All Extremophiles articles
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NewsDynamic duo of bacteria could change Mars dust into versatile building material for first human colonists
Scientists are investigating a bacterial co-culture mixed with Martian regolith as a potential feedstock for 3D printing on Mars. At the intersection of astrobiology, geochemistry, material science, construction engineering, and robotics, this synergistic system could revolutionize the potential for construction on the Red Planet.
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NewsHeatproof microbes reveal molecular secrets of nature’s hottest recycling system
This study reveals how thermophilic bacterial communities withstand temperatures of up to 87°C by remodeling their molecular machinery. Scientists uncovered a heat-defense network centered on heat shock proteins that refold damaged enzymes and preserve protein structure.
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NewsFats provide clues to life at its limits in the deep sea
Extreme conditions on the ocean floor include high pressures and salinities, as well as extreme pH values and a limited supply of nutrients. A team of researchers has now been able to detect microbial life in two newly discovered mud volcanoes with very high pH values.
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NewsMicrobes at Red Sea vents show how life and geology shape each other
A new study led by King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST; Saudi Arabia) Professor Alexandre Rosado has revealed an unusual microbial world in the Hatiba Mons hydrothermal vent fields of the central Red Sea, a site first discovered by one of his co-authors and colleagues, Assistant Professor Froukje ...
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NewsCompound from Antarctic microorganism can be used to produce food, cosmetics, and medicine
A bioactive compound produced by the microorganism Bacillus licheniformis, found on Deception Island in Antarctica, has properties that qualify it for use in producing food, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and biodegradable materials.
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NewsYeast proteins reveal the secrets of drought resistance
A new study in Cell Systems helps explain how organisms can come back from desiccation (the removal of water or moisture) while others fail by looking at the cell’s proteins. In the first survey of its kind, a team of researchers profiled thousands of proteins at once for their ability to survive dehydration and rehydration.
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NewsResearchers uncover potential biosignatures in Bright Angel formation on Mars
A new study has revealed potential chemical signatures of ancient Martian microbial life in rocks examined by NASA’s Perseverance rover.
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NewsExtreme diatoms inside the Arctic ice glide into the record books
Diatoms found in polar ice are active until temperatures drop to -15 C - the lowest ever recorded for movement by a eukaryotic cell.
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NewsBacteria survive dust storms and introduce new genetic traits into our air
Bacterial communities carried from Africa to Israel survive their airborne journey, arriving with genes that may affect human health and the environment, a new study reveals.
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NewsDancing against the current: Microbial survival strategy
In scalding hot water rushing through narrow channels, some bacteria have evolved a surprising survival technique: they cling to surfaces, stand upright, and sway rhythmically—like tiny street dancers fighting the flow.
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NewsHow fungus powers plant life in extreme environments
A new experiment suggests dark septate endophytes (DSEs) may be capable of linking the roots of neighboring plants to facilitate water sharing and boost their host’s biomass, and may even be keeping plant networks alive in drought-prone areas.
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NewsScientists discover tRNA methyltransferase with an unusual domain architecture and functional features
Scientists identified and characterized a novel tRNA modification enzyme in the hyperthermophilic archaeon Thermococcus kodakarensis.
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NewsLife on Venus? UK probe could reveal the answer
The answer to whether tiny bacterial lifeforms really do exist in the clouds of Venus could be revealed once-and-for-all by a UK-backed mission. Scientists plan to search and map phosphine, ammonia, and other gases rich in hydrogen that shouldn’t be on the planet.
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NewsBlue proteins from cold-adapted microbes could offer blueprint for molecular on-off switches
Rare blue proteins from cold-adapted microbes can serve as prototypes to design molecular on-off switches for cells, a new study finds.
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NewsOcean microbes offer clues to environmental resilience
Researchers have developed a new way to identify genetic changes that help tiny oxygen-producing microbes survive in extreme environments.
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NewsMicroorganisms employ a secret weapon during metabolism
Microorganisms have evolved a variety of methods for fixing carbon. Researchers investigated the methods that are utilized at extremely hot, acidic and sulfur-rich hydrothermal vents in shallow waters off the island of Kueishantao, Taiwan.
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NewsMicroscopy reveals signs of life in earth’s extremes, boosting search for alien life
Researchers used advanced microscopy to detect microbial biosignatures that help to identify the signs of life in extreme environments on Earth, thus also applicable in the search of life in extraterrestial environments.
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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.