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[compost_tea] New research announcement on using ultrasound



I know this is going the wrong way on bacterial growth, but this could be used for disinfection of plastic containers, as well as the big ramifications on other bacterial clean up.
 
The link below takes you to a news story on how a firm has discovered that ultrasound can be used for 30 seconds or so to kill Bt, and most likely anthrax bacteria.  Here's a quote:
 
"High-power ultrasound, currently used for cell disruption, particle size reduction, welding and vaporization, has been shown to be 99.99 percent effective in killing bacterial spores after only 30 seconds of non contact exposure in experiments conducted by researchers at Penn State and Ultran Labs, Boalsburg, Pa."
 
"Hoover explains that the team used Bt spores in their experiments rather than the deadly anthrax spores found to contaminate mail last year. Bt, bacillus thuringiensis, is a common commercial insecticide and is also a close cousin of the anthrax bacillus. "Bacillus anthracis and bacillus thuringiensis are very close relatives," she adds. "They differ by only a few genes on their plasmids that encode different toxins. If you remove those plasmids, Bt cannot be distinguished from B. anthracis and therefore can serve as a safe model for testing."    "
 
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2002/12/021216071144.htm
 
One of the first applications will be on cleaning mail in the Post Office.  I thought "what about cleaning compost tea tanks"?
 
If this technique is duplicated by other scientists and technologists (this list?) then the technique will have very wide application for anyone in the hort business.
 
John Dunbar

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