Navigation Links
UCSB scientists probe sea floor venting to gain understanding of early life on Earth

New keys to understanding the evolution of life on Earth may be found in the microbes and minerals vented from below the ocean floor, say scientists at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

The UCSB scientists are making new contributions to this field of inquiry in their studies of seafloor hydrothermal fluid discharge into the Earth's oceans, which has been occurring ever since the oceans first formed four billion years ago. Conditions below the sea floor may most closely mimic the environment when life began.

"There is a great deal of interest in the microbes of the Earth's crust because the strategies by which they survive may be similar to the earliest strategies of life on Earth, and perhaps also on other planetary bodies," said Rachel M. Haymon, UCSB professor of geology.

Newly discovered geological and biological manifestations of hydrothermal activity at two sites on the sea floor to the west of Central America are reported by Haymon, lead author, and three other UCSB geologists in the February issue of the journal, Geology.

The discovery of deep sea hot springs and an abundance of microbes in the subseafloor are among the most remarkable scientific findings in Earth science during the latter half of the twentieth century, and have now become a powerful motivation for research and exploration, according to the National Science Foundation, a major funder of this work. The NSF explains that subseafloor ecosystems may represent both the cradle of life on Earth and a model for the exploration and discovery of life on other planets.

"We are highly conscious of the importance of microbes in the grand scheme of things," said Haymon. "Indeed, they are the greatest biomass on the planet. They are strongly implicated as the earliest life here and perhaps elsewhere."

The direct linkages between life and planetary processes on the volcanically active, deep-sea, mid-ocean ridge system can only be understood through t
'"/>

Source:University of California - Santa Barbara


Page: 1 2 3

Related biology news :

1. Wisconsin scientists grow critical nerve cells
2. UAB scientists discover the origin of a mysterious physical force
3. Fox Chase Cancer Center scientists identify immune-system mutation
4. Weizmann Institute scientists develop a new approach for directing treatment to metastasized prostate cancer in the bones.
5. U-M scientists find genes that control growth of common skin cancer
6. UCLA scientists transform HIV into cancer-seeking missile
7. RNA project to create language for scientists worldwide
8. Carnegie Mellon scientists develop tool that uses MRI to visualize gene expression in living animals
9. To control germs, scientists deploy tiny agents provocateurs
10. Leprosy microbes lead scientists to immune discovery
11. Integration of Agilents MS technology, Proteome Systems software to help scientists in proteomics research

Post Your Comments:
(Date:11/19/2009)..., Ind. - Purdue University scientists have helped ...ible for cell wall development in maize, an effort...oduce the biomass best suited for biofuels product...rpita, a professor of plant cell biology, publishe... journal Plant Physiology on Thursday (Nov. 19)....
(Date:11/19/2009)..., University of Cincinnati professor of paleontolo... co-author Michael Foote of the University of Chic... Science with their paper, "Epicontinental Seas ...xtinction and Origination." , For many years, pa...y of biodiversity have focused on charting the man...
(Date:11/19/2009)...frey Receives Competitive NIH Director,s T-R01 Awa...in the Dark , Dr. Samie Jaffrey, associate profe...ege, is among the first researchers to win a prest...m the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Jaffrey a...n recognition technologies that may some day speed...
Breaking Biology News(10 mins):Maize cell wall genes identified, giving boost to biofuel research 2Paleontologists find extinction rates higher in open-ocean settings during mass extinctions 2Paleontologists find extinction rates higher in open-ocean settings during mass extinctions 3Paleontologists find extinction rates higher in open-ocean settings during mass extinctions 4Weill Cornell science briefs: November 2009 2Weill Cornell science briefs: November 2009 3Weill Cornell science briefs: November 2009 4Weill Cornell science briefs: November 2009 5Professor Uses H1N1 as a Teaching Tool 56956 1Professor Uses H1N1 as a Teaching Tool 56956 2Professor Uses H1N1 as a Teaching Tool 56956 3Muslim Coalition to Host D C Hearing on Health Care Reform 56951 1Muslim Coalition to Host D C Hearing on Health Care Reform 56951 2synthesis Whats the Real Objective Outcomes 21 56946 1
...a newly established nonprofit organization, is ple...website (www.rsrt.org). In the wake of last year,... the Trust has been formed to pursue the next step... the increasing range of MECP2 spectrum disorders....s addressing the underlying MECP2 pathology to cli...
...http://www.kount.com ), a leading provider of frau... that the company has received a US patent for,its...ls say patent number 7,330,871 "Online Machine Dat...ethod for identifying a,customer computer involved... "An important step in combating fraud is accurat...
...rgy and environment experts are participating in a...ouston, addressing the implications of climate cha...The Science and Policy of Climate Change" lecture ...from 5:45 to 7:15 p.m. Mondays through Nov. 17. T...oom 101 of the Cameron Building on the UH campus. ...
Other Biology News:The Rett Syndrome Research Trust launches operations 2The Rett Syndrome Research Trust launches operations 3Kount Receives Patent for Device Fingerprinting 2Experts discuss climate change during UH lecture series 2
(Date:11/19/2009)... , ,, BETHESDA, Md., Nov. 19 /PRNewswi...EX ), an innovator in biotechnology for diabetes t... consulting services to food, supplement, biotechn...y it closed the previously reported $6.3 million r...ors of 2,760,870 shares of its common stock and wa...
(Date:11/19/2009)... , MALVERN, Pa. and WALTHAM, Mass., Nov. 19... and Decision Resources find that the leading driv... in Europe is broad-spectrum activity against gram...variety of organisms that can cause nosocomial pne...hey look primarily for agents that provide appropr...
(Date:11/19/2009)... Top LASIK surgeons and recogn...d at Trusted LASIK Surgeons made brought their fel... in vision correction surgery, cataract surgery, a...ded American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) annual... Lindstrom, Dr. Shachar Tauber, Dr. David Huang, M...
(Date:11/19/2009)... , VIENNA, Austria, November 19 /PRNews...cine program on one product candidate at an unexpe...didate AD02 is planned to enter into,Phase II clin...pany,immediately follows the completion of two Pha... company based its fast decision on the first inte...
Breaking Biology Technology:Spherix Announces the Closing of $6.3 Million Registered Direct Offering 2Spherix Announces the Closing of $6.3 Million Registered Direct Offering 3Broad-Spectrum Antibacterial Activity is the Most Important Driver of Antibiotic Selection for Nosocomial Pneumonia In Europe 2Broad-Spectrum Antibacterial Activity is the Most Important Driver of Antibiotic Selection for Nosocomial Pneumonia In Europe 3Experts Listed at Trusted LASIK Surgeons Bring Peers Up to Date on Vision Correction and Cataract Surgery at Annual AAO Meeting 2Experts Listed at Trusted LASIK Surgeons Bring Peers Up to Date on Vision Correction and Cataract Surgery at Annual AAO Meeting 3Experts Listed at Trusted LASIK Surgeons Bring Peers Up to Date on Vision Correction and Cataract Surgery at Annual AAO Meeting 4Experts Listed at Trusted LASIK Surgeons Bring Peers Up to Date on Vision Correction and Cataract Surgery at Annual AAO Meeting 5Experts Listed at Trusted LASIK Surgeons Bring Peers Up to Date on Vision Correction and Cataract Surgery at Annual AAO Meeting 6Experts Listed at Trusted LASIK Surgeons Bring Peers Up to Date on Vision Correction and Cataract Surgery at Annual AAO Meeting 7Experts Listed at Trusted LASIK Surgeons Bring Peers Up to Date on Vision Correction and Cataract Surgery at Annual AAO Meeting 8Experts Listed at Trusted LASIK Surgeons Bring Peers Up to Date on Vision Correction and Cataract Surgery at Annual AAO Meeting 9AFFiRiS AG: Interim Analysis of Clinical Phase I Data Triggered Decision to Move Alzheimer's Vaccine Candidate AD02 into Clinical Phase II Testing 2AFFiRiS AG: Interim Analysis of Clinical Phase I Data Triggered Decision to Move Alzheimer's Vaccine Candidate AD02 into Clinical Phase II Testing 3
...y isotyping in only 5 minutes , Weiping Yang...lli ,Stratagene Cloning Systems, Inc. , Strata...g kit is a,simple, rapid and sensitive method fo... in a single step. Each IsoDetect test card is a s...ated anti-mouse antibodies for isotype determinati...
...o imitate neurodegeneration , , Rob D. Dic...ter J. McConathy a,b , a Department of Medicine...rsity of North Texas Health Science Center , ,...at uses Stratagenes,postmitotic human central ne...,aging human brain, neurodegeneration, and to inve...
...ess insertion and one-step purification from a mor...ion, One-Column Purification, and FLAG ,Epitope...borski John Bauer Peter,Vaillancourt ,Strata...IC cloning kit,with the new pCAL-n-FLAG vector. ...s designed for consistent, high-level production a...
Other Biology Technology:Simple, Sensitive Isotyping of Mouse Monoclonal Antibodies 2Simple, Sensitive Isotyping of Mouse Monoclonal Antibodies 3Simple, Sensitive Isotyping of Mouse Monoclonal Antibodies 4Simple, Sensitive Isotyping of Mouse Monoclonal Antibodies 5Sex Steroid Regulation of Vasopressin Levels Secreted by hNT Neurons* 2Sex Steroid Regulation of Vasopressin Levels Secreted by hNT Neurons* 3Sex Steroid Regulation of Vasopressin Levels Secreted by hNT Neurons* 4Sex Steroid Regulation of Vasopressin Levels Secreted by hNT Neurons* 5Sex Steroid Regulation of Vasopressin Levels Secreted by hNT Neurons* 6Sex Steroid Regulation of Vasopressin Levels Secreted by hNT Neurons* 7High-Level Protein Expression, One-Column Purification, and FLAG,Epitope Tagging in E. coli 2High-Level Protein Expression, One-Column Purification, and FLAG,Epitope Tagging in E. coli 3High-Level Protein Expression, One-Column Purification, and FLAG,Epitope Tagging in E. coli 4High-Level Protein Expression, One-Column Purification, and FLAG,Epitope Tagging in E. coli 5High-Level Protein Expression, One-Column Purification, and FLAG,Epitope Tagging in E. coli 6High-Level Protein Expression, One-Column Purification, and FLAG,Epitope Tagging in E. coli 7High-Level Protein Expression, One-Column Purification, and FLAG,Epitope Tagging in E. coli 8
Freund's Incomplete Adjuvant, Modified from Calbiochem
...es output at 470 nm; includes interface cable to S...to rack or desktop boxes The LS-450 Blue LED Pul...lsed or continuous output at 470 nm -- the blue re...is designed for use with Ocean Optics spectrometer...
...NA microarray slides for microRNA expression prof...porate Exiqons unique Locked Nucleic Acid (LNA) te...ellent mismatch discrimination for short microRNA ...han 1 g total RNA (no need for microRNA enrichment...
Freund's Complete Adjuvant, Modified, Mycobacterium butyricum from Calbiochem
Biology Products: