Scientists discover enzyme that can turn air into energy, unlocking potential new energy source

[Judi Lynn]

By Ben Turner published about 6 hours ago

A relative of the tuberculosis bacterium has long been known to convert hydrogen from the air into electricity. Now, scientists have discovered how.



A scanning electron microscope image of a bacterium that can use atmospheric hydrogen to generate an electrical current. (Image credit: Science Photo Library/Alamy Stock Photo)

Scientists studying a cousin of the bacteria responsible for tuberculosis and leprosy have discovered an enzyme that converts hydrogen into electricity, and they think it could be used to create a new, clean source of energy literally from thin air.

The enzyme, which has been named Huc, is used by the bacterium Mycobacterium smegmatis to draw energy from atmospheric hydrogen, enabling it to survive in extreme, nutrient-poor environments.

Now, by extracting and studying the enzyme, the researchers say they have found a new energy source that could be used to power a range of small portable electrical devices. They published their findings March 8 in the journal Nature(opens in new tab).

"We imagine that a Huc-containing power source could power a range of small portable devices using air, including biometric sensors, environmental monitors, digital clocks, and calculators or simple computers," lead author Rhys Grinter(opens in new tab), a microbiologist at Monash University in Australia, told Live Science via email.

More:
https://www.livescience.com/scientists-discover-enzyme-that-can-turn-air-into-energy-unlocking-potential-new-energy-source

[Wounded Bear]

1. Power literally out of thin air? Interesting...nt

[Chainfire]

2. That sounds as promising as cold fusion.

[Dale in Laurel MD]

3. smegmatis?

That doesn't exactly suggest a nutrient-poor environment.

[Red Pest]

4. A good use for a Huc-containing power source would be small sensors for environmental monitoring

Anyway, a very nice publication. The discovery of such a high affinity hydrogenase capable of using atmospheric H2 is very nice.

[NNadir]

5. This is an unbelievably poor title for what is supposed to be science...

...journalism.

One wonders if the journalist ever took a physics class not so remedial as to not include the first law of thermodyamics.

Anyone who has utilized "Atlas Shrugged" as a soporific will recognize a similar claim made for a putative "discovery" by the main character in the book - this involving "static electricity in the air" to power locomotives. This demonstrated conclusively that the book was low quality science fiction, written by a fairly ignorant kook, but the fact that people took this trash seriously has caused huge problems for humanity. This outcome suggests to me another way that the failure to understand on a simple level the laws of thermodyamics can lead to the pursuit of very bad ideas.

[eppur_se_muova]

6. NOT air, H2 gas. Totally different thing. nt

[Red Mountain]

7. Smegmatis?

Because they look like penises?

"a group of 14 year old researchers....."

[Aussie105]

8. Hydrogen -- H2 -- 0.00005%

Yep, right, H2 concentration in the air is 0.0005%

Going to need a massive airflow for the process to pick up the 5 H2 molecules amongst 1,000,000 air molecules.
To make the process viable, 5 H2 molecules would be insufficient - you'd need an airflow of many cubic meters per second.

I'd like to see the hardware for that built into a small device!