Nanobacterium

As nanobacteria or ultra-micro particle bacteria are referred to that were first found in cell cultures in 1994, and later in the blood of mammals. It is debatable whether it is in fact coccoid ( spherical ) bacteria with its own metabolism. Their size is between 80 and 600 nm. They would therefore, smaller than the previous smallest known bacteria.

History

Back in the early 1990s reported the geologist Robert L. Folk of the University of Texas of round structures in limestones that looked like microorganisms for him. Later, these structures were also found in meteorites. There should be a separate class of bacteria that might belong to the oldest life forms on Earth. All of these assumptions have not been confirmed. A scientific paper from 2008 suggests that it is at the nanobacteria to ( inanimate ) calcium carbonate particles, which have a similar appearance as small bacteria.

Features

Little is known about the structure of nanobacteria. It will thereby act to spherical to oval microorganisms with a diameter of 200-600 nm. It would thus be of the order of viruses, to achieve the 20 to 400 nm in diameter. The main objection to the thesis that it is living bacteria, revolves around this fact. Many scientists doubt that in such a small organism is still enough space to accommodate DNA and other structures that are essential for the metabolism and multiplication. Discussed is therefore whether nanobacteria must be enclosed in mammalian cells, in order to survive.

The highly resistant nanobacteria should have a thick cell wall and be surrounded by a slime coat. Their growth is considerably slower than that of bacteria. Previously DNA could not be detected.

You should be able to synthesize, for example apatite. Discussed therefore is currently the participation of nanobacteria in the formation of kidney stones, gallstones and atherosclerosis. For more chronic diseases were exposed as infectious diseases, the development of gastric ulcers.

January Martel of Chang Chun University in Taiwan and John Young of Rockefeller University have made ​​of blood serum and calcium carbonate nanoparticles, which were indistinguishable under the microscope of the controversial nanobacteria. In the experiment, they demonstrated, however, that the particles are not alive. First, they did not show any traces of DNA or RNA, secondly, they were even after an extremely high dose of radiation in the same concentration exists and, moreover, remained visually unchanged, report the two in the "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ". "I 'm pretty sure that this will end the debate about possible mechanisms in living nanobacteria ," Young said in relation to the news service of Nature, but admits that the nanoparticles actually share. " They seem to grow, multiply and divide. One would swear that this is about living things - but there are no "Young and Chun also found out that it is not simply small lime pieces in the nanoparticles ( bacteria, respectively ). . You are obviously surrounded by proteins and other organic molecules that stop their growth and give them a round cell-like shape. The organic shell is probably the reason why so far some researchers in this regard have to be deceived, says John Cisar from the National Institutes of Health: ". The simplest explanation is that they are not alive "

Kumon and employees of the University Okoyama were able to demonstrate that the nanoparticles formed in a kidney stone preparation of oxidized lipids. In addition, they produced such nanoparticles by gamma irradiation of blood serum. In addition, the localization of antibodies to the particles in hyperlipidemic mice with atherosclerosis pointed out that nanoparticles pose more of a by-product as a trigger for the inflammatory process.