Enhance Your Gut Feeling with Bacteria (Part 1)
While tried-and-tested ways to collect data, clean pollution and produce electricity are unlikely to change today, in the near future, bacteria may be the biological agent of change we need.
While it’s tempting to dismiss all bacteria as being equally unremarkable, some are worth closer examination. Various types have unique powers yet to be harnessed by science. This can generate electrical currents, clean up pollutants, and provide useful signals that could be used as a kind of data logging or measurement device.
Take the Shewanella and Geobacter species. They generate electrical currents as a specialized ability. By shuttling electrons through hair-like appendages during metabolism, they effectively "exhale" electricity.
There is a green path to this sort of bacteria as an “energy source”. Microbial fuel cells, a kind of biological battery, could be used to capture the electric flow from the shuttled electrons from the bacteria, while it metabolizes organic matter.
Although current outputs are modest, they offer eco-friendly power from wastewater and refuse, in some limited conditions. Some might be suitable for sensors or other minimal electrical devices, in remote or precarious environments.
Perhaps even in Space.
Space is a fascinating environment to consider the presence of such biotechnology. Even in oxygen-deprived environments, bacteria is able to pump these electrons
NASA is even investigating whether bacteria could power future space missions. Self-sustaining microbial fuel cells, if fed by astronauts’ waste, could provide off-grid electricity in space outposts.
In green technology, bacteria plays a vital role in sustainable solutions. Some bacteria have the unique ability to transform organic materials into biofuels, offering an alternative energy source. Certain bacteria are capable of capturing and converting carbon dioxide (CO2) into biomass or other stable form.
A system built on bacteria stands to not only reduces greenhouse gas emissions but also transform waste into usable materials, exemplifying a circular economy model. Some of these microorganisms are employed in bioremediation, effectively cleaning up environmental contaminants, including oil spills and toxic waste.
E-biologics involves the use of biological materials or systems (like cells, proteins, or DNA) in conjunction with electronic devices. Some of your gut bacteria might be electroactive. There are abiotic electrochemical fuel cells that operate on body fluids, a boon for managing chronic illnesses. Such cells could evolve into tiny wearable sensors, offering real-time disease monitoring.
In remote areas, bioelectrochemical systems emerge as viable biosensors for detecting harmful substances like heavy metals and pesticides. These systems utilize electroactive biofilms as the sensing elements. The generated current serves as the signal, with the electrode acting as the transducer. A quick, non-invasive, and reliable means to monitor water quality.
With e-Biologics, biodegradable devices circumvent the waste disposal issues present in traditional electronic gadgets. Remarkable progress has been made in the mass production of nanowires using genetically engineered E. coli cells. Cable bacteria may have potentially useful applications, including minimizing methane emissions from natural environments. Microbial fuel cells have also found applications in the degradation of xenobiotics, organic pollutants, and the recovery of heavy metals.
The use of conductive protein filaments from electroactive bacteria heralds the potential of a eco-friendly electronics.
Imagine dumping a bucket of motor oil into a pristine lake. The oil would spread across the surface, blocking sunlight and oxygen from reaching aquatic life below. There some amount of pollutants in water that can be chemically oxidized - "burned up" by oxygen. The microbial fuel cell can remove up to 50% of these pollutants by having the bacteria "eat" and break down those pollutants, cleaning up the water.
As the bacteria digest the organic matter, they release electrons which flow into the anode of the fuel cell. The flow generates a small electrical current that can be captured and used. So while performing waste treatment, the microbial fuel cell also produces bioelectricity as a byproduct.
Assuming you had a a cubic meter volume of substrate (like soil or water) densely populated by these bacteria, and the substrate is a thin layer. The surface area would be enough, theoretically, to generate a few watts of power. This is neither efficient nor even enough to power much more than a small device or battery. Still, bacteria can survive in unimaginably harsh environments. It may have use yet, being able to clean, send information and even power something up to enhance its abilities.
In the next part, more electric bacteria and efficient electricity harvesting. Stay tuned to learn about bacterial communication and for insights into how genetically modified gut bacteria, equipped with data loggers and AI, offer non-invasive health monitoring, suitable for futuristic medical diagnostics and treatment strategies.
In the meantime, learn more about we can harness mana from the heavens or use gene-editing on plants to preserve endangered ecosystems.