Abstract
The olive-tubercle organism, Bacterium savastanoi, recently described by Erwin F. Smith, 1 when grown in the presence of glucose and an excess of calcium carbonate, converts the greater part of the glucose into calcium gluconate. The amount of energy liberated thereby is exceedingly great in comparison to the weight of the organisms. This is to be explained by the fact that the energy requirements of microörganisms are very much greater than those of higher forms, partly because of the disproportion between the body surface and the body volume of microorganisms, and partly because microörganisms exist in a medium which is an excellent conductor of heat.
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