Microbes work to mop up oil Some months ago I posted on the scientificblogging.com on my site that probably microbes have eaten the oil away. This was based on my interaction with Dr Banwari lal of TERI India who discovered and pioneered this mixture to scavenger the spilled oil. It was no wonder to me as almost all the organic material on the earth is eaten up by bacteria. Hydrocarbons also come in this category. Here again this view was supported by recent findings of Lawrence Berkley laboratory. I am quoting the report from Terry Hazen of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and his colleagues found increases in several bacteria varieties degrading the hydrocarbons within the oil's reach. "These results ... imply that there exists a potential for intrinsic bioremediation of oil contaminants in the deep-sea, and that oil-degrading communities could play a significant role in controlling the ultimate fates of hydrocarbons in the Gulf," the authors wrote in their report. "There are bacteria out there that really make a living off of degrading oil," said biological oceanographer William (Monty) Graham of the Dauphin Island Sea Lab and University of South Alabama. "The paper shows that [the bacteria] were able to respond quite quickly to the presence of the oil." Read more: Microbes work to mop up oil - The Scientist - Magazine of the Life Sciences http://www.the-scientist.com/blog/display/57631/#ixzz0xZ6ibt9K