Nanoparticles formed by the binding of proteins to crystallizing mineral ions resemble budding bacterial cells under an electron microscope.
Image: Courtesy of John D. Young and Jan Martel
In Brief
- Discoveries of purported nanoscale bacteria caused shock and excitement because the organisms seemed too small to live.
- Claims for the tiniest of pathogens outpaced scientific validation until the authors and other scientists showed that although the particles appeared alive, in fact they were merely aberrant crystallizations of minerals and organic molecules.
- The mineral-protein interactions that produce the nanoparticles nonetheless reveal details of processes that can protect or undermine human health.
Evidence of life on Mars, even if only in the distant past, would finally answer the age-old question of whether living beings on Earth are alone in the universe. The magnitude of such a discovery is illustrated by President Bill Clinton’s appearance at a 1996 press conference to announce that proof had been found at last. A meteorite chipped from the surface of the Red Planet some 15 million years ago appeared to contain the fossil remains of tiny life-forms that indicated life had once existed on Mars.
Geologic research showing that similar creatures, smaller than any beings previously encountered or even imagined, could have shaped Earth’s early terrain suggested these specimens might be relics from the very dawn of life. The only news that could top such findings would come next: evidence that those ancient entities, which would come to be known as nanobacteria, were still among us—indeed, dwelling in our own bodies and potentially causing a range of illnesses.
Already a Digital subscriber? Sign-in Now
If your institution has site license access, enter here.
See what we're tweeting about
18 Comments
Add CommentGood article. Does anyone know of any testing labs that can check for nanobacteria. There used to be one in Europe, but I think it closed.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisRogerbundy66@gmail.com
~
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thiswww.nanobiotech.us
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI SURE THERE WAS LIFE ON MARS , AS THERE HAS TO BE LIFE OUT THERE IN SPACE . SOME NOT AND SOME MORE ADVANCED THEN US .
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisBILL CLINTON IS AND WILL ALWAYS BE ONE OF THE BEST PRESIDENTS , IF NOT THE BEST WE HAVE HAD SO FAR . MORE POWER TO HIM.
Sounds to me as though so called nanobacteria are more a subject for study under the heading of physics than for any form of biological study. I've culled the following statement, which seems relevant here, from a paper on cosmology I'm presently working on: "No, the figure above is not simply a poor representation of a ball, or a balloon or the letter O. It is a drawing of a consistent, persistent inferior field of force being contained by a persistent consistent superior field of force. It is a bubble of force, of course, and I say of course because it is the most familiar and ubiquitous shape in the universe. It is the bubble in a bottle of soda pop, it is the moon, the earth and the stars, it is the shape of each of the discrete pieces of water emerging from a faucet & reshaped as a liquid flow by the illusion of our so-called persistence of vision, and it is probably the shape of the universe, or the infinite universe of universes we inhabit." Anywhere in the universe that a field of energy is fully contained by a stronger field of energy a sphere is formed, either permanently or temporarily, regardless of scale or of quantum level. What we may have here, bearing in mind the science behind the discovery of prions, is a necessary but not sufficient condition for the formation of life, i.e. the form that matter must take before it can evolve or form the program of life in the polymers of deoxyribonucleic acid. We can therefore expect to find these formations wherever we look including in extraterrestrial material coming in from other interstellar bodies. But this is not ho-hum stuff because we may be on the verge of discovering new modes of formation or transmission, and therefore modes of control, of some of our most puzzling diseases. If we can understand the part these particles play in the formation of our more intransigent pathogens we may be able to forestall their formation or enlist them in purging these pathogens from human organs and tissue.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this"Anything that Bill Clinton says is tanned by the fact that he hates America."
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisDo the people who make remarks like that have an inkling how stupid, and childish, a remark like that makes them appear?
No, I'm surprised someone that ignorant is even reading articles on this website. To think that a two-term United States President actually hates The United States is simply ridiculous. This type of ignorance and hatred is what is hurting the U.S. in the global community. People think that every person in our country is this ignorant, which is not true. However, the number of people who have radical views like these have the time to troll the internet and spread their ignorance while the people who are genuinely interested in science and other scholarly pursuits are busy working hard and trying to make our country and our planet a better place.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisNice pictures, but the conclusion may be not correct.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWhy do you not give 40 Gray x-ray on your culture medium? This would be the only way to kill nanobacteria in fetal bovine serum.
Nice pictures, but the conclusion may be not correct.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWhy do you not give 40 Gray x-ray on your culture medium? would be the only way to kill nanobacteria in fetal bovine serum.
well said!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thishttp://www.springerlink.com/content/q01p65982m263215/
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisCould this be relevant, does anyone think?
A pity the authors overlooked the work of Philippa Uwins in Australia circa 1999
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI guess by that measured response, that George W. Bush also hates America, since he too was an American president!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI gather by extension then that George W. Bush also hates America, since he too was an American President!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWe read with great interest the article by Young and Martel because of our long standing interest in understanding mechanisms of soft tissue calcification in human disease. While we agree in principle with the conclusions and hypotheses proposed by the authors, a few points warrant clarification and comment.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe authors state that calcium carbonate-phosphate mixtures are rather sticky . Therefore, the presence of various proteins, lipids and even nucleic acids in calcified nanoparticles developed from homogenates of diseased tissues as is reported in Am. J. Physiol. 287:H1115-H1124, 2004 [1] is consistent with observations and conclusions of Young and Martel.
We agree with Young and Martel that understanding mineral-organic complexes and their potential compartmentalization in disease pathogenesis and development of biofilm is an exciting current area of research. Unlike the authors, in addition to mammalian fetuin and albumin, we have consistently identified large quantities of prokaryotic proteins with interesting biochemical properties (e.g., elongation factor tu), as well as pieces of prokaryotic DNA, within biologic nanoparticles[2], Furthermore, different nanoparticle isolates have distinct pathologic potential when injected into rabbits[3]. Interestingly, recent studies in our laboratory also suggest that specific enzymes may be required for active nanoparticle calcification in vitro. In parallel studies, we have identified nano-/micro-sized vesicles in human blood that contain enzymatic activity and even cellular products [4]. These vesicles bear interesting similarities to the nanoparticles isolated and propagated from diseased human tissues. The potential contribution of microbial cell products to foci of calcification in human tissues remains to be defined, but if present could explain apparent contradictory findings.
Our current working model envisions biologic nanoparticles as an interesting accumulation of mineral components and proteins, including ones with active enzymatic activities. We have, in fact, assiduously avoided promoting them as a novel life form, to the extent that we have consistently used the nomenclature nanoparticle (as opposed to the previous nano bacteria ). Nevertheless, the fact that these particles can accelerate vascular stenosis when injected in an experimental animal suggests that further understanding of the mechanisms by which nanoparticles form could shed fresh insight into disease pathogenesis
Active scientific debate aimed at understanding mechanisms behind innovative concepts such as nanoparticles combined with active collaboration between clinical investigators nd basic scientists from diverse disciplines (chemistry, physiology and materials science) will allow advances in the application of nanoparticles to benefit health. We welcome such collaborations,
John C. Lieske, MD, PhD
Professor, Nephrology
Virginia M. Miller, PhD
Professor, Surgery and Physiology
1. Miller VM, Rodgers G, Charlesworth JA, Kirkland B, Severson SR, Rasmussen TE, Yagubyan M, Rodgers JC, Cockerill FR, III, Folk RL, Kumar V, Farell-Baril G, Lieske JC (2004) Evidence of nanobacterial-like structures in human calcified arteries and cardiac valves. Am J Physiol: Heart Circ Physiol 287:H1115-H1124.
2. Kumar V, Farell G, Yu S, Harrington S, Fitzpatrick L, Rzewuska E, Miller VM, Lieske JC (2006) Cell biology of pathologic renal calcification: contribution of crystal transcytosis, cell-mediated calcification, and nanoparticles. J Investig Med 54:412-24
3. Schwartz MK, Lieske JC, Hunter LW, Miller VM (2009) Systemic Injection of Planktonic Forms of Mammalian-derived Nanoparticles Alters Arterial Response to Injury in Rabbits. AJP Heart & Circ 296:1434-1441
4. Schwartz MK, Hunter LW, Huebner M, Lieske JC, Miller VM (2009) Characterization of biofilm formed by human-derived nanoparticles. Nanomedicine 4:931-941
We read with great interest the article by Young and Martel because of our long standing interest in understanding mechanisms of soft tissue calcification in human disease. While we agree in principle with the conclusions and hypotheses proposed by the authors, a few points warrant clarification and comment.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe authors state that “calcium carbonate-phosphate mixtures are rather sticky”. Therefore, the presence of various proteins, lipids and even nucleic acids in calcified nanoparticles developed from homogenates of diseased tissues as is reported in Am. J. Physiol. 287:H1115-H1124, 2004 [1] is consistent with observations and conclusions of Young and Martel.
We agree with Young and Martel that understanding mineral-organic complexes and their potential compartmentalization in disease pathogenesis and development of biofilm is an exciting current area of research. Unlike the authors, in addition to mammalian fetuin and albumin, we have consistently identified large quantities of prokaryotic proteins with interesting biochemical properties (e.g., elongation factor tu), as well as pieces of prokaryotic DNA, within biologic nanoparticles[2], Furthermore, different nanoparticle isolates have distinct pathologic potential when injected into rabbits[3]. Interestingly, recent studies in our laboratory also suggest that specific enzymes may be required for active nanoparticle calcification in vitro. In parallel studies, we have identified nano-/micro-sized vesicles in human blood that contain enzymatic activity and even cellular products [4]. These vesicles bear interesting similarities to the nanoparticles isolated and propagated from diseased human tissues. The potential contribution of microbial cell products to foci of calcification in human tissues remains to be defined, but if present could explain apparent contradictory findings.
Our current working model envisions biologic nanoparticles as an interesting accumulation of mineral components and proteins, including ones with active enzymatic activities. We have, in fact, assiduously avoided promoting them as a novel life form, to the extent that we have consistently used the nomenclature “nanoparticle” (as opposed to the previous “nano bacteria”). Nevertheless, the fact that these particles can accelerate vascular stenosis when injected in an experimental animal suggests that further understanding of the mechanisms by which nanoparticles form could shed fresh insight into disease pathogenesis
Active scientific debate aimed at understanding mechanisms behind innovative concepts such as nanoparticles combined with active collaboration between clinical investigators nd basic scientists from diverse disciplines (chemistry, physiology and materials science) will allow advances in the application of nanoparticles to benefit health. We welcome such collaborations,
John C. Lieske, MD, PhD
Professor, Nephrology
Virginia M. Miller, PhD
Professor, Surgery and Physiology
1. Miller VM, Rodgers G, Charlesworth JA, Kirkland B, Severson SR, Rasmussen TE, Yagubyan M, Rodgers JC, Cockerill FR, III, Folk RL, Kumar V, Farell-Baril G, Lieske JC (2004) Evidence of nanobacterial-like structures in human calcified arteries and cardiac valves. Am J Physiol: Heart Circ Physiol 287:H1115-H1124.
2. Kumar V, Farell G, Yu S, Harrington S, Fitzpatrick L, Rzewuska E, Miller VM, Lieske JC (2006) Cell biology of pathologic renal calcification: contribution of crystal transcytosis, cell-mediated calcification, and nanoparticles. J Investig Med 54:412-24
3. Schwartz MK, Lieske JC, Hunter LW, Miller VM (2009) Systemic Injection of Planktonic Forms of Mammalian-derived Nanoparticles Alters Arterial Response to Injury in Rabbits. AJP Heart & Circ 296:1434-1441
4. Schwartz MK, Hunter LW, Huebner M, Lieske JC, Miller VM (2009) Characterization of biofilm formed by human-derived nanoparticles. Nanomedicine 4:931-941
omg how do they relate to the characteristcis of life and the cell theory, i need urgent help...please reply asap :)
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisHELLPP ME FU
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this