When glaciers retreat, microbes take over
Researchers demonstrated that the first microbes to colonize recently deglaciated soil can extract nutrients from air and rock to survive…
Tag: microbes
Scientists probe plant-based soil cleanup
Researchers tested plant-based soil remediation methods and found that adding beneficial microbes to copper-contaminated soil improved…
Why do deep-sea microbes have such small appetites?
The deep sea is one of Earth’s largest reservoirs of carbon, yet microbes don’t consume very much of it. Researchers showed that this is…
Lava tubes contain unknown “microbial dark matter”
Researchers discovered lava tubes on Mauna Loa containing previously unknown microorganisms with metabolisms and communities that could…
Do microbes prefer biodegradable plastic?
Researchers found that microbes living on biodegradable plastics have more genes for plastic degradation than those living on traditional…
Methane-munching microbes modify the seafloor
Researchers showed that methane-eating bacteria acidify their surroundings and dissolve carbonate rocks on the seafloor.
How do microbes prepare for winter?
Researchers discovered that when cyanobacteria sense shorter days they change their cell walls to survive freezing temperatures.
How long will plastic waste stick around in the deep sea?
Plastics are ideal for use in household and industrial products because they are strong and elastic, but these properties also make them…
Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are way older than penicillin
Remember the classic chases where Wile E. Coyote tries to catch Roadrunner but is often outsmarted? It turns out that bacteria have to…
Mars could host a deep underground biosphere
Scientists estimate that parts of Mars’ would be able to support up to one million microbes per kilogram of rock deep underground.
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