Air-eating bacteria found in Antarctica

[Judi Lynn]

07 DECEMBER 2017

The discovery of bacteria that can live on trace gases in the atmosphere changes the possibilities for extraterrestrial life.

Scientists have found bacteria in the frozen wastes of Antarctica that can survive on air alone without the sunlight or geothermal energy that powers all other known ecosystems. The discovery may change our ideas when pondering the forms extra-terrestrial life might take.

A team of scientists led by Belinda Ferrari of UNSW in Sydney, Australia, report the stunning finding in a paper in Nature.

The cold and remote Antarctic has desert regions that are hostile to the few living things that survive on the rest of the continent. Plummeting temperatures, limited water, carbon and nitrogen, months of darkness, searing UV radiation, and persistent cycles of freezing and thawing that can rot the very stones, all make it an unlikely home for diverse ecosystems.

More:
https://cosmosmagazine.com/biology/air-eating-bacteria-found-in-antarctica

[flying_wahini]

1. I find it most interesting that they aren't talking about oxygen;

The part of the article
"Instead, they found through genetic clues about the metabolisms of the microbes, including the two newly discovered phyla, that they produce energy directly from atmospheric hydrogen, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide."

So the organisms live on what greenhouse gases produces? Could this mean all kinds of implications with greenhouse gases and the future of our planet.

[flying_wahini]

2. So not exactly greenhouse gases but.....

My point was that maybe ? we could manipulate greenhouse gases with living organisms in harsh environments (like space)

[link:https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenhouse_gas|

[Irish_Dem]

4. So when we trash the planet, at least these little guys will survive. :) nt

[Irish_Dem]

3. It was always narrow minded to think that all sentient life must be human and live on Earth like

planets.