Scientists find bugs that eat waste and excrete petrol

Sounds like another conspiracy by the boys at Slickbar - World Leaders in Oil Spill Clean Up!

Originally posted by logicize
Not too many scientists need bodyguards, but this one does. They aren't going to want this one to get out, the oil companies have too much to lose.

Are you kidding? Oil companies would LOVE this, Oil producing COUNTRIES would hate this. Oil companies would have 0 risk of a country nationalizing their fields, their production costs would plummet and profit margins would sky rocket. Oil prices would still be in the $50-60 a barrel range I'm sure...but if I were Chevron or BP I'd be all over this.

yeah there is certainly potential danger with this groundbreaking discovery. but if we can bio engeiner a bug to eat waste and crap oil then im sure we could engiener fail safes as well such as making them steril or asexual so they cant reproduce out side of the lab, making them require some form of treatment for continued exsistance that they cant recieve away from the lab. or any of many other possibilitys hell im no scientist and i named 2 right of the top of my head so im sure some one who modifys living organisims for a living could come up with more and better ways to cut the risk involved.

I think i understand.

A giant pile of waste.

A city of waste.

Why do i get the feeling that this technology is going to be the equivalent of killing two birds with one stone - provided we can control it?

[edit on 14-6-2008 by Anti-Tyrant]

What i dont understand is how they collect the excretions from the bugs. Do they wear some sort of daiper to collect the feaces? Is each individual bug scraped clean of all the feaces? How do they sort the feaces from what the bugs are eating? Do they know the bugs digestive cycle and put them all in a giant 'toilet' when they are going to excrete?

My questions are silly but completely logical - unless i missed something.

Seems to remind me of how we harness things like beeswax or royal jelly from bees... on a large scale we can actually put it on store shelves... if they were to go even larger with this idea we could see biological oil plants that create oil from bugs to be harnessed and used the same way as we use other bi-products from animals and bugs... cool stuff, I hope they grasp on this idea without taking it too far too soon...

Originally posted by yellowcard

Originally posted by logicize
Not too many scientists need bodyguards, but this one does. They aren't going to want this one to get out, the oil companies have too much to lose.

Are you kidding? Oil companies would LOVE this, Oil producing COUNTRIES would hate this. Oil companies would have 0 risk of a country nationalizing their fields, their production costs would plummet and profit margins would sky rocket. Oil prices would still be in the $50-60 a barrel range I'm sure...but if I were Chevron or BP I'd be all over this.

Once again YellowCard, you make a great contribution to this thread.

This is pretty interesting and I'm hoping that it comes into large scale fruition in the not so distant future. I think the key to all of this however, is that we don't limit ourselves to one type of fuel or energy source. We still need to push forward with alternative technologies so that we always have a multitude of options for powering our world. We've become too dependent on oil and now its showing.

reply to post by zephyrs


I think we are going to see a huge change in the future. Between the water cars being talked about in other threads, and these bacteria that poop crude oil, Not to mention the new device that can turn any liquid into clean drinking water.


Our concerns are going to change in a huge way in the next 5 years, and ironically it will be for the better.

How many people here have ever made their own beer? If you have, then you used a 'bug' that converted simple sugars into carbon dioxide and -- what else? Ethanol, and Methanol.

Are forests in danger from being destroyed by rampant ale yeasts, leaving us all swimming in beer? I don't think so, but I can dream about it

The principle here is, from what I can tell, exactly the same -

For fermentation to take place you need raw material, or feedstock, as it is known in the biofuels industry. Anything will do as long as it can be broken down into sugars, with the byproduct ideally burnt to produce electricity to run the plant.

The modified 'bugs' will find it very hard to gobble up forests. It would be like making homebrew with cane, instead of a mash. You would get a very low yield of ethanol (if the yeast did not die and fermentation started at all) from such a hard to ferment complex sugar. It's the main reason why people boil the hops and other additives, so as to break the carbohydrates down into simple sugars that the yeast can gobble up with ease.

The idea, from what I read, is to basically use these modified 'bugs' to do the exact same thing that millions of people worldwide to every day - ferment simple sugars into carbon dioxide, waste product such as the spent stockfeed, and an oil, not much different from ethanol and methanol.

Because crude oil (which can be refined into other products, such as petroleum or jet fuel) is only a few molecular stages removed from the fatty acids normally excreted by yeast or E. coli during fermentation, it does not take much fiddling to get the desired result.

I don't think we're in any danger of being swamped in oil by renegade beasties, and I think this idea is a big step in the right direction !

Originally posted by leearco
I think woodchips or wheat straw for oil is not necessarily better than say cleaner energy like solar and wind.

I assume, then, that you know of a way to power your car with Solar or Wind energy?

Clean energy sources are only really useful for electricity production. Granted, you could have an electric car or one that uses electrolysis to convert water to hydrogen, but as I understand it, that is alot more energy inefficient that having a petrol/diesel engine.

Also, using existing plant matter to feed the microbes, it would in essence be "carbon neutral", so this is really a cleaner fuel source than existing oil.

Don't forget that in order to produce a wind turbine or solar panel you require large amounts of energy for the manufacturing process and produce waste by-products, so they're not really as "green" as made out to be. You need them in operation for some time before they reap an positive energy dividend.

reply to post by bloodcircle


You remember that saying in jurassic park?

The one that goes along the lines of "Life always find a way"? (thank you, micheal crichton)

If the bugs got out of control, they'd be unstoppable because of two reasons;

1) They're small. Tiny, infact.

If we're talking about 'enzymes' too, then there's going to be more than enough of them to break down complex sugars (such as tree sap).

2) Their life cycle is much shorter than ours, thus providing them with versatility where mutation is concerned.

And this isn't even touching on how they were 'modified'.

I wonder if you've ever heard the theory on mutation to do with activation - in that once the organism's DNA mutates, it becomes that much easier for it to mutate again.

Like a diode which controls the 'flow' (current?) of charged ions, once the 'flow' passes the diode, there is no going back.

You'll forgive me for adding to such fearful speculation, I have to admit most of my fears are coming from Crichton's "Prey".

I just like being able to use my head to explore possibilities, that's all.

Applause for bloodcircle and education!

Unbelievably, this is not science fiction. Mr Pal holds up a small beaker of bug excretion that could, theoretically, be poured into the tank of the giant Lexus SUV next to us.

I think this is the most significant part of the news. Why? Because no-one wants to change himself.. they only want to adapt the world to their own greedy and lazy needs and wants. You would think that people have realized already the wastefullness of 'giant Lexus SUV'-s. You'd think they will look for alternative and better ways of transportation. But no. They just find new and more dangerous ways of being wasteful

Oil is NOT a FOSSIL FUEL.

www.youtube.com...

www.google.co.uk...



[edit on 15-6-2008 by mOOmOO]

Originally posted by logicize
reply to post by leearco

 

This is probably the most important story in our lifetimes. If this is true it would change the face of the planet and overturn economies all over the would. It could also fix our economic problems. This story should have a thousand flags and stars. Great find!

Lol i really hope not, do you honnestly think the discovery of bugs that make gas is the "most important story" of our lifetime? I think the cure for aids or cancer could be a better fit or hell free energy, but this?? you have to be kidding me. I dont mean to be rude at all, but that line is a bit depressing, when people start valuing gas over truly important discoveries, that can benefit mankind for more than a quick fix for our transportation needs. sorry if this makes no sense its late..

reply to post by bgaty

Lol i really hope not, do you honnestly think the discovery of bugs that make gas is the "most important story" of our lifetime? I think the cure for aids or cancer could be a better fit or hell free energy, but this?? you have to be kidding me

Have any of those things other things occurred?

How many wars have been fought over oil? How many have died over it? How many wars are yet to be fought over oil? This could end all of that.

reply to post by logicize


As well as the mountains of waste that are building up on our planet, such as the link i provided earlier highlighting the plight of Egyptian Christians literally living in garbage.

The benefits clearly outweigh the potential hazards, if we get it right.

This makes me think of Morgellons, where some black tarry substance or oil is coming out of the patients sometimes. Along with fibers etc....could it be the same bug???


reply to post by Anti-Tyrant