Navigation Links
'Barren' seafloor teeming with microbial life
Date:5/28/2008

ed how much biomass could theoretically be supported by chemical reactions with the basalt. They then compared this figure to the actual biomass measured. It was completely consistent, Edwards said.

This lends support to the idea that bacteria survive on energy from the crust, a process that could affect our knowledge about the deep-sea carbon cycle and even evolution.

For example, many scientists believe that shallow water, not deep water, cradled the planets first life. They reason that the dark carbon-poor depths appear to offer little energy, and rich environments like hydrothermal vents are relatively sparse.

But the newfound abundance of seafloor microbes makes it theoretically possible that early life thrivedand maybe even beganon the seafloor.

Some might even favor the deep ocean for the emergence of life since it was a bastion of stability compared with the surface, which was constantly being blasted by comets and other objects, Edwards suggested.

Still, current knowledge of the deep biosphere can fit on the head of a pin, Edwards said. Most seafloor bacteria uncovered in this study show little relation to those cultivated in labs, which makes experimentation difficult.

Rather than bringing bacteria to the lab, however, Edwards plans to bring the lab to bacteriawith a microbial observatory 15,000 feet below sea level.

Thanks to a $3.9-million grant awarded in March by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Edwards and over 30 colleagues will continue studying seafloor bacteria, but will also study their subseafloor cousins that cycle through the porous rock.

The first expedition of its kind, the drilling operation will penetrate 100 meters of sediments and 500 meters of bedrock.

Besides experiments aimed at learning how precisely these bacteria alter rock, the scientists will measure the diversity, abundance and relatedness of microbes at different depths.

This will
'/>"/>

Contact: Terah DeJong
tdejong@usc.edu
213-740-8606
University of Southern California
Source:Eurekalert

0

GOOD

Page: 1 2 3

Related biology news :

1. Scientists find bacteria thriving on a feast of seafloor rock
2. Microbial stowaways: Are ships spreading disease?
3. Undergraduates develop dirt-powered microbial fuel cells to light Africa
4. Expanded histology methods book covers processing of animal, plant, and microbial tissues
5. Climate changing gas from some surprising microbial liaisons
6. Genes selective signature aids detection of natural selection in microbial evolution
7. Bioinformatics technology developed at Argonne provides new insight into microbial activities
8. Latest Integrated Microbial Genomes data management system update release
9. Microbial fuel cells turn on the juice
10. Microbial biofilms evoke Jekyll & Hyde effects
11. Hydrothermal vents: Hot spots of microbial diversity
Post Your Comments:
*Name:
*Comment:
*Email:
(Date:5/22/2013)... the whole organism, as they may lead to life-threatening ... now report how byproducts of respiration cause mispairing of ... our cells controls the form and function of every ... are encoded in the linear sequence of the four ... (C), guanine (G) and thymine (T). Random changes in ...
(Date:5/22/2013)... details on how climate change will affect interactions between ... Journal of Animal Ecology . This knowledge, they ... policymakers of how species are likely to be impacted ... growing recognition among biologists that climate change is affecting ... is going to have very important consequences for the ...
(Date:5/22/2013)... biodiversity of pollinating insects and wild plants have slowed ... Researchers led by the University of Leeds and the ... of dramatic reductions in the diversity of species in ... 1980s. , But the picture brightened markedly after 1990, ... among bees, hoverflies and wild plants. , ...
Breaking Biology News(10 mins):DNA damage: The dark side of respiration 2UCLA life scientists present new insights on climate change and species interactions 2UCLA life scientists present new insights on climate change and species interactions 3UCLA life scientists present new insights on climate change and species interactions 4UCLA life scientists present new insights on climate change and species interactions 5Encouraging signs for bee biodiversity 2Encouraging signs for bee biodiversity 3
... vaginalis colonises the urogenital tract and causes the infection also ... of Queensland PhD scholar Rebecca Dunne was one of a ... sequence the genome, which could offer clues to better treatments ... the results would allow researchers to hone in on genes ...
... A group of organisms that has never had sex ... managed to evolve into distinct species, says new research ... is necessary for organisms to diversify and provides scientists ... first place. , The research, published in PLoS ...
... cells from being forced to devour themselves, removing one ... researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson ... Cancer Research. , The protein tissue transglutaminase, known by ... at M. D. Anderson and elsewhere to be overexpressed ...
Cached Biology News:Scientists perform 'tricky' operation 2No sex for 40 million years? No problem 2Protein found to shield pancreatic cancer cells from self-destruction 2
(Date:5/23/2013)... Can economic incentives such as gift cards, ... the public to increase their donations of blood? , ... Business School Assistant Professor Mario Macis says the ... body of recent research that supports their argument, the ... of Science that the World Health Organization and national ...
(Date:5/23/2013)... , May 23, 2013  Rahal Letterman Lanigan ... human cord blood stem cell banking and therapeutics, announced ... the No. 16 Acorn Stairlifts Indy car driven by ... the remainder of the IZOD IndyCar 2013 season.   ... will work to support awareness of umbilical cord blood ...
(Date:5/23/2013)... May 23, 2013  Saddleback Memorial Medical Center in ... the first hospital on the West Coast to perform ... surgical option provides women with a state-of-the-art, minimally invasive ... Marc Winter , M.D., a highly regarded ... medical director of minimally invasive surgery at Saddleback Memorial, ...
(Date:5/23/2013)... May 23, 2013 Z Trim Holdings, Inc. ... to a variety of industries, announced that Chef ... discussion at this year,s National Restaurant Association ("NRA") NRA ... behalf of the Research Chefs Association.  Chef Ryan spoke ... Good, the Bad and the Ugly," joining four other ...
Breaking Biology Technology:Offering Economic Incentives to Attract Blood Donations Should Be Encouraged, Research Team writes in Science 2Offering Economic Incentives to Attract Blood Donations Should Be Encouraged, Research Team writes in Science 3StemCyte, Inc. Joins Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing As Associate Sponsor Of No. 16 IndyCar Program For James Jakes Beginning With The 97th Indianapolis 500 2StemCyte, Inc. Joins Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing As Associate Sponsor Of No. 16 IndyCar Program For James Jakes Beginning With The 97th Indianapolis 500 3Saddleback Memorial Surgeon First on the West Coast to Perform Single-Site Robotic Hysterectomy 2Saddleback Memorial Surgeon First on the West Coast to Perform Single-Site Robotic Hysterectomy 3Z Trim's Chef Erin Ryan sits on Expert Panel at NRA Show 2Z Trim's Chef Erin Ryan sits on Expert Panel at NRA Show 3
... , Automation makes a business competitive this ... medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). However, for many SMEs, the standard ... or too expensive. SMErobot now promises to give new ... and medium-sized businesses: this EU project is developing an ...
... As the leading distributor of market,intelligence, MarketResearch.com ... Spectra Intelligence which allows for the marketing ... the,MarketResearch.com website., The new relationship offers ... complete product descriptions and tables of contents ...
... /PRNewswire/ -. Actavis Group, the,international generic pharmaceuticals company, ... U.S. Food & Drug,Administration. Distribution of the product ... generic equivalent to Pfizer,s,Camptosar(R) will be available in ... sizes and is,used in the treatment of patients ...
Cached Biology Technology:SMErobot: A new generation of robots for small and medium-sized enterprises at Automatica 2008 2SMErobot: A new generation of robots for small and medium-sized enterprises at Automatica 2008 3SMErobot: A new generation of robots for small and medium-sized enterprises at Automatica 2008 4MarketResearch.com Announces Distribution of Spectra Intelligence Research 2Actavis Receives Approval for Irinotecan Hydrochloride Injection; Extends US Portfolio with First Injectable Product 2
... software for the microscopy market by ... components and peripherals with powerful archiving, ... intuitive interface simplifies workflow and speeds ... powerful features such as image stitching, ...
AVOID FREEZE/THAW CYCLES. Recognizes the ~32 kDa DNase IIα chain and the ~40 kDa proenzyme. DNase II causes both DNA condensation and DNA fragmentation. ...
Vented Caps for 75 cm2 Flasks...
I-Ab MHC Class II...
Biology Products: