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fleepglerblebloop OP t1_jctic5t wrote

..."We've known for some time that bacteria can use the trace hydrogen in the air as a source of energy to help them grow and survive, including in Antarctic soils, volcanic craters, and the deep ocean" Professor Greening said. "But we didn't know how they did this, until now."

In this Nature paper, the researchers extracted the enzyme responsible for using atmospheric hydrogen from a bacterium called Mycobacterium smegmatis. They showed that this enzyme, called Huc, turns hydrogen gas into an electrical current.

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ParagonSaint t1_jcuibaa wrote

Bacteria Smegma being made into energy? .. did I read that right?

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Antekuru t1_jcw60kb wrote

More like bacteria in your smegma create energy from thin air. According to wikipedia, M. smegmatis got its name because it was found in normal, healthy smegma. Fun fact: due to its reputation as a “fast-grower” and its structural similarity to the pathogen that causes tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis), its considered a “model organism” used often in research labs.

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pirso t1_jcx468k wrote

I read somewhere that During world war 2 the British air force dropped special propaganda leaflets on enemy soldiers. Those leaflets described how one can fake tuberculosis by smoking shredded newspaper mixed with tobacco and giving smegma-spiced sputum to trick the field medics.

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Theeclat t1_jctw6l3 wrote

The salesman for this energy will be a true Huc-ster.

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