4 ms·
My tinfoil hat is buzzing. What happens when this bacteria is released in our lakes and oceans?
by staticvar 10y ago
My tinfoil hat is buzzing. What happens when this bacteria is released in our lakes and oceans?
- biomcgary 10y agoThey die. The bacteria are dependent on a constant stream of hydrogen gas at higher concentration than typically found on earth. They simply cannot compete with any other organism outside of the reactor for which they are designed.
- sitkack 10y agoScenario: Mixing in the chamber isn't complete, after a few generations, bacteria that can survive in a low H environment continue to breed. Worker forgets to purchase reactor before maintenance, bacteria escapes. Hilarity ensues.
- riprowan 10y agoAre there not hydrogen rich microzones (volcanic fissues? atmospheric layers?) where these might thrive? I'm not actually worried about bugs taking over the world. But we ought to avoid hand-waving away possible unintended consequences, because that tends to be how we get ourselves into environmental problems in the first place.
- bertiewhykovich 10y agoWhile there are certainly conditions in which these bacteria might thrive, their inbuilt inefficiency -- secreting large quantities of energy-rich alcohol -- suggests that, in their current form, they'd be relatively easy to outcompete. They don't seem to have any particular advantage in an environment where their unique characteristics are not beneficial -- and very few environments would seem to fit that bill.
- hleszek 10y agoIt dies because there is no hydrogen to consume ?
- EGreg 10y agoHow do we know it won't adapt before then, as have thousands of other types of bacteria?
- johngalt 10y agoThat's like worrying about cattle getting loose and taking over Africa. The same things that make them useful to us also make them horrible at competing in a natural setting.