New research suggests bacteria may influence precipitation
Posted 11 months ago by Jacob in General Health News
The concept of 'bioprecipitation' - bacteria directly influencing rainfall - has been around since the 1980's but has yet to accumulate enough evidence to be proved more than just a theory. New research from the Montana State University, however, lends credence to the idea. In a new study researchers have found a large numbers of bacteria at the cores of hailstones suggesting that bacteria may directly influence precipitation. However, findings such as these are not new and have reported since the 1960's. One notable bacterium that has appeared in several studies is Pseudomonas Syringae, a species which is thought to express a protein onto its outer surface which actively encourages water to arrange itself around the bacteria. This then acts as a "nucleation" point, prompting ice to form at temperatures far higher than is normally expected. In nature, P. syringae uses the ice it stimulates to damage plant cells which it then feeds from. More interestingly, an insight into the bacteria's wider strategy is now becoming clearer. Some bacteria are known to concentrate into "biofilms" on the surface of plants which can create bacteria rich aerosols in forest canopies. These aerosols can then rise into the atmosphere where they may stimulate precipitation. Many scientists cite this as an evolved mechanism the bacteria have developed for dispersing themselves. Dr Christner, researcher from the American Society of Microbiology commented, "We know that biology influences climate in some way, but directly in such a way as this is not only fascinating but also very important."
OptiBac says: Hhmmm... a bacteria that causes rainfall. We're not sure we can call that a good bacteria?!
Reference: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-13523502
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