Science Projects on the Electromagnetic Fields of Bacteria

Magnetotactic bacteria thrive under magnetism and also have the power to sense the magnetic field beneath the earth, just as migratory birds do as they travel with the changing seasons. Science projects conducted to verify the existence and biology of magnetotactic bacteria involve exposure to dangerous bacteria, unpredictable reactions and the need for expensive laboratory equipment and procedures. While these experiments cannot be done at home, scientists continue to study mangetotactic bacteria to understand its processes.

About

• Magnetotactic bacteria are found in muddy, marine environments. Inside of these bacteria there are magnetosomes which align themselves into a uniform chain. These magnetosomes can distinguish the direction "up" from the direction "down" according to the Earth's magnetic field. This directional ability tells the bacteria where to swim in water to find optimal growing conditions. Before the discovery of magnetotactic bacteria, scientists believed this directional genius through magnetism was only capable in more complex life forms such as migratory birds.

Barnett Rosenberg

• In 1961, Barnett Rosenberg experimented with the similarities in appearance between cell division (mitosis) in bacteria and field lines created by magnetism. With expensive imaging equipment, Rosenberg took pictures of magnetic field patterns around a reacting bar magnet and iron fillings. He then took pictures of E. coli bacteria growing under the influence of magnetic voltages. The field lines in the magnet almost exactly resembled the pattern of the E. coli bacteria.

Peter Hore

• Peter Hore, a scientist at the University of Oxford, tested the theory that bacteria are affected by magnetism with a mutant strain of Rhodobacter sphaeroides. The strain was a mutant of itself because it lacked the component required to soak up free radicals, making it especially vulnerable to magnetism. Under the influence of a magnetic field, oxygen production was cut by 50 percent. Since bacteria thrive during a lack of oxygen and can be inhibited by an abundance of oxygen, Hore hypothesized that exposure to a magnetic field should enhance bacterium growth.

Naval Research Laboratory

• Scientists at the Naval Research Laboratory at Purdue University experimented with electromagnetism and bacteria using the Magnetospirillum magneticum species. This species lives in ponds and lakes and uses magnetosomes to detect the earth's magnetic field. Scientists produced a non-magnetic strain of this bacteria taking the gene responsible for magnetosomes out of a strain of this bacteria. They then compared how quickly and efficiently the strain with magnetosomes could swim away from the oxygen they were supplying to the environment compared to the strain without magnetosomes. With this, they discovered how much the magnetosomes actually do help in directing the bacteria away from oxygen rich environments that will inhibit growth.