carried out a detailed DNA study of one of these thermophilic (heat-loving) bacteria called Caldicellulosiruptor saccharolyticus, which was first found in a hot spring in New Zealand. The results, presented last week at the American Chemical Society meeting in Philadelphia, indicate which genes allow C. saccharolyticus to eat plant material, referred to as biomass, and expel hydrogen in the process. "
Just imagine... something as small as this little guy could change our whole world and future.
Sure makes me think that maybe one person can make a difference. Heck. One bacteria growing on a person could make a difference.
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