All Extremophiles articles
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NewsSwRI receives $3 million NASA astrobiology grant to study microbial life in Alaska’s arctic sand dunes
Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) has received a three-year, $2,999,998 million grant from NASA to identify and characterize life and its biosignatures in frozen sand dunes in Alaska, under conditions similar to dune fields on early Mars and Saturn’s moon Titan. Source: Southwest Research Institute The Great Kobuk Sand ...
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NewsResearch team publishes paradigm-challenging discovery in a Yellowstone thermophile
A graduating PhD student has made an interesting discovery about a common thermophilic bacteria dwelling in hots prings which is able to simultaneously respirate and metabolize via aerobic and anaerobic pathways.
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NewsSulfur-reducing bacteria team-up to break down organic substances in the seabed
Researchers have decoded the molecular strategies employed by the underappreciated sulfate-reducing bacteria, <i>Desulfobacteraceae</i>, which is capable of breaking down organic carbon in the oxygen-limited seabed.
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NewsMethod detects signs of life in ancient rocks - such as Mars samples
A new instrument was successfully developed to detect microbial lifeforms in ancient Earth rocks analogous to those found on Mars rocks, as a biohazard precaution measure when Mars rock samples are brought to Earth.
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NewsAdaptation to extreme conditions: thermal water biofilm studies could help understand ancient ecosystems
Researchers have discovered unique bacterial communities in thermal waters that may help unravel the development of stromatolites, one of Earth’s oldest rock formations.
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FeaturesFrom Earth to space: the journey of microbes and their survival mechanisms
What purpose could microbes have beyond the planet’s atmosphere? Discover their applications and the survival mechanisms that make microbes so powerful, even beyond Earth.
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NewsStudy probes light-harvesting proteins of purple sulfur bacteria in high-salt, high-alkaline environments
Halorhodospira halophila, a purple sulfur bacterium, is believed to perform photosynthesis efficiently by integrating light harvesting protein complexes LH2 and LH1-RC. Researchers employed cryo-electron microscopy to investigate.
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Long ReadsAdvancing microbial research in the North East Indian Himalaya: a pathway to sustainable hill agriculture
While the North East (NE) Indian Himalaya are famous for their stunning landscapes and rich biodiversity, the region faces numerous agricultural challenges that threaten environmental sustainability and food safety.
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NewsResearchers glean photosynthetic insights from volcanic hot springs
With the use of mathematic modelling, scientists uncovered the mechanisms of specific algae, such as Cyanidioschyzon merolae, to survive in the extreme environment of acidic hot springs near volcanos.
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NewsEfforts to find alien life could be boosted by simple test that triggers microbes
Scientists explored microbial movement as a possible biosignature to detect life on Mars and beyond, cheaper and faster than ever before.
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NewsBioactive compounds with possible industrial applications are identified in extremophilic bacteria from the Andes
Researchers isolated a strain of Pseudomonas alcaligenes that can withstand temperatures as high as 44 °C from a hot spring in Chile, and characterized the substances produced by the bacterium that help it survive extreme conditions.
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NewsLiving in the deep, dark, slow lane: first global appraisal of microbiomes in earth’s subsurface environments
A new study reveals astonishingly high microbial diversity in some of the Earth’s deepest, darkest subsurface environments, including gold mines, in aquifers and deep boreholes in the seafloor.
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NewsDeep-sea hydrothermal vent bacteria hold key to understanding nitrous oxide reduction
Scientists have unearthed a clue to the molecular mechanisms involved in N2O reduction by deep-sea hydrothermal vent bacteria.
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NewsNew super-enzyme could revolutionize CO₂ capture
Scientists have developed new metagenomic analysis tools to identify a super heat-resistant enzyme of biotechnological interest. The enzyme specializes in enhancing the dissolution of CO₂ in water and exhibits unprecedented stability under industrial conditions.
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NewsStudy reveals how ‘Conan the Bacterium’ withstands extreme radiation
Deinococcus radiodurans can withstand radiation doses thousands of times higher than what would kill a human - and scientists have uncovered the secrets of the antioxidant that confers this protection.
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NewsSpecialist under-ice species at risk as Arctic warms
’Specialist’ lifeforms that live under Arctic sea ice are at risk as the ice retreats, new research shows. Scientists studied microscopic organisms in four environments – open ocean, river mouths, coasts and under sea ice – in the sea off northern Canada.
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NewsArctic viruses in the surface microlayer help their hosts to survive extreme temperatures
Arctic viruses employ specialized mechanisms, including cryoprotective genes, to thrive in harsh environmental conditions despite limited host availability, reveals Dr Janina Rahlff from our Ocean Sustainability Advisory Group.
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NewsResearchers use chemistry modeling software to detect conditions for microbial life on icy worlds
Scientists are working to expand software normally used to model electrolytes and predict corrosion and turn it into a tool that can help determine whether ice-covered worlds have the right conditions for microbial life.
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NewsAntarctic streptomyces offer promising biocontrol agents to combat banana wilt
A recent study has unveiled the biotechnological potential of microorganisms from Antarctica. Researchers evaluating the antifungal activity of isolated actinomycete strains found 41.18% of these strains could inhibit the growth of <i>Fusarium oxysporum</i>.
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NewsNew technique reveals the living microbes in Earth’s driest desert
An international team of researchers describes a new way to separate extracellular from intracellular genetic material, providing better insights into microbial life in low-biomass environments such as the Atacama Desert.