Reverend Campbell
Reverend Campbell
Apr 26, 2020
26 April, LV A.S.
Play • 1 hr 2 min
1. The Devil's Advocate Time Stamp: 12:00 Total Environment GuestsBacteria are all around us — and that’s okayhttps://www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/article/bacteria-are-all-around-us-and-thats-okayBacteria play central roles in many ecosystems. These include the oceans, soil and atmosphere. They’re also a big part of the global food web. Bacteria make it possible for all other life on Earth to exist. That’s why scientists say these single-celled organisms are the invisible backbone of all life — at least on Earth.Scientists think they’ve identified fewer than one percent of all bacterial species.The methane eatersSome bacteria eat really weird things. Scientists have found bacteria that eat rocks, sewage — even nuclear waste.type of bacteria that live on the sea floor and gobble up methane.Methane is a greenhouse gas. Like carbon dioxide and some other greenhouse gases, it enters the air when people burn oil, gas and coal. There are also natural sources of methane, such as natural gas, rice production and cow manure. Greenhouse gases trap heat in the atmosphere. An excess of these gases in Earth’s atmosphere has been warming the global climate.Methane can seep out of the Earth on the sea floor. Some scientists say that even more methane would escape into the atmosphere if it wasn’t for marine bacteria.only by partnering with other single-celled organisms called archaea (Ar-KEE-uh)From bread to biofuelsThose bacteria make carbon dioxide, acids and other flavorful compounds. But to function, sourdough bacteria need their friends. Isolate just one bacterial species from the mix and the chemical reaction won’t happen. These plant-based fuels can power cars or trucks. They are considered “green,” meaning more Earth-friendly, than fossil fuels.The enzymes currently used to make biofuels are expensive. They also don’t work well, Singer says. That’s why researchers all over the world are searching for enzymes that might lower the cost and speed the production of biofuels.Meta microbesScientists needed a different way to tell bacteria apart and know when they’ve stumbled upon new ones. Key to this sleuthing: DNA.All of the cast-off genetic bits are known as environmental DNA, or eDNA.The sum of all the genetic material in an environment is called the metagenome (MET-uh-GEE-noam).They look for familiar patterns known as genetic sequences.Scientists can compare these patterns to the fingerprints of familiar bacteria to see where the new bacteria fall within the tree of life.Thirty years ago, all known single-celled organisms on the planet fit into a dozen major groups. Now there are about 120 known groups, or phyla (FY-lah).Little life, big datathink about the planet as a machine, and all the ecosystems on Earth as the machine’s partsEarth Microbiome Project. More than 1,000 scientists around the world are helping collect samples.researchers have collected 100,000 samples. They’ve catalogued bacteria from the deepest ocean. They’ve found bacteria on the International Space Station, some 350 kilometers (220 miles) above Earth. They’ve discovered bacteria in exotic locations like the Amazon rainforest and ordinary places like public toilets.Discovering which bacteria lurk there — and why — is the first step to understanding how different ecosystems drive the vast machine we think of as life on Earth. Learning about bacteria may help us answer questions about how our planet worksThis is knowledge that can help us take better care of the planet. 2. Infernal informant Time Stamp: 28:58 We need to stop sanitizing everything and let bacteria back in our liveshttps://nypost.com/2016/08/20/we-need-to-stop-sanitizing-everything-and-let-bacteria-back-in-our-lives/Dr. Jack Gilbert, associate director of the Institute for Genomic and Systems Biology at Argonne National Laboratory, wants to make our hospitals dirty.Since a surgeon named Joseph Lister became the first to use antiseptic techniques in 1867 and save thousands of...
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