Microbes could convert industrial wastewater into ecofriendly products

Good news! Recommendable! Let the microbes do the dirty work!

Microbes could convert industrial wastewater into ecofriendly products | PNAS

More than 1 trillion microbes live inside the average tree trunk

Amazing stuff! Not only the human skin is inhabited by microbes!

"The wood inside the average tree might seem barren, but it’s home to an incredibly diverse array of life. More than 1 trillion fungi, bacteria, and other microbes live inside the average trunk, according to the most comprehensive survey yet conducted, comprising unique communities specialized to various tree species. ..."

From the abstract:

"Despite significant advances in microbiome research across various environments, the microbiome of Earth’s largest biomass reservoir– the wood of living trees– remains largely unexplored. This oversight neglects a critical aspect of global biodiversity and potentially key players in tree health and forest ecosystem functions. Here we illuminate the microbiome inhabiting and adapted to wood, and further specialized to individual host species. We demonstrate that a single tree can host approximately a trillion microbes in its above ground internal tissues, with microbial communities partitioned between heartwood and sapwood, each maintaining a distinct microbiome with minimal similarity to other plant tissues or nearby ecosystem components. Notably, the heartwood microbiome emerges as a unique ecological niche, distinguished in part by endemic archaea and anaerobic bacteria that drive consequential biogeochemical processes. Our research supports the emerging idea of a plant as a “holobiont”—a single ecological unit comprising host and associated microorganisms—and parallels human microbiome research in its implications for host health, disease, and functionality. By mapping the structure, composition, and potential sources and functions of the tree internal microbiome, our findings pave the way for novel insights into tree physiology and forest ecology, and establish a new frontier in environmental microbiology."

More than 1 trillion microbes live inside the average tree trunk | Science | AAAS

A diverse and distinct microbiome inside living trees (open access)

Can microbes replace synthetic fertilizer?

Good question! Hopefully, we can develop better and more effective fertilizers! Perhaps as many as 1 billion people don't have enough food almost every day!

If the Global Warming hoax and Climate Change religion can drive more intensive (possibly previously somewhat neglected) research on how to improve the yield of agriculture so be it! Whatever the excuse or pretext or fallacy! 😊

"IN BRIEF

A number of companies hope to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions and water pollution associated with synthetic nitrogen fertilizer by replacing it with nitrogen-producing microbes. After years of research and testing, these products are now being deployed on millions of hectares of farmland. While many customers are successfully reducing their use of synthetic fertilizer, some farmers and researchers say the microbes aren’t living up to companies’ claims. The firms are pushing back. They argue that their own studies show that the products are effective and will help abate synthetic fertilizer’s harms without sacrificing food production."

Can microbes replace synthetic fertilizer?

Who lives on our bodies? A microscopic safari

Recommendable! Do you know what is going on in your belly button? 

There are face mites living in your facial pores and having sex on your face while you sleep. You will watch such a face mite giving birth.

Pubic hair lice are specifically adopted. Why do humans even still have pubic hairs.

Microbes could be used to extract metals and minerals from space rocks

Why limit ourselves to space rocks? What about rocks on planet earth?

I believe this kind of research has been going on for decades, but hopefully we will see more practical applications!

"The team ... suggests that microbes could help accelerate mining on extraterrestrial bodies by as much as 400%, helping to separate metal powders and valuable minerals from other useful elements like oxygen. The fact that [bacteria] seem able to withstand microgravity suggests these microbes could be a potentially cheap way to extract resources to make life in space more sustainable—and enable lengthy journeys and settlements on distant worlds."

Microbes could be used to extract metals and minerals from space rocks | MIT Technology Review New experiments on the International Space Station suggest that future space miners could use bacteria to acquire valuable resources. A species of bacteria can successfully pull out rare Earth elements from rocks, even in microgravity environments, a study on the International Space Station has found.

Here is the respective research article:

Space station biomining experiment demonstrates rare earth element extraction in microgravity and Mars gravity These data demonstrate the potential for space biomining and the principles of a reactor to advance human industry and mining beyond Earth.