Mystery Bacteria Grows On Nuclear Fuel Rods And Have Unknown DNA Sequence

[DeSwiss]

[font size=3]SRS nuclear growth "biological," but what does it eat?[/font]

Augusta Chronicle
By Rob Pavey, Staff Writer
Thursday, Sept. 6, 2012 4:23 PM | Last updated 9:19 PM



A mysterious, cobweblike growth at Savannah River Site first observed in October has been identified but not given a name. “We did a genetic analysis and found a diverse population of mostly bacteria,” said Christopher Berry, the senior technical adviser of the Savannah River National Labortory.

The “white, stringlike” substance was first observed in October among old fuel assemblies submerged in the site’s L Area basin, where nuclear materials from foreign and domestic research reactors are stored and guarded.

Although the growth was deemed harmless, its ability to thrive and spread in such an unusual environment prompted a more detailed analysis. “We were able to identify a large portion of the bacteria making up the cobwebs, but there were certainly some where the DNA sequencing came back as unknown,” Berry said.

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- Oh sure, it's ''considered'' harmless. And its ability to grow and thrive and spread on nuclear waste isn't a problem that anyone needs to worry about. So don't. I'm sure our new Bacterial Masters will treat us very well once they realize how tasty we can be prepared......

[Peace Patriot]

1. Criminy! What HAVE we done?!

It just gets worse and worse.

[DeSwiss]

2. Oh, just getting our comeuppance I'd say.....

We pollute, and pollute and then pollute some more. And whaddaya get?




- A 1970s B-movie comes to life!

[qb]

26. This definitely is a job for TROMA

and the Toxic Avenger!

[Scootaloo]

3. What's "worse" here?

This is what bacteria do. If you can think of an energy source, any energy source, then there is almost certainly some variety of bacteria that has evolved to utilize it for their own energy. These things live in 400-degree anoxic water under immense pressure and eat sulfur and heavy metals, forming the basis of a sunless food chain. There are bacteria that have been discovered in mines two miles below ground, just minding their own business, eating rock away from anything like air, light, or water, for who knows how many eons. They live in underground petroleum lakes. They live in saline lakes beneath Antarctica's glaciers. They live in the upper atmosphere, even. We've probably accidentally created living colonies of terrestrial bacteria on the moon and Mars.

Slurping heat and minerals off old fuel rods in water? That's child's play for bacteria. That's almost something a plant could do, for crying out loud.

[Drahthaardogs]

9. This is a positive.

Much like KB-1 bacteria that eats TCE, this could potentially be a way to clean up nuclear waste.

[Odin2005]

22. Bacteria! Is there anything they CAN'T do?

[strategery blunder]

25. Bacteria can't make Rmoney an empathetic human being

Rmoney to bacteria: Go borrow energy from your parents!

[Posteritatis]

27. Bacteria are terrible, terrible jugglers. (nt)

[longship]

4. This is not a bad thing.

Don't you all understand? Life finds a way, no matter what the environment. Even in caves full of sulphuric acid.

Maybe even on Mars. Or Titan. Or Enceladus. Or fucking Europa which has more liquid water than Earth. Or any number of the bazillion planetary bodies in the universe with similar, or dissimilar biospheres.

Life finds a way. It's what it does, the only thing it does. Why anybody is surprised is the most surprising.

Biology is awesome.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

5. Bingo. It's like thermophiles. The universe must be full of life.

[mindwalker_i]

23. It's Life, Jim

but not as we know it
but not as we know it
but not as we know it
It's Life, Jim,
but not as we know it
but not as we know it
Jim

[BB1]

6. Reminds me of 'Revelation Space'

a pretty good SF book by Alistair Reynolds.
A space captain is submerged in a web-like substance. It sounds like this ^.

[dorksied]

7. I wonder if these bacteria actually feed on the nuclear material? These things could solve our waste

problem possibly! /crosses fingers

[Speck Tater]

30. Then we'd have radioactive bacteria everywhere

So they eat the radioactive waste. So what? It's still radioactive and still just as dangerous. Maybe even more so if radioactive bacteria get inside your body. If you digest something radioactive the radioactivity does not magically go away.

[Sirveri]

34. It depends on if they have a dispersal effect or a concentration effect

If they're eating the non-radioactive parts of the RAM, then if you remove them from containment it would concentrate the existing radioactive materials taking up less space and decreasing it's mass. This is a good thing. If they eat the radioactive materials then it might be good for use in environmental cleanup if you can train/push them to move into a specific area.

[jp11]

8. Kill it with fire!

[Scootaloo]

10. They'd just find a way to live in fire, you know

it's cute how humans think we're the ones in charge.

[jp11]

12. Then freeze it!

the Thing from The Thing could only wait in the ice that'll buy us some time...

[mshasta]

20. is already learning

maybe "it" already copy someone entire body and is walking around as we speak! check everybody who spills metal stuff out of their teeth!.

[Voice for Peace]

28. and people who set off geiger counters, or eat them

[MrScorpio]

11. When it starts eating Tokyo, let's see them call it "harmless" then nt

[Berlum]

13. I, for one, welcome our new Mysterious Cobweb-like Mutant Bacteria Overlords.

Mutant Overlords are just the thing for a genetically modified planet,
with occult GMO food "product" (R) already infesting everyone's daily tucker.

[NCarolinawoman]

32. LOL!

Love the cartoon.

[rug]

14. Germzilla

[renie408]

15. Well, that's not creepy at all. n/t

[tama]

16. In Chernobyl

a new type of mushroom was found that feeds on radiation. Life if wonderful.

[Javaman]

17. Personally, I welcome our Unknown DNA Bacterial Overlords. nt

[4th law of robotics]

18. Let's hope it doesn't see those anti-bacterial hand gel stations that have popped

up everywhere lately.

Plus the entire bleach, ammonia, soap, household cleaner industries and so on. And entire industry built around genocide.

It won't like this.

/I swear I never disinfect!

[byeya]

19. The radioactivity is not going to disappear. When the Ukraine fungus releases its spores, they will

spread the radioactivity to the winds.
A half life of a radioactive substance will remain the same. Humanity needs to stop creating these unstable elements and confine the ones it has made to the safest possible place.
The bacteria will not lessen the radioactivity at the Georgia site but have the potential to release some of it into the environment.

This is not like a petro-eating organism where the chemistry is altered. Organisms don't have the ability to alter the physics of the elements but do have the ability - apparently - to live on the energy and metals in storage.

That's my take on it anyway.

[Odin2005]

21. A relative of Deinococcus radiodurans, I bet.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deinococcus_radiodurans

[Myrina]

24. The Toxic Avenger!!!

[Speck Tater]

29. Harmless? Did these people not watch ANY SciFi movies in the 50's? nt

[Peace Patriot]

31. Yup, we've heard the assertion of "harmless" a lot during the industrial age...

harmless cotton dust in enclosed factory spaces
harmless DDT
harmless Thalidomide
harmless "Twilight Sleep"
harmless radiation treatment
harmless X-rays
harmless cigarettes
harmless nuclear power plants
harmless GMOs
harmless sediment in streams from logging
harmless automobile exhaust
harmless antibiotics
& much more.

Often touted as beneficial as well. You'd think that scientists--faithful to the scientific method--would at least say "likely" harmless, or harmless "as far as we know." To assert that something is "harmless" without qualification, without doubt, without even the slightest caveat as to possible future studies or unknown long term or cumulative harm, is not really science. It is propaganda.

[DeSwiss]

35. A friend of mine had asthma as a kid back in the 50s.....

...back when doctors still made house calls. He prescribed Asthma Cigarettes for his condition. He used to tell me how much he liked them and I never understood why until later. Here's why:

● They didn't contain tobacco, but crushed and dried herbs from the nightshade family of plants called solanaceae, which included datura strammonium, atropa belladonna, the hyoscyamus niger, Lobelia inflata and similar plants. Indian Hemp and Cannabis are similar herbs also included in some brands.

● Such plants contained an alkaloid called Atropine that causes mild bronchodilation, and made breathing easier {as well as sending you on wild-ass hallucination trips if you overdose}.

● Smoking wasn't considered hazardous; it was actually seen as beneficial.
link



- And as you can see, doctor's prescribing cannabis for medical reasons isn't new......

[Baitball Blogger]

33. Oh Fuck! Anti-matter with a heartbeat!

We are doooooomeed!