Don't Eat the Snow.... Even If It's Not Yellow
Post Source: Yahoo News
Most snowflakes are armed with a surprise before they ever fall to the earth. Normally for a snowflake to form the moisture needs a so-called nucleator to cling to. More often rather than a particle of dust or other matter these nucleators are bacteria.
"Bacteria are by far the most active ice nuclei in nature," said Brent C. Christner, an assistant professor of biological sciences at Louisiana State University.
Christner and colleagues sampled snow from Antarctica, France, Montana and the Yukon and they report their findings in Friday's edition of the journal Science.
In some samples as much as 85 percent of the nuclei were bacteria, Christner said in a telephone interview. The bacteria were most common in France, followed by Montana and the Yukon, and was even present to a lesser degree in Antarctica.
The most common bacteria found was Pseudomonas syringae, which can cause disease in several types of plants including tomatoes and beans.
The study found it in 20 samples of snow from around the world and subsequent research has also found it in summer rainfall in Louisiana.
Christner and colleagues sampled snow from Antarctica, France, Montana and the Yukon and they report their findings in Friday's edition of the journal Science.
In some samples as much as 85 percent of the nuclei were bacteria, Christner said in a telephone interview. The bacteria were most common in France, followed by Montana and the Yukon, and was even present to a lesser degree in Antarctica.
The most common bacteria found was Pseudomonas syringae, which can cause disease in several types of plants including tomatoes and beans.
The study found it in 20 samples of snow from around the world and subsequent research has also found it in summer rainfall in Louisiana.
Fortunately the bacteria appear to be more harmful to plants than people, but it isn't known whether getting rid of the bacteria would decrease precipitation amounts. There's more to read, click the link above.