Secret Synth-Bio Test? Previously Unknown Microbe Thriving By Eating Spilled Oil In Gulf Of Mexico

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Aug 25, 2010, 5:37:48 PM8/25/10

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Secret Synth-Bio Test? Previously Unknown Microbe Thriving By Eating Spilled Oil In Gulf Of Mexico
A newly discovered type of oil-eating microbe suddenly is flourishing in the Gulf of Mexico. Scientists discovered the new microbe while studying the underwater dispersion of millions of gallons of oil spilled into the Gulf since the explosion of BP's Deepwater Horizon drilling rig. Also, the microbe works without significantly depleting oxygen in the water, researchers led by Terry Hazen at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, California, reported Tuesday in the online journal Sciencexpress. “Our findings, which provide the first data ever on microbial activity from a deep-water dispersed oil plume, suggest” a great potential for bacteria to help dispose of oil plumes in the deep-sea, Mr. Hazen said in a statement. Environmentalists have raised fears about the giant oil spill and the underwater plume of dispersed oil, particularly its potential effects on sea life. A report just last week described a 35-kilometre-long underwater mist of tiny oil droplets.