Still Waters Posted July 19, 2014 #1 Share Posted July 19, 2014 STICK an electrode in the ground, pump electrons down it, and they will come: living cells that eat electricity. We have known bacteria to survive on a variety of energy sources, but none as weird as this. Think of Frankenstein's monster, brought to life by galvanic energy, except these "electric bacteria" are very real and are popping up all over the place. http://www.newscient...ml#.U8phHUCg4dX 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Babe Ruth Posted July 19, 2014 #2 Share Posted July 19, 2014 Fascinating information. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
questionmark Posted July 19, 2014 #3 Share Posted July 19, 2014 That means in plain English: Life does not need biology nor water, nor chemistry.... If factual this could throw many of our concepts over board... and the interesting question then is: is there a life form around we are not aware of and that is not aware of us? 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Four Winds Posted July 20, 2014 #4 Share Posted July 20, 2014 This is the most interesting thing I have heard in a very long time. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paranomaly Posted July 20, 2014 #5 Share Posted July 20, 2014 Always cool to find new organisms on our planet. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shiloh17 Posted July 20, 2014 #6 Share Posted July 20, 2014 We have bacteria that live in jet fuel and can feed off nuclear waste. Life is indeed amazing. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spartan max2 Posted July 20, 2014 #7 Share Posted July 20, 2014 (edited) Perhaps energy life is earlier then ocean cell life "Two types are currently known, Shewanella and Geobacter, however scientists have been discovering even more by enticing them out of rocks and sediment using electrical bait." Edited July 20, 2014 by spartan max2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubblykiss Posted July 20, 2014 #8 Share Posted July 20, 2014 I work with several people in their early 20s who seem to live off of nothing but pure sugary Energy Drinks. However, biologically if this does not expand the concept of what life is and what it takes to foster and support life....well then, I am not sure what will. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White Unicorn Posted July 20, 2014 #9 Share Posted July 20, 2014 (edited) That means in plain English: Life does not need biology nor water, nor chemistry.... If factual this could throw many of our concepts over board... and the interesting question then is: is there a life form around we are not aware of and that is not aware of us? I agree and just think of how long these energy forms had to evolve here and in the universe. What if they can group and evolve to have some sort of hive consciousness. It could be that science has discovered the building blocks of the energy beings that mystics have claimed have been with us since the dawn of mankind. Life like this would also explain some mysteries of astrophysics where there's an unexplainable loss of electrons in certain parts of space. Science will have to come up with a new definition with what constitutes a discovery of alien life when exploring other planets.The diversity of forms of life are more extreme then the biological forms they are generally seeking to discover now. Edited July 20, 2014 by White Unicorn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xanthurion2 Posted July 20, 2014 #10 Share Posted July 20, 2014 That is shocking news... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DieChecker Posted July 20, 2014 #11 Share Posted July 20, 2014 STICK an electrode in the ground, pump electrons down it, and they will come: living cells that eat electricity. We have known bacteria to survive on a variety of energy sources, but none as weird as this. Think of Frankenstein's monster, brought to life by galvanic energy, except these "electric bacteria" are very real and are popping up all over the place. http://www.newscient...ml#.U8phHUCg4dX From OP Link: Geobacter – a current favourite (Image: Derek Lovley/SPL) A current (electric current) favorite? Someone has a sense of humor at New Scientist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DieChecker Posted July 20, 2014 #12 Share Posted July 20, 2014 (edited) If these are entirely fed by electricity, then where does the mass come from to reproduce? I'm guessing that these little guys can live of the electricity alone, but need physical food in order to heal/grow/reproduce. From OP Link: may be the most convincing example we have so far of electricity eaters grown on a supply of electrons with no added food. Wouldn't that imply that the mass needed to grow the creatures would have to be created from the electricity? I find it hard to believe that these little guys are converting electricity directly into matter. Edited July 20, 2014 by DieChecker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White Unicorn Posted July 20, 2014 #13 Share Posted July 20, 2014 If these are entirely fed by electricity, then where does the mass come from to reproduce? I'm guessing that these little guys can live of the electricity alone, but need physical food in order to heal/grow/reproduce. From OP Link: [/size] Wouldn't that imply that the mass needed to grow the creatures would have to be created from the electricity? I find it hard to believe that these little guys are converting electricity directly into matter. It wouldn't really be as impossible as it sounds when you think about matter at an atomic level. What is matter but a lasting relationship or unity of charged particles which form an apparently solid mass. Higher levels of energy such as x rays etc can pass through solid without changing the form, so at that level of energy, the solid form is an illusion. The electromagnetic force of the particles of a solid keep other solids from passing because there's sort of a force field that deflect other solids from penetrating like material, but higher levels of energies can pass. The solidity of matter is relative to our perceptions especially since we focus on our solid body more then say the very small electric part of us produced that lets neurons communicate from our brain. Our biology can change matter into energy. Why not another form of life doing the opposite? Water can be vapor, ice, or liquid but its actually the same thing in different enviromental conditions. It appears to be a very complex relationship of energy to matter and matter to energy but if you think of it as one process of energy changing form it isn't as difficult. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DieChecker Posted July 20, 2014 #14 Share Posted July 20, 2014 It wouldn't really be as impossible as it sounds when you think about matter at an atomic level. What is matter but a lasting relationship or unity of charged particles which form an apparently solid mass. Higher levels of energy such as x rays etc can pass through solid without changing the form, so at that level of energy, the solid form is an illusion. The electromagnetic force of the particles of a solid keep other solids from passing because there's sort of a force field that deflect other solids from penetrating like material, but higher levels of energies can pass. The solidity of matter is relative to our perceptions especially since we focus on our solid body more then say the very small electric part of us produced that lets neurons communicate from our brain. Our biology can change matter into energy. Why not another form of life doing the opposite? Water can be vapor, ice, or liquid but its actually the same thing in different enviromental conditions. It appears to be a very complex relationship of energy to matter and matter to energy but if you think of it as one process of energy changing form it isn't as difficult. Still matter is not made up of electrons alone. Unless these microbes can convert electrons into protons? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White Unicorn Posted July 20, 2014 #15 Share Posted July 20, 2014 Still matter is not made up of electrons alone. Unless these microbes can convert electrons into protons? This is very true I think that there is much more involved in the processes and a complexity of things we haven't discovered yet. I think this is a great discovery which will lead us to understand many processes of life that science has overlooked. Researchers will be lead to look where they didn't think of looking before. I believe there are more symbiotic relationships between life forms and even between energy and biological life forms than currently realized. An example, medical research is just starting to study the ecosystems involved within the human body, which in order to survive we are very dependent on the symbiotic relationships to bacterias and even viruses. The discovery of these amazing little life form processes will spark research to look for other energy life processes and I bet that will lead to revelational discoveries in the matter energy processes of life itself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magikgoddess Posted July 20, 2014 #16 Share Posted July 20, 2014 It's mind blowing how versatile life is... I love this kind of news, thanks for bringing the article to our attention. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DieChecker Posted July 20, 2014 #17 Share Posted July 20, 2014 This is very true I think that there is much more involved in the processes and a complexity of things we haven't discovered yet. I think this is a great discovery which will lead us to understand many processes of life that science has overlooked. Researchers will be lead to look where they didn't think of looking before. I believe there are more symbiotic relationships between life forms and even between energy and biological life forms than currently realized. An example, medical research is just starting to study the ecosystems involved within the human body, which in order to survive we are very dependent on the symbiotic relationships to bacterias and even viruses. The discovery of these amazing little life form processes will spark research to look for other energy life processes and I bet that will lead to revelational discoveries in the matter energy processes of life itself. I agree it will be interesting to learn more about how these microorganisms metabolism works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaraT Posted July 21, 2014 #18 Share Posted July 21, 2014 I'm genuinely fascinated by this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aquatus1 Posted July 21, 2014 #19 Share Posted July 21, 2014 (edited) This is a perfect example of something that I would have considered completely improbable based on everything I knew about energy consumption by living creatures, only to find that it was totally possible without the need to add anything to my previous knowledge, except to think of the data in a different way. The only other time this occurred to me was when the WTC towers collapsed and I was telling myself that there was no way a mere aircraft collision would have resulted in a total failure, only to realize that my conclusion, while valid, was not correct simply due to how I was thinking about the problem. Edited July 21, 2014 by aquatus1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sundew Posted July 21, 2014 #20 Share Posted July 21, 2014 Considering how many lightning strikes occur worldwide every single day of the year (by some estimates as many as 86 million times per day!), I wonder if these organisms also live in the upper atmosphere, blown by the winds and living off the electrical energy in the storm clouds? And if so, what if any part to they play in the earth's food chain? If we find them in the atmosphere of Earth, perhaps similar organisms exist on the giant gas planets which also have lightning. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aquatus1 Posted July 21, 2014 #21 Share Posted July 21, 2014 It certainly gives a bit more credence to the idea of "star jelly" being the remnants of Bradbury's sky jellyfish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aquatus1 Posted July 21, 2014 #22 Share Posted July 21, 2014 I have always entertained the notion that life really began deep within the Earth. Now I can't help but start considering whether it may have begun high in the atmosphere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taniwha Posted July 21, 2014 #23 Share Posted July 21, 2014 This is exciting news. These life forms are possibly the most abundant type in our universe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taniwha Posted July 21, 2014 #24 Share Posted July 21, 2014 And perhaps the oldest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mac E Posted July 21, 2014 #25 Share Posted July 21, 2014 Is it April fools day? This is an awesome discovery! Extremeophiles to the max. I love it! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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