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Hot Topic
Origins
Extreme Life
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Cleaning Clean Rooms
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| Topic: Extreme Life |
09/04/07 |
| A recent study has found hardy 'extremophile' bacteria living in clean rooms at NASA. Some of the organisms are species that have never been detected anywhere else. The findings could help scientists understand how to keep spacecraft clean and prevent the transfer of Earth life to other planets. |
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The World's Oldest Bacteria
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| Topic: Extreme Life |
09/02/07 |
| Researchers have discovered DNA from living bacteria that are more than half a million years old. The finding could provide an important insight into ancient life on Earth and the evolution of life throughout history. |
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Brought Back to Life
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| Topic: Extreme Life |
08/15/07 |
| Scientists have been studying microbes trapped in ice that´s millions of years old to see if the microbes are still viable after being preserved for so long. Their findings are providing information about ancient life on Earth, as well as the potential for organisms to travel through space in the ice of comets. |
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Living in Acid, Harvesting Light
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| Topic: Extreme Life |
08/01/07 |
| Researchers have discovered a new thermophilic, chlorophyll-producing bacterium in Yellowstone National Park. The microbe is not only a new species, but it also belongs to a new phylum. |
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Biology's Dark Matter
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| Topic: Extreme Life |
07/24/07 |
| Less than one percent of microbes living in the environment can be cultured in the laboratory – a big hindrance for researchers trying to identify microbes in extreme environments. But a new device may help identify microbes without having to culture them at all. |
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The Limits of Organic Life
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| Topic: Extreme Life |
07/10/07 |
| A new report from the National Research Council discusses why the search for life in the solar system may need to include looking for life that doesn't have the same biochemistry as life on Earth. |
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Probing Earth's Most Isolated Ocean
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| Topic: Extreme Life |
06/28/07 |
| After recent successful tests, robotic vehicles will be sent to explore beneath the ice of the Arctic Ocean. The robots will search for unique forms of life on the seafloor of the world's most isolated ocean. |
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When Fungi Ruled the World
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| Topic: Extreme Life |
06/18/07 |
| One of the strangest mysteries of the fossil world concerns a tall, cylindrical structure dating to 420 million years ago. Some scientists have called it fungus, others a lichen, still others an alga. A new isotopic analysis has settled the debate, and has helped researchers hone their search for unknown life on other worlds. |
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Probing Arctic Lakes
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| Topic: Extreme Life |
06/09/07 |
| The discovery that subglacial lakes in Antarctica are interconnected means that proper procedures may need to be established before scientists can penetrate through the ice to study them. |
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Soaking Up Radiation
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| Topic: Extreme Life |
06/01/07 |
| Researchers have found that fungi may be able to use radioactivity as an energy source for making food and spurring growth. The findings may have profound implications for how we understand the cycles of biologically available energy for life, and could also have important applications for space exploration. |
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