{"505181":{"#nid":"505181","#data":{"type":"news","title":"The Chemistry of Microbes","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EMicrobes are living proof of strength in numbers. Too small to be seen with the naked eye, they nonetheless comprise most of the Earth\u2019s biomass, exerting their influence on every aspect of the environment. Understand microbes and you\u2019ve unlocked the door to understanding the past and future of our species and our planet.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003E\u201cIf you think back over history, over geologic time, microorganisms have driven the chemistry of the Earth,\u201d says Jennifer Glass, assistant professor in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences and faculty member of the Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience. \u201cSo our lab tends to be microbe centered.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EHer lab specializes in biogeochemistry, which is, \u201ckind of a medley of disciplines,\u201d says Glass, a program faculty member within the newly established Ph.D. in Quantitative Biosciences (QBioS) at the Georgia Institute of Technology.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EMore than 50 faculty members from a wide range of disciplines came together last fall to launch QBioS. The program\u0027s mission is to train Ph.D. level scientists, enabling the discovery of scientific principles underlying the dynamics, structure, and function of living systems. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003E\u201cThis combination is what is needed from the next generation of scientists if we are to understand principles of living systems and, in turn, tackle global-scale challenges,\u201d says QBioS Director Joshua Weitz, associate professor in the School of Biology, courtesy associate professor in the School of Physics, and a member of the Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EStudents will pursue thesis research across a broad range of themes, including ecology and earth systems, which is Glass\u2019s area.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EGlass and her lab members are particularly interested in researching microbes that produce or consume greenhouse gases (like methane and nitrous oxide, both many times more potent than carbon dioxide). For example, they\u2019d really like to understand how ocean systems do such a good job of both making and quelling the methane that comes from the depths.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003E\u201cA lot of methane is produced in the sediments of the ocean, yet not very much makes it to the atmosphere \u2013 it\u2019s only three percent of global sources,\u201d says Glass, whose research currently draws funding from NASA Exobiology, the NASA Astrobiology Institute Alternative Earths team, and NSF Biological Oceanography. \u201cSo the ocean is very good at trapping most of the methane that is produced in the sediments.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003ESo, on the one hand they\u2019re trying to understand exactly where that potential source of natural gas is coming from, and on the other, they want to understand how to leverage natural processes to scrub out harmful emissions. And this is a team that will routinely go to the source to find its samples.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003E\u201cWe try to make our work environmentally relevant, so we go out and sample marine systems or lakes or lake sediments, trying to get representative samples so that what we\u2019re working on in the lab closely represents what\u2019s in the environment,\u201d says Glass. \u201cYou have to go to these exotic environments to discover novel ways that nature makes and then consumes greenhouse gases.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EGetting out of the lab into world comes naturally to Glass, who grew up in an outdoorsy family in Olympia, Washington.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EShe spent her youth hiking and exploring, romping through marshes with her family, developing an interest in environmental issues that has evolved into full-blown expertise in the clandestine chemistry of microbes and a better grasp of their affect on the Earth\u2019s health.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003E\u201cWe don\u2019t know yet what the applications of the research will be,\u201d says Glass. \u201cBut I think the sky will be the limit.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ELINKS:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.news.gatech.edu\/features\/sampling-sapelo-island\u0022\u003ESampling Sapelo Island\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/microbe.net\/2015\/09\/12\/blood-sweat-and-tears-the-story-behind-the-science\/\u0022\u003EBlood, Sweat and Tears\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/youtu.be\/OLbtiI4iXUA\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EOxygen Minimum Zone (video)\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.jenniferglass.com\u0022\u003EThe Glass Lab\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/qbios.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EQBioS Program\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/qbios.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECONTACT:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022p2\u0022\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/node\/jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJerry Grillo\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications Officer II\u003Cbr \/\u003EParker H. Petit Institute for\u003Cbr \/\u003EBioengineering and Bioscience\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Glass lab exploring the big picture of tiny organisms"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp class=\u0022p1\u0022\u003EGlass lab exploring the big picture of tiny organisms\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Glass lab exploring the big picture of tiny organisms"}],"uid":"28153","created_gmt":"2016-02-23 13:19:02","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:20:49","author":"Jerry Grillo","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2016-02-23T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2016-02-23T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"505171":{"id":"505171","type":"image","title":"Glass lab","body":null,"created":"1456344000","gmt_created":"2016-02-24 20:00:00","changed":"1475895265","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:54:25","alt":"Glass lab","file":{"fid":"204815","name":"glasslab4.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/glasslab4_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/glasslab4_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1489027,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/glasslab4_0.jpg?itok=2A3-yJ3L"}}},"media_ids":["505171"],"groups":[{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"138191","name":"go-qbios"},{"id":"147941","name":"go_qbios"},{"id":"832","name":"greenhouse gas"},{"id":"12800","name":"methane"},{"id":"7572","name":"microbes"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/node\/jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJerry Grillo\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications Officer II\u003Cbr \/\u003EParker H. Petit Institute for\u003Cbr \/\u003EBioengineering and Bioscience\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jerry.grillo@ibb.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}