These hungry microbes are turning Earth's worst climate threat into a solution

Story by Somdatta Maity, 1/28/2026

"#Methane is a harmful component for the planet, but researchers have found a way to use it for the environment’s betterment, as published in the journal Energy & Environment Nexus. Methane is an invisible and dangerous gas, as it traps heat faster than carbon dioxide. This enhances global warming. Methane gets incorporated into the atmosphere through coal mines, wastewater plants, landfills, and farms. Most of this gas gets released from places with oxygen-deficient conditions. To monitor their content in the atmosphere, researchers suggest taking help from the methane-eating bacteria called #methanotrophs. These microbes ingest methane as food and break it down using enzymes. This breakdown process transforms methane into #CarbonDioxide.

"Researchers believe that with the right conditions, humans can utilize methanotrophs to reduce harmful methane emissions. The final product of the breakdown, carbon dioxide, is more manageable in terms of global warming. If methane remains in the atmosphere for a century, it heats the planet 28 times more than carbon dioxide. Methane-eating microbes grow naturally in oxygen-deficient circumstances, which implies that they are already present in places from where most methane is released into the atmosphere. Past evaluations reveal that methanotrophs already remove a large share of methane from the atmosphere.

"Strengthening this process could further reduce #GlobalWarming. If researchers achieve this feat, it will reduce the need of energy heavy machines or chemicals, currently used for the pursuit. Through human intervention, methane can be converted into useful products, like cleaner fuels, animal feed, and biodegradable plastics, through the reduction done by methanotrophs. These microbes, by turning methane into valuable materials, also cut down on harmful emissions. Large-scale use of methanotrophs can supposedly trigger low-energy manufacturing pathways, which can significantly slow down climate warming."

Source:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/these-hungry-microbes-are-turning-earth-s-worst-climate-threat-into-a-solution/

Link to paper:
https://www.maxapress.com/article/doi/10.48130/een-0025-0018

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