Science News for Kids » microbes http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org Publication of the Society for Science & the Public Thu, 23 May 2013 17:00:53 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 Deadly new flu http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/2013/04/new-kind-of-influenza-h7n9-that-started-in-birds-is-now-taking-a-toll-on-humans/ http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/2013/04/new-kind-of-influenza-h7n9-that-started-in-birds-is-now-taking-a-toll-on-humans/#comments Wed, 24 Apr 2013 20:10:23 +0000 Stephen Ornes http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/?p=16649 h7n9_a_lg

The germ responsible carries genes from other flu viruses]]> h7n9_a_lg

The germ responsible carries genes from other flu viruses]]> http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/2013/04/new-kind-of-influenza-h7n9-that-started-in-birds-is-now-taking-a-toll-on-humans/feed/ 0 Piercing a buried polar lake http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/2013/01/researchers-in-antarctica-drilled-through-a-half-mile-of-ice-to-reach-water-that-hasnt-had-contact-with-the-atmosphere-for-thousands-of-years/ http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/2013/01/researchers-in-antarctica-drilled-through-a-half-mile-of-ice-to-reach-water-that-hasnt-had-contact-with-the-atmosphere-for-thousands-of-years/#comments Tue, 29 Jan 2013 21:48:41 +0000 Janet Raloff http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/?p=15458 This 1,000-meter hose — spooled onto an enormous and very heavy container — was used as a drill to pierce deeply through Antarctica’s ice. Credit: J. Raloff/Science News for Kids

Researchers in Antarctica drilled through a half-mile of ice to reach water that hasn’t had contact with the atmosphere for thousands of years.]]> This 1,000-meter hose — spooled onto an enormous and very heavy container — was used as a drill to pierce deeply through Antarctica’s ice. Credit: J. Raloff/Science News for Kids

Researchers in Antarctica drilled through a half-mile of ice to reach water that hasn’t had contact with the atmosphere for thousands of years.]]> http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/2013/01/researchers-in-antarctica-drilled-through-a-half-mile-of-ice-to-reach-water-that-hasnt-had-contact-with-the-atmosphere-for-thousands-of-years/feed/ 0 Living long beneath the sea http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/2012/10/microbes-in-the-mud-beneath-the-seafloor-may-live-millions-of-years-redefining-what-it-means-to-be-old-and-alive/ http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/2012/10/microbes-in-the-mud-beneath-the-seafloor-may-live-millions-of-years-redefining-what-it-means-to-be-old-and-alive/#comments Thu, 11 Oct 2012 16:08:27 +0000 Stephen Ornes http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/?p=14369 roy1HR_Feature

Microbes in the mud beneath the seafloor may live millions of years, redefining what it means to be old and alive]]> roy1HR_Feature

Microbes in the mud beneath the seafloor may live millions of years, redefining what it means to be old and alive]]> http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/2012/10/microbes-in-the-mud-beneath-the-seafloor-may-live-millions-of-years-redefining-what-it-means-to-be-old-and-alive/feed/ 0 Bird malaria moves north http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/2012/10/bird-malaria-moves-north/ http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/2012/10/bird-malaria-moves-north/#comments Wed, 10 Oct 2012 16:36:06 +0000 Stephen Ornes http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/?p=14350 Black-capped chickadees, like the one shown here, stay in Fairbanks, Alaska, year-round. Scientists report that some of the birds have been found with avian malaria, suggesting that the germ that causes the disease has established itself in the far North. Credit: Mdf/wikipedia

Germs that cause a so-called tropical disease make themselves at home in frosty Alaska]]> Black-capped chickadees, like the one shown here, stay in Fairbanks, Alaska, year-round. Scientists report that some of the birds have been found with avian malaria, suggesting that the germ that causes the disease has established itself in the far North. Credit: Mdf/wikipedia

Germs that cause a so-called tropical disease make themselves at home in frosty Alaska]]> http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/2012/10/bird-malaria-moves-north/feed/ 0 Drawing Energy out of Wastewater http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/2004/03/drawing-energy-out-of-wastewater-2/ http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/2004/03/drawing-energy-out-of-wastewater-2/#comments Tue, 16 Mar 2004 00:00:00 +0000 Emily Sohn http://www.sciencenewsforkids.com.php5-17.dfw1-2.websitetestlink.com/wp/2004/03/drawing-energy-out-of-wastewater-2/ Flush. Every time you go to the toilet, your waste gets carried away by water. Before it can be released into the environment, the wastewater has to be treated to remove solids and other contaminants.

Now, environmental engineers from Pennsylvania State University have found a use for all that waste material—as an energy source. Using a type of energy generator called a fuel cell, they can break down plant and animal, or organic, waste and, in the process, produce electricity. Their technique could reduce the cost of treating water.

As wastewater flows through this new type of fuel cell, microbes break down organic matter and release electrons, which flow from the negative electrodes (green) to the central positive electrode (red).

As wastewater flows through this new type of fuel cell, microbes break down organic matter and release electrons, which flow from the negative electrodes (green) to the central positive electrode (red).
T. Schindler/National Science Foundation

Once you flush the toilet, you probably forget about whatever you just dumped in there. Every year, though, the United States alone spends $25 billion to clean up sewage. Many countries can’t even afford to treat their water.

The new fuel cell is a small plastic cylinder. Inside, eight rods made of graphite (the black stuff that’s in a pencil) act as negative electrodes. The rods surround a hollow tube made of carbon and platinum, which acts as a positive electrode.

When wastewater is pumped through the fuel cell, bacteria already present in the water stick to the graphite rods. As the microbes break down the organic matter in the water, they generate electricity.

Current water treatment techniques are expensive because they use bacteria that need a steady supply of oxygen. The new process could be more efficient, equally effective, and much cheaper, the researchers say. With improvements, such a fuel cell could provide enough power to pump an entire community’s sewage.

Talk about powerful poop!—E. Sohn

Going Deeper:

Goho, Alexandra. 2004. Special treatment: Fuel cell draws energy from waste. Science News 165(March 13):165. Available at http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20040313/fob5.asp .

Sohn, Emily. 2003. Eating up foul sewage smells. Science News for Kids (May 14). Available at http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/articles/20030514/Note3.asp .

You can find out more about how a sewage treatment plant works at www.oberlin.edu/envs/ajlc/Systems/Water/Wastewater/SewageTreatment.htm (Oberlin College).

Learn more about fuel cells at www.eere.energy.gov/hydrogenandfuelcells/fuelcells/ (U.S. Department of Energy).

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