Department of Energy Argonne National Laboratory Office of Science NEWTON's Homepage NEWTON's Homepage
NEWTON, Ask A Scientist!
NEWTON Home Page NEWTON Teachers Visit Our Archives Ask A Question How To Ask A Question Question of the Week Our Expert Scientists Volunteer at NEWTON! Frequently Asked Questions Referencing NEWTON About NEWTON About Ask A Scientist Education At Argonne Shocking Bacteria 
Name: Ansleigh
Status: Student
Age: 14
Location: N/A
Country: N/A
Date: N/A
Question:
Will I be able to kill bacteria using electrical shock?


Replies:
I wouldn't advise you experimenting with it, but yes, bacteria will be killed by electricity when the shock is high enough. Strange as it sounds, scientists use electricity on bacteria for a different purpose: a non-lethal shock can help 'shoot' DNA into a bacterial cell. That is called electroporation. We don't know exactly how it works, but imagine the electrical current 'draws' DNA into the bacterial cell. The bacteria then incorporate this DNA into their own, with the desired effect for scientific purpose. I know by experience that the bacteria don't survive if you give them too high a shock. So electrocutation is lethal for bacteria also.

Trudy Wassenaar


Click here to return to the Molecular Biology Archives

NEWTON is an electronic community for Science, Math, and Computer Science K-12 Educators, sponsored and operated by Argonne National Laboratory's Educational Programs, Andrew Skipor, Ph.D., Head of Educational Programs.

For assistance with NEWTON contact a System Operator (help@newton.dep.anl.gov), or at Argonne's Educational Programs

NEWTON AND ASK A SCIENTIST
Educational Programs
Building 360
9700 S. Cass Ave.
Argonne, Illinois
60439-4845, USA
Update: June 2012
Weclome To Newton

Argonne National Laboratory