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Unexpected Discovery of Bacteria That Creates Electric Cables Underground

2025-05-25 Science & Technology
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Anton Petrov
Anton Petrov
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PayPal donations can be sent here: http://paypal.me/whatdamath Support this channel on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/whatdamath (Unreleased videos, no ads, extra footage, DMs and discussions) Get a Wonderful Person Tee: https://teespring.com/stores/whatdamath More cool designs are on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3QFIrFX Hello and welcome! My name is Anton and in this video, we will talk about cable bacteria - microbes that conduct electricity like an actual cable Links: https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/aem.02502-24 #bacteria #biology #science 0:00 Strange bacterial discovery - they're cables?! 1:00 Why this matters - history of electric discoveries and Galvanism 2:55 Recent discovery inside sediment 5:30 What these bacteria do inside sediment 6:50 Incredible new discovery - super conductive bacteria 8:45 Microbial fuel cells connection 10:00 Why this could be useful and conclusions Bitcoin/Ethereum to spare? Donate them here to help this channel grow! bc1qnkl3nk0zt7w0xzrgur9pnkcduj7a3xxllcn7d4 or ETH: 0x60f088B10b03115405d313f964BeA93eF0Bd3DbF Thank you to all Patreon supporters of this channel Special thanks also goes to all the wonderful supporters of the channel through YouTube Memberships Credit: GuidoB CC BY-SA 3.0 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alessandro_Volta#/media/File:VoltaBattery.JPG Pia B. Jensen, Aarhus - https://vaam.de/infoportal-mikrobiologie/mikrobe-des-jahres/kontakt-presse/pressebilder CC BY 4.0 Nils Risgaard-Petersen Lars Peter Nielsen CC BY-SA 4.0 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cable_bacteria#/media/File:Cable_bacteria_in_sediment.png MFCGuy2010 CC BY-SA 3.0 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microbial_fuel_cell#/media/File:SoilMFC.png Licenses used: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Top Comments (10)

@vimmer08 2025-05-25

I worked on a research project back in uni that sought to use these bacteria to map ground pollution. As you mention in the video, the electrically conductive bacteria prefer to live in polluted soil, which means that its possible to measure a difference in electrical resistance. We were working on a robot which could drive around in a field and create a detailed map of where the pollution was. Testing soil pollution with traditional lab tests is expensive and time consuming and thus 'low-resolution' , and treating the soil for pollution is also very expensive. So knowing exactly where to dig and treat the soil is really valuable!

214 10 replies
@RobertBrown-i4r 2025-05-25

This is an example of the value in preserving habitats and biodiversity so that we are able to discover new technologies and better ways of living and advancing as a species -- many thanks Anton

157 12 replies
@HolmesHobbies 2025-05-20

Sounds like the basis for a battery that runs on waste, pollution, or petrol! Similar to fuel cells but without the need for precious metals

102 11 replies
@jundergaming 2025-05-25

Turns out our room temperature superconductor ends up being biological

48 1 replies
@williamlloyd3769 2025-05-26

Perhaps this bacteria is the ancestor of the Bio-neural gel packs were a component of bio-neural circuitry computer systems used by Starfleet in the 2370s. The packs had both mechanical and biological components, and contained bio-neural cells and neurodes which organized information more efficiently and faster than isolinear circuitry. You never know.

20
@Poult100 2025-05-26

These filaments remind me of neurons, even having visible nodes, visually similar to the nodes of Ranvier, present on motor neurons.. But I think the similarity of the two electrically conductive structures ends there. Fascinating!

19
@PowerScissor 2025-05-26

Filamentous Algae make beautiful filaments you can see with the naked eye. If you catch water that comes out from drain holes of your potted plants and then set it in the Sun for 24 hours...you will have a beautiful forest of green filamentous Algae with a ton of microorganisms that are really fun to watch under a microscope, especially if you have kids.

13
@AnimateKidsArt 2025-05-26

Muscles do act like batteries. The electrical stimuli opens up ion channels that cause the activation of muscles. Animal batteries use the flow of ions instead of electrons.

9
@Nethershaw 2025-05-26

Luigi Galvani: "Check this out!" [zaps some frog legs] Alessandro Volta: "Really? Hold my beer." [proceeds to derive the ideal chemistry and design practical mechanisms for use]

7
@usa-ev 2025-05-26

9:47 - "in theory this has a lot of potential" 😂

4

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