New study looks to biological enzymes as source of hydrogen fuel

Links:
Article : https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/11/191125120936.htm
Related Article: https://www.chemeurope.com/en/news/1163900/biological-enzymes-as-source-of-hydrogen-fuel.html

Biological enzymes, called hydrogenases, are nature's machinery for making and burning hydrogen gas. These enzymes come in two varieties, iron-iron and nickel-iron -- named for the elements responsible for driving the chemical reactions. The new study focuses on the iron-iron variety because it does the job faster, the researchers said.

Research from the University of Illinois and the University of California, Davis has chemists one step closer to recreating nature's most efficient machinery for generating hydrogen gas. This new development may help clear the path for the hydrogen fuel industry to move into a larger role in the global push toward more environmentally friendly energy sources.


This was an interesting article to read. Currently, hydrogen gas is produced using a very complex industrial process that limits its attractiveness to the green fuel market, the researchers said. In response, scientists are looking toward biologically synthesized hydrogen, which is far more efficient than the current human-made process, said chemistry professor and study co-author Thomas Rauchfuss.

How Stress Affects Our Response to the Environment

In this study done on rhesus monkeys, female monkeys were slowly introduced to each other to form a group of five female monkeys. The point of introducing them one after another was to play to their concept of seniority. The monkeys earliest in the group were considered socially superior to the ones introduced to the group later. After a year, they mixed up the members and reintroduced them so they would have different rankings. Blood was drawn from the first and second round of groups to compare how they are affected by bacterial and viral disease. The data showed that more than 5,000 genes were expressed differently in the blood collected from the second round fighting off a bacterial infection, and almost 3,000 genes were expressed differently from viral infection. Both of these changes are a result of social ranks the monkeys first had, to the change in behaviour when their rank shifted. It shows conclusively that past experiences do impact how we respond to our world, even as an adult.



original link: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/326755.php#6
related link: http://primate.uchicago.edu/2011CayoBook02.pdf