Scientists discover electricity-conducting bacteria with nickel-based fibers

Serving tech enthusiasts for over 25 years.TechSpot means tech analysis and advice you can trust Forward-looking: Scientists have discovered a new species of cable bacteria that uses distinctive nickel-based fibers to conduct electricity, revealing key insights into its evolutionary history. This discovery offers potential for new bioelectronic applications and environmental cleanup technologies. Scientists have identified a new species of bacteria in the mudflats of Oregon's Yaquina Bay that is capable of conducting electricity, a property uncommon among living organisms. Oregon State University researchers identified the bacterium, Candidatus Electrothrix yaqonensis, which is named in honor of the Yaqona people, the Indigenous inhabitants of the region where the discovery was made. The findings, published in the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology, describe how this cable bacterium forms long filaments by connecting rod-shaped cells end to end, with a shared outer memb ... Read full article.