Bio & Agro¶
Bioplastic Making¶
These images show the before and after of making bioplastics using glycerol. We tested the materials in different thicknesses, as well as adding apple peels to some of the mixture.
Agar & Microscope Photos¶
Garbage bacteria
Ovary slice
The first photo is agar that was rubbed against a garbage bag to see what microorganisms would be grown from touching that surface. The second photo is a view of a ovary slice through a microscope. Both were interseting to see the intricacies and details close up through isolation and microscopic views.
Article¶
The article I chose is from The Guardian, Geddes (2022), “Next pandemic may come from melting glaciers, new data shows.” In summary it is about how melting glaciers are exposing ancient viruses. It suggests that as these viruses defrost, they could potentially infect surrounding wildlife causing the spread of infectious diseases or start another pandemic.
The main scientific study the article references is a genetic analysis done for soil and lake sediments of Lake Hazen, which is a large Arctic freshwater lake. They talk about a process called “viral spillover” which is when a spectrum of viruses from a reservoir is then transmitted and infects a new host, which could then infect others. Due to climate change and warmer temperatures, they are trying to quantify the spillover potential. For this study they focused on soil and lake sediments. Using DNA and RNA sequencing they created an algorithm seeing how these viruses could potentially infect a range of hosts. They also estimated how much risk of spillover there is and how much the risk of spillover could increase from the runoff of glacier melt. This points to climate change as the cause of the spread of new viruses or pandemics. The research was done by scientists from the University of Ottawa and published in The Royal Society journal.
The article also references examples of unknown viruses frozen in glaciers. An example of a virus infecting a nomadic group of people in arctic regions in northern Siberia, although the reference is from over six years ago. As well as, a finding from Ohio State University of an ice sample from the Tibetan plateau in China which had 28 novel viruses found, estimated to be 15,000 years old.
Although the data collected shows potential risk of virus transmission due to climate change from spillover, it is still a simulation and has not happened yet. There is still a low chance of it being as dramatic as it seems. There are still many unknowns and the article is shedding light on how it is important to continue to study microorganisms all over the world as we are in a state of constant change due to climate change. The Arctic is warming up and there are many potential risks that can happen as it becomes thawed and microorganisms are no longer dormant.
I looked into an article from Nature, which talks about the Arctic melting to see if there are any similar findings that could back up the article from The Guardian. In the Nature article “Emergent biogeochemical risks from Arctic permafrost degradation,” from 2021. This article talks about permafrost which is a permanently frozen layer underneath Earth’s visible surface.
They talk about a variety of potentially hazardous bacterias, chemicals, and viruses that have been dormant in the permafrost. In the diagram Fig.2, they show potential hazards of smallpox virus, Clostridium bacteria, and Alphaproteobacteria. It also shows nuclear waste and ancient DNA from dead animals. Clostridium bacteria is one of the leading causes for foodborne illnesses.
This article talks about how there are methuselah microorganisms which have been able to stay around for millions of years. As the thawing continues, it increases activity of these dormant microorganisms which can cause change from the bottom up as the thawing is causing change from the top down, overall causing quicker changes within the permafrost and thawing layers.
My findings from these two articles show a variety of potential risks and unknowns about the Arctic and what it holds. Typically when hearing about glacier melting we hear how it affects animals and habitats. However, understanding that there are century old microorganisms, viruses, and chemicals that we will have to face as the Arctic melts, is something that should be shared more as a dangerous consequence of climate change.
The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/science/2022/oct/19/next-pandemic-may-come-from-melting-glaciers-new-data-shows
The Royal Society https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2022.1073
Nature https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-021-01162-y Miner, K.R., D’Andrilli, J., Mackelprang, R. et al. Emergent biogeochemical risks from Arctic permafrost degradation. Nat. Clim. Chang. 11, 809–819 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-021-01162-y