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• December 24, 2015
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The double life of a bacteria: Living off both iron and pure electricity

The bacterium Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans can take electrons needed for growth directly from an electrode power source when iron—its already known source of energy—is absent, new research shows. The study shows that A. ferrooxidans can use direct uptake of electrons from an electrode to fuel the same metabolic pathway that is activated by the oxidation of diffusible iron ions.