Email to a friend Unified theory relates microbial metabolism to
lab and field Kloeppel, Physical Sciences Editor (217) 244-1073;
firstname.lastname@example.org CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- The ability to
describe the rates at which microbial populations metabolize in
the natural environment has been limited by the lack of a
general theory of microbial kinetics. Now, researchers at the
University of Illinois have found an approach that holds
significant promise for extending the results of laboratory
experiments to better understand microbial metabolism in nature.
"The growth of microbial populations can have profound affects
on the chemistry of groundwater, from acid-mine drainage in the
West to arsenic poisoning in wells in Bangladesh," said Craig
Bethke, a UI professor of geology. "The bulk of the world's
microbial biomass operates by eating rocks -- taking inorganic
chemicals and using them to produce energy. By constructing
quantitative models of that reaction process, we might find more
effective solutions and co