Meet the Scientist

MTS63 - Jeff Gralnick - I Sing the Microbe Electric

Details

Created on Thursday, 16 December 2010 14:36

Written by Carl Zimmer

All life hums with electricity, from our heartbeats to the electrons that flow to the oxygen we breathe. But some bacteria are electricians par excellence, generating electric currents in the soil and water.

In this podcast, I talk to microbe-electricity expert Jeff Gralnick of the University of Minnesota about the biology behind these currents, and how engineers may be able to harness it to power technology.

Additional Reading:

• The Mtr Respiratory Pathway Is Essential for Reducing Flavins and Electrodes in Shewanella oneidensis
• Electrochemical Measurement of Electron Transfer Kinetics by Shewanella oneidensis MR-1

Download the interview: mp3 (28 min | 26 megs)