Scientists stumbled across the first known manganese-fueled bacteria
Two species of bacteria left telltale manganese metal pebbles in a dirty lab jar left to soak
![Bacteria that eat manganese](https://i0.wp.com/www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/071620_cb_manganese_feat.jpg?fit=1028%2C579&ssl=1)
Newly discovered bacteria use manganese to grow, transforming the metal into roughly half-millimeter-wide lumps of manganese oxide shown here in this colorized scanning electron micrograph.
H. Yu/Caltech