Scientists Turn to Microscopic Bacteria for Help With Spreading Oil
PBS Newshour (print and video) – July 8
…These researchers from the University of Alabama tolerate it because they’re trying to figure out whether science can help nature deal with the influx of oil that’s expected to hit this marsh any day now. The BP spill may be killing marsh grasses all over the coast, but it’s a potential buffet table for some varieties of microbes. And it’s those microbes, naturally occurring bacteria that actually eat oil that these scientists want to study. Patricia Sobecky is the chairman of the Department of Biological Sciences. “We got this project going about a — I guess about a month or so ago. We wanted to get a baseline of the salt marsh and the water column microbial populations before any oil impact had come in, maybe some physical manipulations. But we need to know what the system looked like before the initial impact. And, as it changes over time, are there microbial populations that came up that could potentially degrade the oil, or are they not responding over time? So, we have got to have that control.”…Behzad Mortazavi, University of Alabama: “They’re going to be challenging as far as cleanup effort goes, because, unlike the beach environment, where maybe a truck could be driven over the beach and tar balls collected or the sheen washed, pressure-washed, at the marsh ecosystems, it’s nearly impossible to do that…We would like to supplement these microbes with organic matter, basically giving them a vitamin pill to accelerate the metabolism of these bacteria, to enhance their growth rate, and, along with that, potentially enhance the degradation of the oil.”…
Building nearly complete
Tuscaloosa News – July 9
Work is almost finished on a new home for the College of Nursing at the University of Alabama…The building should be cleared for occupancy next week, he said. Faculty and staff from the nursing college should begin moving in July 19, with students taking classes in the new rooms when the fall semester starts in August…For many visitors to UA, it will be the first campus building they see. “It’s a gateway building to the campus, and it certainly serves that purpose,” Leopard said. “You can see it coming down (U.S. Highway) 82, which has always been a challenge for the university. Even though there was a sign, people coming down 82 didn’t really notice campus until they started seeing buildings.”…
A Look Inside Bryant-Denny Stadium
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – July 8
…one of the new features here in the south endzone is the marketplace where on either side they have a two thousand square foot area. And they even have a welcome center for admission for the University of Alabama…