Bacteria packed into tiny capillaries are helping detect the greenhouse gas
methane. Previously, ecologists monitoring methane production from organic decay
in wetlands had to rely on time-consuming techniques like gas chromatography.
The novel device, developed by a team at the University of Aarhus in Denmark,
contains bacteria that consume methane, converting it into water and carbon
dioxide鈥攃ompounds that can easily be measured by miniature electrodes.
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