Deep in the ocean or underground, where there is no oxygen, Geobacter bacteria “breathe” by projecting tiny protein filaments called “nanowires” into the soil, to dispose of excess electrons resulting from the conversion of nutrients to energy.
Deep in the ocean or underground, where there is no oxygen, Geobacter bacteria “breathe” by projecting tiny protein filaments called “nanowires” into the soil, to dispose of excess electrons resulting from the conversion of nutrients to energy.
These nanowires enable the bacteria to perform environmentally important functions such as cleaning up radioactive sites and generating electricity. Scientists have long known that Geobacter make conductive nanowires – 1/100,000 the width of a human hair – but to date no one had discovered what they are made of and why they are conductive.
A new study by researchers at Yale, University of Virginia and the University of California at Irvine published April 4 in the journal Cell reveals a surprise: the protein nanowires have a core of metal-containing molecules called hemes.
Read more at Yale University
Image Credit: Yale University
