Oil-eating microbe discovered in Gulf

[The Witch]

A newly discovered type of oil-eating microbe suddenly is flourishing in the Gulf of Mexico and gobbling up the BP spill at a much faster rate than expected, scientists reported Tuesday.

Scientists discovered the new microbe while studying the underwater dispersion of millions of gallons of oil spilled since the explosion of BP's Deepwater Horizon drilling rig.

Also, the microbe works without significantly depleting oxygen in the water, researchers reported in the online journal Sciencexpress.

"Our findings ... suggest that a great potential for intrinsic bioremediation of oil plumes exists in the deep-sea," lead researcher Terry Hazen, a microbial ecologist at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab in Berkeley, California, said in a statement.

The data is also the first ever on microbial activity from a deep-water dispersed oil plume, Hazen said.

-SOURCE-

 

[Ohri-Jin]

1- Its either NONSENSE ! Propoganda to ease their fucking mistake...they damaged the ocean in a way not redeemable imo...BP is on US ground/territory but owned by UK? im not sure..

2- This microbe could be nature's way of cleansing itself..like white bloodcells of earth, MOTHER EARTH...if its true this is pretty much amazing..this is so interesting...an organisme that consumes oil...

I would like to see reports from other scientists , microbiologists other then american ones/...

 

[bearsfwd]

1- Its either NONSENSE ! Propoganda to ease their fucking mistake...they damaged the ocean in a way not redeemable imo...BP is on US ground/territory but owned by UK? im not sure..

2- This microbe could be nature's way of cleansing itself..like white bloodcells of earth, MOTHER EARTH...if its true this is pretty much amazing..this is so interesting...an organisme that consumes oil...

I would like to see reports from other scientists , microbiologists other then american ones/...

Woah, calm down. Don't hate on all of the US because of something an oil company did. We as a country didn't cause the oil to spill into the Gulf. The only people responsible for the oil spill are the workers (BP employees) who were on the rig. It didn't say the scientists were from BP, in fact, they were from Berkley. Not all Americans are trying to sugar coat what BP did. I sure as hell am not.

Besides, I thought scientists were supposed to not be biased. For that reason, I highly doubt these scientists are trying to just create propaganda. I'm sure now that they have found this thing, scientists from other countries are going to look into it to as well. Have scientists from other countries been trying to help our scientists with this whole thing? Assuming they aren't, why does it surprise you that American scientists discovered this microbe?

 

[The Witch]

The scientists on this, aren't biased. They found something eating the oil but not the oxygen everyone is now in WOW factor.

 

[Dragon Mage]

This 'microbe' is very old news. Yes, there IS a microbe that eats oil, it does exist, and it's been around since the 1980's.

Allow me to elaborate.

In 1983, Dean Koontz wrote a (very scary) book called Phantoms. In it, the ancient evil, shape-shifting creature has a cellular structure very similar to the long hydrocarbons seen in crude oil. Armed with this knowledge a handful of survivors of a small mountain town (which had been swiftly depopulated by this creature) sprayed a bacteria on the mass of the shapeshifter which ultimately killed it. The creature was literally being eaten by the same bacteria that everyone is going OMGWTF over right now. But, it's been around for a while. People knew of it back then, but they're spazzing out about it now. Why?

This requires a little history. This bacterium does indeed eat crude oil (as I said before, it feeds on the hydrocarbons -- essentially decomposing organic matter since that's what oil really is. No different from the process occurring in your lawn) and in fact is was specifically designed by genetic engineer Ananda Mohan Chakrabarty to clean up oil spills while he was working for General Electric Company. This bacterium can devour about two-thirds of the oil found in a typical oil spill.

Sounds like a dream come true, right? Yes, that's because it is!

But then there came the patent debate. Is it or is it not legal to have a patent on a living organism? That was the debate, and it arrested the use of this bacterium for a long time. However, it was being used to clean up oil spills for some time now. It was notably used in the Exxon Valdez oil spill.

This isn't something new or bullshitted or propaganda based. It's been around for 30 years and been used in past oil spills. The only reason such an uproar is being made about it now is because of the current eco movement. They're using this as a prime example of 'eco friendly clean up'. Whatever. They've been using this bacterium for oil spills for a long time now. It's just one that you can't get a panning helicopter picture of (like the boats and barriers) and so you don't hear about it. It happens with news all the time, so it shouldn't be too surprising.


In any case, there you have it. This bacterium does exist, it does eat crude oil, and guess what? It's 30 years old and was genetically engineered. There's even a patent on it. Got that Ohiri-Jin? Please don't be too quick to jump on the 'MOTHER NATURE CLEANSES HUMAN TAINT!!' It's actually a human design at work. So please, let's all take a deep breath and realize that the news is doing what it does best -- feeding the drama llama.

P.S. You might want to check out some of the source links at the bottom of this page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ananda_Mohan_Chakrabarty

 

[Ohri-Jin]

so its been genetically designed by human hands? well that sucks Would have been awesome if it was indeed mother nature

 

[Dragon Mage]

Honestly, why is genetic engineering so evil? It's helping to clean up a major oil spill that is crippling a major ecosystem, is it not? That's a pretty darn good 'positive point' in my book.

And really, genetically engineered is quite deceptive. From what I understand, Chakrabarty took a common bacteria, like what you find in soil, and gave it a gene to make it particularly suited to gobbling up the hydrocarbons found in oil. One very smallllllll tweak is all it takes to create something new. Think of it as one person adding jet engines onto a car. The car was always there, it just got an upgrade! :3

 

[Ohri-Jin]

I support the nano-technology aspect and some genetic experimenting, however I have the feeling one day human kind will regret it though.

Bacteria/organisms continuously evolves so it might mutate one day and end up being extremely dangerous..yes people should always take the risk to find out cuz that is the true way of learning etc.. but ya never know..its might mutate... etc..

In a perfect world there shouldnt be any oil spill at all yeah Im fantasizing..

 

[Dragon Mage]

lol yes, you are indeed fantasizing! But that's fine, I guess we all do it. Nano technology is something entirely different, however. Whole new ball game there. But keep in mind, humans have been practicing genetic engineering for thousands of years. It's commonly known as selective breeding. You know, Thoroughbred horses and dogs? German Shepherds have distinctive markings and buckskin horses have a black stripe down their back? That's all genetic engineering, baby, done over hundreds of years of selective breeding.

The genetic engineering people usually think about -- that of a sterile lab and petri dishes -- has only been around for about 40 years. And then, it's only a method of the SAME selective breeding between plants, just simply more accurate and faster. For example: One plant naturally produces a toxin to some crop insect, and this other plant suffers heavy crop losses from this same insect. So, put the gene that produce this toxin in the one that doesn't.... and you get the same plant that now produces it's own anti-bug protection! Not that terrible, is it? Quite undramatic, really. Not very much there that, to my mind, humanity has to regret doing.

 

[Ohri-Jin]

Yes I am aware of the selective breeding scheme..im not really approving it though, like many other people I do have a sense of feeling that its not the right thing to do, but hey who am I lolzz , im talking about animals though..selective genes splicing or whatever you call it is doable in my opinion..like bigger tomatoes or something..different colour etc..and the example what you stated about the anti-bug protection...thats cool, but animals like miniature horse is cruelty in my book.

Nano technology you are right about that, it has nothing to do about organisms I believe its pure mechanical..still I like that aspect (I dont think it still exist thus the term aspect lol)

Now yes everything has been doing well up to now, but who know about 50 years from here, like the GProducts (they have their own term but I forgot) like the corn in mexico..they found out that there was Gproducts being farmed..but it is actually not that healthy as the scientists claim it to be.

This is one example I mean about backfire.

Its like genetically modified FOOD sources.. they've found out that its actually bad for the health of consumers..

 

[Valvalis]

Yes I am aware of the selective breeding scheme..im not really approving it though, like many other people I do have a sense of feeling that its not the right thing to do, but hey who am I lolzz , im talking about animals though..selective genes splicing or whatever you call it is doable in my opinion..like bigger tomatoes or something..different colour etc..and the example what you stated about the anti-bug protection...thats cool, but animals like miniature horse is cruelty in my book.

Nano technology you are right about that, it has nothing to do about organisms I believe its pure mechanical..still I like that aspect (I dont think it still exist thus the term aspect lol)

Now yes everything has been doing well up to now, but who know about 50 years from here, like the GProducts (they have their own term but I forgot) like the corn in mexico..they found out that there was Gproducts being farmed..but it is actually not that healthy as the scientists claim it to be.

This is one example I mean about backfire.

Its like genetically modified FOOD sources.. they've found out that its actually bad for the health of consumers..

I have to agree--I wouldn't trust something so new either. I can't even begin to count how many new "great" drugs have been recalled just in recent years because they ended up causing more harm than good, even though they had been tested for quite a while. And I can't help but feel that in this case, the long-term effects of introducing an unnatural species of microbe to an area could turn out to be harmful to the ecosystem in the long run. What concerns me is the disposal or consumption of these microbes after they've performed their service--do they have a natural predator, do they die off naturally after they've consumed the oil, or must they be removed through the use of more artificial chemicals?

 

[Tmoo]

this microbe has existed for years. it is used when oil tankers spill and other such disasters. it is a bio-engineered microbe designed to sink to the bottom of the ocean and die after filling itself up with oil. i learned of this microbe in biology months before the spill happened >_> oh the things news will say for publicity...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ananda_Mohan_Chakrabarty
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudomonas_putida

and before anyone spouts off about wikipedia, "it has sources you ignorant twit, click them"

 

[Dragon Mage]

Um... Ohiri-Jin, I'm honestly unsure about the miniature horse statement you made. Believe it or not, but Shetland ponies are indeed that small by no other force other than nature. So, um... cruelty? You must be speaking of something I know nothing of, because the only mini horses I know of are the ones that are born that way. :\

Also, Ohiri, Gamingway, were I you, I would be very hesitant in believing 'scientists' when they say that genetically engineered food is 'bad' for you. Think about it. Not a single synthetic element is going into the modified foods. All genes were already there, baby, have been for millions of years by good ol' Mother Nature. We just took the best parts and put them together. No synthetic materials. No chemicals. Nothing manmade at all, really. It's always been 100% organic. So how could it possibly be 'bad' for consumer health if nothing artificial (which, for some perverse reason, means that anything artificial is automatically bad and awful) is put into the improved crops at all? Clever though we humans may be, but I'm pretty sure we can't make a brand new lifeform from absolutely nothing. We take the best parts of what already exists and mix them.

So, when you get right down to it, that whole 'genetically engineered foods are bad for you' is pure tripe. A modified corn is no better or worse for you than a wild corn. Know why? Because it's still the same corn. Like I said, no arcane chemicals, no bizarre materials are inserted into these crops. It's all, 100% natural. Make the 'bad health' claim seem rather unstable and questionable when you think about it, doesn't it?