Gizmorama - October 28, 2015

Good Morning,

Below the ocean's surface, an enzyme-producing bacterium has been found that could be a huge help in neutralizing pollution caused by greenhouse gases. So remember, when in doubt, the answer is always sea.

Learn about this and more interesting stories from the scientific community in today's issue.

Until Next Time,
Erin

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*-- Scientists say deep-sea bacteria could neutralize CO2 --*
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Scientists say a unique enzyme-producing bacterium, found deep below the ocean surface, could help neutralize greenhouse gas pollution.

On the floor of the deep ocean are hydrothermal vents. Relative to the cold darkness of the deep sea floor, life flourishes around these vents. Here lives Thiomicrospira crunogena, a bacterium that makes an enzyme called carbonic anhydrase.

Carbonic anhydrase removes carbon dioxide in organisms, turning CO2 and water into bicarbonate. It's already used in industrial carbon capturing processes, but its efficacy is limited. That's why researchers at the University of Florida are excited about their newly-discovered deep-sea bacteria.

Living among the warm, gaseous environs of hyrdothermal vents makes T. crunogena and its enzyme uniquely adapted to live inside an industrial smoke stack.

"This little critter has evolved to deal with those extreme temperature and pressure problems. It has already adapted to some of the conditions it would face in an industrial setting," Robert McKenna, a professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at Florida's College of Medicine, explained in a press release.

McKenna is the lead author of a new paper on the enzyme, published this week in the journal Acta Crystallographica D.

Researchers think the enzyme could be suspended in a solvent and installed as a filter inside a flue or exhaust pipe. But for such technology to work, scientists need a lot of the enzyme.

McKenna and his colleagues have found a way to synthesize the enzyme in the lab using E. coli bacteria, avoiding the long trip to the bottom of the ocean and back. There efforts have so far produced several milligrams of the carbonic anhydrase. Much more will be needed if the enzyme is to be employed on the industrial scale.

While the bacterium's carbon-conversion rate isn't all that efficient, researchers are hopeful they'll be able to improve the biotechnology with further testing.

"You want it to do the reaction faster and more efficiently," said Avni Bhatt, a graduate research assistant working with McKenna. "The fact that it has such a high thermal stability makes it a good candidate for further study."


*-- Comet Lovejoy found to emit alcohol, sugar into space --*
WASHINGTON - A new discovery from the bright comet Lovejoy advances the theory that the celestial objects assisted in the development of life on Earth.

According to an international team of researchers including scientists from NASA, Lovejoy has been found to emit ethyl alcohol, the kind found in beverages, and a type of sugar as it passes through space. In addition to the two compounds, the team determined 19 other organic molecules. A report of their observations was published this week in the journal Science Advances.

"We found that comet Lovejoy was releasing as much alcohol as in at least 500 bottles of wine every second during its peak activity," said lead author Nicolas Biver of the Paris Observatory in a statement.

Scientists observed Lovejoy, or comet C/2014 Q2, as it passed close to the sun earlier this year, forcing it to release water at the rate of 20 tons per second. Using a telescope in the Sierra Nevada Mountains in Spain, they were also able to observe its microwave glow at its brightest.

"The result definitely promotes the idea the comets carry very complex chemistry," said NASA co-author Stefanie Milam. "During the Late Heavy Bombardment about 3.8 billion years ago, when many comets and asteroids were blasting into Earth and we were getting our first oceans, life didn't have to start with just simple molecules like water, carbon monoxide, and nitrogen. Instead, life had something that was much more sophisticated on a molecular level."

Milam believes comets' emissions had something to do with complicating Earth's ancient chemistry, altering it to produce more complex organic building blocks like those of proteins and DNA. Astronomers who study comets believe, because the celestial bodies are considered pristine, they hold answers to the development of the solar system.

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