Societal Implications and Applications
- Bacteria
o Pest Control: If you hate using smelly and harmful insecticides, you may think about turning to bacteria as a form of natural pest control. ScienceDaily.com reports that certain bacteria take on new characteristics when applied to certain plants, and when consumed by pests like aphids, causes them to degenerate and reproduce more slowly, resulting in natural pest control for you.
Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/29090-good-uses-bacteria/#ixzz2NpUu6VcQ
o Gold: A team of Michigan State University researchers have discovered a bacterium that has the ability to withstand incredible amounts of toxicity to create 24-karat gold. This process, known as microbial alchemy, will help scientists turn a substance of no value into a solid, precious metal.
Read more: http://inhabitat.com/scientists-use-super-strong-bacteria-to-produce-24k-gold/
o Clean Waste: Certain bacteria are used to clean our waste: be it pollution, compost heaps, or sewage: bacteria can get rid of things.
Read more: http://bacteriamuseum.org/cms/Bacteria/applied-bacteriology-use-of-bacteria-in-industry.html
- Virus
o Medicine: Viruses are being used as vectors or carriers that take the required material for treatment of a disease to various target cells. They have been studied extensively in management of inherited diseases and genetic engineering as well as cancers.
o Warfare: Viruses may be tiny but have the capacity to cause death and devastation to large populations in epidemics and pandemics. This has led to the concern that viruses could be used for biological warfare.
o Vaccines: Viruses have been used since the time of Edward Jenner in vaccines.
o Pest Control: Viruses can also be used to control damaging pests.
Read more: http://www.news-medical.net/health/Virus-Uses.aspx
o Solar Power: MIT researchers found that genetically engineered version of a virus can be used to perform molecular-level work in enhancing solar cell efficiency.
Read more: http://www.mnn.com/green-tech/research-innovations/stories/scientists-use-viruses-to-enhance-solar-power
o Generate Electricity: Scientists in the US have developed a way to generate electricity using viruses.
Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-18074644
- Fungi
o Medicine: Ancient Egyptian physicians used moldy bread on battle wounds. Thousands of years later, Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin, and there are many other medicines that have since been synthesized from fungi.
o Agriculture and Industry: The fungus Rhizopus microsporus has been found to markedly increase the efficiency of ethanol production, according to the website ScienceDaily.
o Food: Fungi are low in fat, contain almost no cholesterol and are rich in B vitamins. By dry weight, mushrooms are 20 to 30 percent protein that contains all of the essential amino acids. Mushrooms are a staple ingredient in many cultures' cuisines.
o Dyes: Lichen dyes yield rich colors that are quickly absorbed by fabrics
Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/174197-uses-of-fungus/