newsletterbanner
 
***
Canva - Person Holding Test Tubes

This Week's Feature

In a series of lab tests, Princeton University has discovered that a relatively common soil bacterium has demonstrated its ability to break down the difficult-to-remove class of pollutants called PFAS. Acidimicrobium bacterium A6, removed 60% of PFAS in lab vials over 100 days of observation.

PFAS (Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) have been widely used in products from non-stick pans to firefighting foam, and the EPA has said there is evidence that exposure to PFAS is harmful to human health. They have been seeking ways to reduce the amount in soil and ground water.

Acidimicrobium A6 thrives in low oxygen conditions, which makes it particularly effective for soil and groundwater remediation. However, these bacteria also require iron and acidic soil conditions. Researchers believe adjusting soil conditions could allow the bacteria to function in areas that do not naturally meet these requirements.

Source: Microbe chews through PFAS and other tough contaminants
***
absolutvision-82TpEld0 e4-unsplash

In The Spotlight

As you are aware laboratory results for C, N, P etc. come with prescriptions for how to remedy any deficiency. Microbial biomass testing on the other hand has been so expensive that it has not been developed for the purpose of prescribing or evaluating treatment. Hence you as a microBIOMETER® user are also a researcher!

Our customers include academia, organic farmers, cannabis growers, gardeners, consultants, agronomists, soil scientists, tree care specialists, landscapers and amendment companies. Each of our customers has a story to tell about their experience with our soil test and we have had the pleasure of speaking with many of them.

Therefore, we, along with our users, want to hear how YOU are using the test and responding to the information you get from it. If you are willing to share this information with us, we would love to highlight it in our newsletter.

Please contact us with details and photos!
***
sciencecorner

Science quotes, facts and research.

Aerobic and Anaerobic Organisms

Does microBIOMETER® differentiate between the two? This question was posed to us by one of our customers.

The short answer is no it does not. However, not all anaerobic microbes are harmful, e.g. rice thrives with anaerobes as they are adapted to water laden soil that has little oxygen. Furthermore, when the arable soils we test with microBIOMETER® become flooded for a week or more, thereby having an anaerobic environment, we see a significant drop in microbial biomass.

True anaerobes cannot tolerate much, if any, oxygen so you would not expect to see them in aerated soil.
***

Sincerely,
Your Team at Microbiometer
 

©2024 microBIOMETER® | 2101 State Route 17K, Montgomery, N.Y. 12549

   
 
Powered by
GoDaddy Email Marketing ®