All Geomicrobiology articles
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NewsHow sea-ice microbes survive the Southern Ocean’s harsh winter, and the implications for climate change
New study reinforces the importance of the Southern Ocean marginal ice zone as a critical hotspot for global sulfur cycling where biogeochemical processes for climate regulation are enhanced.
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NewsOrganized microbial ‘workforces’ keep Earth’s underground biosphere running
By studying life deep inside a former gold mine, scientists uncovered evidence that Earth’s hidden biosphere operates less like a random collection of microbes and more like an organized workforce. From site to site, the ecosystems were incredibly different from one another but largely stable through time.
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NewsIron-modified biochar turns soil oxygen into a cleaner for antibiotic pollution
Antibiotic residues in agricultural soils are an emerging environmental concern, with potential impacts on soil health, crop safety, and the spread of antimicrobial resistance. A new study reports on an iron-modified biochar that helps soil use its own oxygen and iron chemistry to break down sulfamethoxazole.
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NewsNew study uncovers why the Arctic’s rivers are rusting
Scientists have identified the two biggest reasons that once-pristine rivers across the Arctic are growing cloudy with toxic orange iron particles that smother insects and suffocate fish. As the climate warms, a layer of Arctic soil that had been frozen for millennia has begun to thaw.
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News The hidden carbon sponges: Karst reservoirs proven to be powerful climate allies
A new study provides a mechanistic explanation for why reservoirs in karst landscapes are exceptionally effective carbon sinks. The research demonstrates that these unique ecosystems not only capture vast amounts of carbon but also lock it away in a highly stable, long-lasting form.
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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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NewsWelsh mine microbes mapped to help heat homes
Welsh scientists have mapped the hidden microbes thriving in south Wales’s abandoned coal mines, helping to overcome obstacles to using mine water to heat Britain’s homes.
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NewsGeobiologist Dr. Ilya Bobrovskiy moves to MARUM with his ERC Starting Grant
Geobiologist Dr. Ilya Bobrovskiy, previously employed at the GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences, is moving to the University of Bremen to establish a research group at MARUM as part of his ERC Starting Grant.
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NewsDeep life’s survival secret: Crustal faulting generates key energy sources for microbes, study shows
Researchers have identified how microbes in deep subsurface areas can derive energy from chemical reactions driven by crustal faulting, offering critical insights into life deep below Earth’s surface.
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NewsAñana Saltern microorganisms help to clarify the groundwater flow pattern
The MicroIker group of the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) has explored the diversity and distribution of unicellular organisms in the springs of the Añana Salt Valley.
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NewsResearchers find live hantavirus is carried in various New Mexico small mammal species
A study was carried out to find out the reasons why human cases of the sin nombre hantavirus were concentrated in one particular region of New Mexico, even though the virus was found in 30 species of rodents and small mammals endemic to a different region.
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NewsUnknown microorganisms used marble and limestone as a habitat
Research work has revealed unusual structures that are probably due to the activity of an unknown microbiological life form. Unusually small burrows, i.e., tiny tubes that run through the rock in a parallel arrangement from top to bottom, were discovered in marble and limestone of the desert areas of Namibia, Oman, and Saudi Arabia.
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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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NewsOutokumpu’s bedrock reveals a smelly surprise
In a borehole in Finland, volatile organic compounds (VOC) are detected in the bedrock and groundwater due to the presence of a highly diverse underground microbial community, which reflects the composition of VOC and thus the bedrock characteristics.
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FeaturesMars analogues and where to find them
“Are we alone in the universe?” is one of humanity’s oldest questions, with tremendous scientific and social ramifications. In search of answers, a great deal of attention has been focused on our closest neighbour, the red planet, Mars.
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CareersMicrobiology at the edge of the world: Studying high temperature sites in Antarctica
AMI Ocean Sustainability Scientific Advisory Group member André Antunes and his colleagues reveal the ups and downs of their latest expedition to Antarctica.
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NewsRecreation of ancient seawater reveals which nutrients shaped the evolution of early life
Scientists know very little about conditions in the ocean when life first evolved, but new research published in Nature Geoscience has revealed how geological processes controlled which nutrients were available to fuel their development. All life uses nutrients such as zinc and copper to form proteins. The ...
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FeaturesUnderground microbiology: help or hinderance for decarbonisation?
Can the activity of disturbed microbial communities affect industrial activities, for good or ill?
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NewsScientists probe amoeba that thrives at 125°F
Biologists study the mechanisms that have allowed microbial eukaryotes to thrive in the extreme conditions of a geothermal lake.