If I'm not mistaken it's not like just-now new, but of course still fascinating and relatively new. Just from a quick search:<p><a href="https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn25894-meet-the-electric-life-forms-that-live-on-pure-energy" rel="nofollow">https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn25894-meet-the-electr...</a>
If these microbes eat hydrogen then would they not equally be present and more common upon say a rusty electrode as more hydrogen produced via chemical reactions with the water.<p>So I wonder if we have yet to find there niche environment
I don't remember much from my biology class but I seem to remember nearly all life utilizes some ATP cycle. Plants get it from the sun, animals from food, etc. I'm curious to know if this electic life is still ATP based and just utilizes free electrons to create it.
A recent episode of Limitless (<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5146006/" rel="nofollow">http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5146006/</a>) had this as a subplot.
Another item to add to the list of things/ideas explored by Star Trek before being discovered/invented.<p>A somewhat related and interesting read: <a href="http://www.physicscentral.com/buzz/blog/index.cfm?postid=7925996267659095123" rel="nofollow">http://www.physicscentral.com/buzz/blog/index.cfm?postid=792...</a>