Two Oregon State University College of Engineering faculty members are partnering with NASA on a $525,000 National Science Foundation project to examine the role that gravity, or the lack thereof, plays in microbial growth.
Two Oregon State University College of Engineering faculty members are partnering with NASA on a $525,000 National Science Foundation project to examine the role that gravity, or the lack thereof, plays in microbial growth.
Dorthe Wildenschild and Tala Navab-Daneshmand will send specimens to the International Space Station to see how biofilms – aggregates of microorganisms that stick to each other and to surfaces – develop in “partially and variably water-saturated porous media,” in this case damp dirt and rocks where water is non-uniformly distributed and therefore not always readily accessible to microbes.
Learning more about the development of biofilms in porous media has societal impacts on Earth through a range of applications, Wildenschild said – in fields such as groundwater remediation, water treatment, and soil and agricultural science. In addition, biofilms contribute greatly to the fouling of mechanical and medical devices, including implants.
Read more at: Oregon State University
Image from a lake in Southampton, UK. At the shallow end of the lake this bright orange slime collects along the edges of the water as a result of bacteria that oxidises the iron released from the ground water. The reflection in the water of the blue sky above balances the bright oranges and yellows of the slime. Image by Jennifer Dewing from the University of Southampton, UK. (Photo Credit: National Biofilms Innovation Centre)
