Category: How do microbes respond to changes in their surroundings?

Microbes from extreme environments help us study space Scientists study extremophilic strains of bacteria and archaea from around the planet to gain valuable insights on their behavior in harsh space environment.

Posted on March 18, 2021April 7, 2021 by Anisha Shastri 543 views

Space is a hostile place. It has numerous stressors which make it seem impossible for Earth-like life to thrive there. Some of these stresses include harmful ultraviolet radiation, anaerobic conditions (environment devoid of oxygen), high temperature, and varying pressure. Extremophiles are organisms that live in…

Can hidden sulfur cycling influence greenhouse gas emissions in wetlands? A recent study revealed that at least some methane emissions from wetlands come from sulfur bacteria living in the area between the creek bed and the groundwater. But, it's not simple. Some bacteria may be limiting methane, too.

Posted on March 2, 2021July 27, 2021 by Mary Sabuda 106 views

Wetlands are the largest source of methane to Earth’s atmosphere. How do microbes, sulfur, and mixing of water sources influence emissions?

Microscopic animals glow in the dark to survive radiation Scientists found a new species of tardigrade that protects itself from UV radiation with the help of a naturally occurring fluorescence in its body.

Posted on January 18, 2021April 2, 2021 by Anurup Mohanty 289 views

Glowing #tardigrades?! Learn how a newly discovered species of tardigrade survive extreme UV radiation. #astrobiology

What 600 days in space does to living cells The BIOlogy and Mars EXperiment (BIOMEX) project used Chroococcidiopsis sp., a rock-inhabiting microorganism found in sandstone from the Negev Desert, to study how life might survive on the Moon. Find out why.

Posted on December 10, 2020April 1, 2021 by Ruth Estefany Quispe Pilco 110 views

Another study testing the limits of life in space, this time on the moon! #moon #lifeinspace #humanspaceflight #NASA #cyanobacteria #astrobiology

Algae in space teaches us how life responds to harsh environments A species of blue-green algae that can live in rocks could resist radiation and extreme space weather, and returned to Earth still viable!

Posted on October 25, 2020April 1, 2021 by Rabeea Rasheed 119 views

Extremophiles can literally survive in many conditions, even in the extreme radiation of space. Read this article to learn how extremophiles help us understand the search for life in the universe.

NASA is sending yeast into deep space NASA will generate invaluable data on yeast’s response to deep space radiation by launching the BioSentinel satellite in 2021. Here’s how they’ll do it.

Posted on October 9, 2020April 1, 2021 by Brooke Shepard 218 views

NASA will generate invaluable data on yeast’s response to deep space radiation by launching the BioSentinel satellite in 2021. Here’s how they’ll do it. It’s an exciting time to be interested in space. We’re in an era of scientific discovery that spans into deep space, which is past the Earth’s…