Nature & Environment
Move Aside Elsa! This Bacteria Holds The Power to Make Ice
Wayne Parker
First Posted: Apr 25, 2016 06:22 AM EDT
Scientists were blown away after finding out how a microbe makes ice. There are certain bacteria that thrive in the cold and can actually cause ice to form.
How Pseudomonas syringae bacteria can turn water into ice remains a mystery until now. Pseudomonas syringae bacteria can amazingly turn water into ice at temperatures above a normal freezing point. As cited in an article on SciFeeds, U.S. and Germany researchers reported on April 22 in Science Advances that Pseudomonas syringae bacteria do the cool trick by way of rearranging nearby water molecules. These microbes are very much useful in creating making artificial snow at ski resorts because of their 'cooling' ability.
Pseudomonas syringae which is a plant pathogen is naturally responsible for frost damage to crops and can nucleate ice crystals used in generating artificial snow as cited in an article on Popular Science. Pseudomonas syringae has a vital role not only in biology but also in atmospheric science considering that it can absolutely form ice at temperatures above freezing point.
As cited on Science News, the scientists discovered that this inaZ, or the ice nucleation protein, serves as a mold for ice crystals. The nearby water molecules are tugged by the alternating water-repelling and water-attracting parts of inaZ into an orderly, ice-like composition. As soon as they are arranged into an ice-promoting formation, water molecules can rapidly disperse heat energy. As water temperatures falls toward 5Ëš Celsius, this alignment process turns out to be more prominent. Pseudomonas syringae can actually crystallize water at around -2Ëš C outside the lab.
Having a deeper understanding on how Pseudomonas syringae freezes water could definitely inform science beyond the slopes. The bacteria, in gardens, can really wreak havoc on frost-sensitive plants. The said ice-forming bacteria have an indispensable role in climate because they affect patterns of cloud formation and precipitation according to the researchers.
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First Posted: Apr 25, 2016 06:22 AM EDT
Scientists were blown away after finding out how a microbe makes ice. There are certain bacteria that thrive in the cold and can actually cause ice to form.
How Pseudomonas syringae bacteria can turn water into ice remains a mystery until now. Pseudomonas syringae bacteria can amazingly turn water into ice at temperatures above a normal freezing point. As cited in an article on SciFeeds, U.S. and Germany researchers reported on April 22 in Science Advances that Pseudomonas syringae bacteria do the cool trick by way of rearranging nearby water molecules. These microbes are very much useful in creating making artificial snow at ski resorts because of their 'cooling' ability.
Pseudomonas syringae which is a plant pathogen is naturally responsible for frost damage to crops and can nucleate ice crystals used in generating artificial snow as cited in an article on Popular Science. Pseudomonas syringae has a vital role not only in biology but also in atmospheric science considering that it can absolutely form ice at temperatures above freezing point.
As cited on Science News, the scientists discovered that this inaZ, or the ice nucleation protein, serves as a mold for ice crystals. The nearby water molecules are tugged by the alternating water-repelling and water-attracting parts of inaZ into an orderly, ice-like composition. As soon as they are arranged into an ice-promoting formation, water molecules can rapidly disperse heat energy. As water temperatures falls toward 5Ëš Celsius, this alignment process turns out to be more prominent. Pseudomonas syringae can actually crystallize water at around -2Ëš C outside the lab.
Having a deeper understanding on how Pseudomonas syringae freezes water could definitely inform science beyond the slopes. The bacteria, in gardens, can really wreak havoc on frost-sensitive plants. The said ice-forming bacteria have an indispensable role in climate because they affect patterns of cloud formation and precipitation according to the researchers.
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone