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ROBERT KOCH (1843 – 1910) received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1905 for his contribution on Tuberculosis.
Clean electricity from Bacteria? Researchers make breakthrough in race to create ‘Bio-Batteries’
Scientists at the University of East Anglia have made an important breakthrough in the quest to generate clean electricity from bacteria. Findings published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) show that proteins on the surface of bacteria can produce an electric current by simply touching a mineral surface. The research shows that it is possible for bacteria to lie directly on the surface of a metal or mineral and transfer electrical charge through their cell membranes. This means that it is possible to 'tether' bacteria directly to electrodes bringing scientists a step closer to creating efficient microbial fuel cells or 'bio-batteries'.
Shewanella oneidensis bacteria
(Image Credit: Alice Dohnalkova)
Source: www.Sciencedaily.com
Bacteria with vuvuzelas: Microbes use a channel protein as a syringe for toxins
The bacterium Photorhabdus luminescens is a constant companion of some roundworms. These worms assault insect larvae, thereby infecting them with the bacteria; the pathogens then attack the cells of their victims with a deadly cocktail of various toxins. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology in Dortmund working together with colleagues from Freiburg University and Jacobs University Bremen, have discovered that the bacteria use an important toxin complex like a syringe. It makes its way into the host cells via constricted vesicles in the cell membranes, and modifies their structure from within. Part of the toxin complex then forces its way inside the cell through the vesicle membrane by means of a vuvuzela-like protein channel, and kills the cell. Important toxins of P. luminescens are counted among the ABC toxins, which consist of the three protein components TcA, TcB and TcC. The bacterium's TcA protein consists of five subunits that together form the shape of a bell. Molecular vuvuzela: The central channel of the TcA proteins (light green) is shaped like a vuvuzela horn, the South African musical instrument (dark green: outer shell, black: cell membrane of the host cell).
Molecular vuvuzela: The central channel of the TcA proteins (light green) is shaped like a vuvuzela horn, the South African musical instrument (dark green: outer shell, black: cell membrane of the host cell).
(Image Credit:Image courtesy of Max-Planck-Gesellschaft
Source: www.Sciencedaily.com
