Tag: microbe

The Reason Life Upon Earth Migrated From the Ocean Onto Land

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Billions of years ago when the first living organisms started harnessing the energy of the sun through photosynthesis, they began producing a waste product which was oxygen. When oxygen rises high up into the atmosphere, it transforms into ozone which is why the Earth has a thin protective layer of ozone which alongside the magnetic field, helps protect the Earth from the violent ultraviolet radiation spewed out by the sun. As plants, microbes, and fungi migrated from the water to land, even more oxygen was produced, extending the ozone layer to become much more formidable. This was the catalyst for life migrating onto dry land which occurred 450,000,000 – 500,000,000 (450 million – 500 million) years ago during the Paleozoic Era, specifically during the Ordovician and Silurian periods

The Importance of Gastrointestinal Microbes for Weight Loss

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There are 100,000,000,000,000 (100 trillion) microbes within the gastrointestinal system and scientists have learned that by transplanting microbes from one animal to another, weight gain and weight loss can be turned on and off at will. Scientists now understand that the greater diversity a person has in terms of the types of microbial life which live within their body, the less likely they are to gain weight or maintain a higher than ideal body weight, with the exact opposite effect occurring in those who have lower than average values in reference to the number of microbes living within the body. Diets rich in fiber are typically associated with higher values of microbes, so increasing fiber intake, can significantly reduce overall body weight and promote the existence and health of many different kinds of microbes. Increasing fiber content for only a few days, has a measurable and marked effect upon microbrial gastrointestinal health

The Renewable Resource of Urine Powered Electronics

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Urine is rich in minerals and it is believed that this resource will be able to be harnessed and extracted efficiently and cost effectively at some point in the future to produce electrical energy. At the Bristol Robotics Laboratory in the U.K., urine is being studied as a potential energy resource for residential use within the near future (e.g. used to charge a smartphone etc.). Charging a smartphone with urine requires battery like fuel cells with Professor Ioannis Leropoulos (pronounced “yan-iss lee-raw-po-lis”) having developed a system capable of meeting this requirement. The application itself is referred to as “microbial fuel cell” technology, a system which leverages live bacteria to generate electrical current. Urine contains carbon, phosphorus, potassium, sulphur, magnesium, and creatinine, all elements which microbes require to continue living and growing which is why this technology functions as it does. The microbial fuel cell’s central tube is porous ceramic, allowing urine to permeate the tube and microbes to colonize it. As the elements of urine are consumed, electrons generated by the microbes are picked up by the cells of opposing wire coils, creating a battery. Not just any microbe will suffice however, as specific microbes are required for this process to be effective. To source the correct microbes, scientists leverage a plethora of microbes available within the natural environment (e.g. lake, pond, river sediment etc.). Each fuel cell produces 1.5 volts of electrical current, and when linked together in series, output can be increased to a level which is useful for daily activities. The system is able to be scaled so that it can be built into future homes, allowing for individuals and families to recycle urine as a means of generating electrical energy. Leropoulos’ work has been funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation as well as by the European Commission among others and is close to becoming commercially available as of 2020. For this system to benefit users, separate urinals would be installed but with redirected plumbing to funnel urine away from becoming mixed with common sewage and into a collection container, providing an on demand resource which can be utilized when needed

The Rationale Why Pharmaceutical Organizations are Not Incentivized to Develop Antibiotics and Why This is Dangerous for the Worlds Next Pandemic

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Within 5 short years of release, approximatly 20% of antibiotics become subject to resistance from bacterial pathogens which means that antibiotic proliferation is chronologically limited within its life expectancy. Coupled with this, if an antibiotic is highly effective, the scientific and medical community often rally against its usage so that such a tool can be saved in reserve for a global bacterial pandemic. In either scenario, return upon investment is less than what it would be with a different class of medication (e.g. selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitor, statin, hypnotic etc.) which is why pharmaceutical organizations are less interested in research and development dedicated to antibiotic medicine in favor of other, more profitable medication categories. This lack of investment however is myopic and will inevitably backfire upon the pharmaceutical industry as a whole if new antibiotics are not developed because medications used to treat cancer will become less in demand due to the fact that cancer patients are highly likely to acquire an infection during treatment when their immune system is comprised, with this infection often killing the patient if antibiotic solutions are not available. This would expectedly lead to a sharp decline in cancer medication treatment and subsequently pharmaceutical sales of related medications as patients would be likely to adopt living the rest of their life as fully as possible and forgoing treatment as they would be damned if they accept the cancer treatment and develop an infection which kills them but also damned if they don’t accept the treatment and let the cancer run its course which is almost always fatal. To provide comparison of the research, development, and manufacturing contrast between oncology medications and antibiotics, as of 2020, there are currently 800 medications in development for cancer and hypertension whilst only 28 antibiotic medications undergoing that same research phase and development process, with 2 of these antibiotics expected to become fully developed and able to reach the market and patients. The last new antibiotic class, lipopeptides, were introduced in 1984 with a gap referred to as an “antibiotic void” occurring during the 1990’s, 2000’s, 2010’s, and now moving into the 2020’s. The urgency of this threat is projected to become dire within the coming decades, with scientists predicting that by 2050, medicine could potentially come full circle to the pre-antibiotic era, with microbes which are completely and totally resistant to every antibiotic known to medicine

The Early Formation of Earth 

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During the early days of the solar system, dozens of planets orbited the sun. It is thought that these planets collided and with this collision came intense heat which melted and welded rocks and minerals together. It is theorized that Mercury was only hit once hence it’s small size, Mars not at all, Venus 8x, and Earth 10x primarily because Earth it is the largest of the rocky planets. The last impact towards Earth is thought to have occurred 4,500,000,000 (4.5 billion) years ago which gave Earth its iron core; the lighter debris floated back above Earth and rotated around it which gave Earth rings similar to Saturn. Scientists now know that Earth was hit by rocks which came from Mars. It is thought that primitive microbial life would be able to withstand the journey from Mars to Earth. Earth had enough gravity to hold its oceans which allowed for constant changes in weather. It is thought that life began on Earth 4,300,000,000 (4.3 billion) years ago and that life became sophisticated 2,800,000,000 (2.8 billion) years ago. Despite the Earth being hit 6x catastrophically which was once thought to have sterilized all life, primitive life forms lay dormant in suspended animation within the salt rock which was produced from the immense heat during each catastrophic event. The microbes lay waiting until conditions became more favorable at which time they started reproducing and thriving. Scientists tested this first hand by drilling into salt rock which was created during a catastrophic event to release 200,000,000 (200 million) year old sea water which held tiny microbes called asilospermians which were reanimated when left within a nutrient rich solution for 4 months

Sterilization Using Ultraviolet Radiation

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Ultraviolet radiation disrupts the chemical bonds which hold bacteria and viruses together. Ultraviolet radiation is able to kill the cell and ensures whatever material is exposed afterwards becomes sterile. The longer an organism is exposed to ultraviolet radiation, the less likely it is to have any microbes alive upon it. Hospitals and various industries utilize this method of sterilization to ensure their equipment and environment is as free of microorganisms as possible