All hydrothermal vents articles
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NewsUnderwater thermal vents may have given rise to the first molecular precursors of life
A new study shows that, without the presence of enzymes, natural gradients of pH, redox potential, and temperature present in underwater hydrothermal vents could have promoted the reduction of carbon dioxide to formic acid and the subsequent formation of acetic acid.
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NewsHydrothermal plumes - and microbes - revealed as invisible transport pathways for iron
A new review highlights how hydrothermal vents on the seafloor shape iron availability and influence the global oceanic element cycles.
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NewsAnswers to existence of alien life might be found in Earth’s deep-sea volcanoes
NASA has awarded microbiologist James Holden $621,000 to spend the next three years using his expertise to help predict what life on Jupiter’s moon Europa might look like. For that, Holden turned to an unexpected place: the volcanoes a mile beneath our own oceans.
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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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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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NewsGiant deep-sea vent tubeworm symbionts use two carbon fixation pathways to grow at record speeds
New research sheds light on how a giant hydrothermal vent tubeworm living in the deep ocean coordinates the two functional carbon fixation pathways used by its symbiotic bacteria to sustain themselves and their host.
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NewsStudy reveals how hydrogen supplied energy at life’s origin
A new report uncovers how hydrogen gas provided energy in the past, at the origin of life 4 billion years ago.
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NewsEven inactive smokers are densely colonized by microbial communities
Even inactive smokers are important locations for microbial activity and the production of organic carbon on the sea floor, reveals a study investigating what happens to biotic communities at hydrothermal vents when the source of hot fluids is lost.
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NewsStudy uncovers potential origins of life in ancient hot springs
Scientists have found that by mixing hydrogen, bicarbonate, and iron-rich magnetite under conditions mimicking relatively mild hydrothermal vent results in the formation of a spectrum of organic molecules.
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NewsA new bacterial species from a hydrothermal vent throws light on their evolution
A new bacterial species discovered at the deep-sea hydrothermal vent site ‘Crab Spa’ provides a deeper understanding of bacterial evolution.
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NewsMagnetic bacteria found on deep sea vents
Magnetotactic bacteria that ‘sense’ the Earth’s magnetic field have been found on deep undersea vents.
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NewsMicrobes that “eat together” may benefit from a shared immunological memory
A new study examines viruses that infect microbes in the deep sea and finds evidence that viruses interact with a far more diverse set of hosts than was previously thought.
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NewsResearchers discover how bacteria in deep-sea vents deal with toxic metal environments
A new study investigates how bacteria in deep-sea hydrothermal vents can survive and thrive in the presence of highly toxic copper and cadmium.