Speculative Fact #303: Cool Bacteria Can Make Ice

At room temperature ice cubes have a tendency to melt, and boiling hot water tends to cool off as it reaches an equilibrium with its environment. A bacterium called Pseudomonas syringae can freeze water even at temperatures above freezing.
            The bacterium’s cell membrane has a protein called inaZ that acts as a mold. Different parts of the protein pull or repel water molecules until they’re arranged in a crystalline lattice which then dissipates heat.
            They’re currently used to make snow at ski resorts, but other applications could revolutionize refrigeration techniques and climate control. Tapping into this ability might give future engineers a cleaner and more eco-friendly way to make ice. As writers, let’s also wonder what other kinds of environmental tweaks living things could make. What if specially engineered microbes could convert industrial waste and clean up oil spills? Nature shows us time and again how creative and resourceful it can be.

-Jonathan Hernandez