Two universities have just made some impressive discoveries about bacteria. Tsinghua University and Penn State University have worked together to discover that bacteria actually has properties that can eventually turn things like dirty salt water into useful things such as electricity and clean water. Such a discovery allows us to look at microbial fuel cells in a new light, which had previously been only used to make electricity or for the storage of electricity in the form of methane gas or hydrogen. The people who made the discovery thinks that the microbial fuel cell is the basis for taking things like organic waste and turning it into energy.

One of the most amazing thing is that this was possible with just a cup of water from a natural source or a pond. The scientists discovered that some of the microbes (among millions of other microbes which are less useful) have the properties that will creat electrons and protons. They do this within their own cells, and then let the energy be ejected outside of the cell. Some of the other types of bacteria then take these electroncs nad protos and turn them into hydrogen. Some also turn them into methane and various other chemicals that can be energy.