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| Saturn's moon, Titan. |
Extremophilic ecosystems writ small
An international team of
researchers has found extremely small habitats that increase the
potential for life on other planets while offering a way to clean up
oil spills on our own.
Looking at samples from the world's
largest natural asphalt lake, they found active microbes in droplets
as small as a microliter, which is about 1/50th of a drop of water.
"We saw a huge diversity of
bacteria and archaea," said Dirk Schulze-Makuch, a professor in
Washington State University's School of the Environment and the only
U.S. researcher on the team. "That's why we speak of an
'ecosystem,' because we have so much diversity in the water
droplets."
Writing in the journal Science, the
researchers report they also found the microbes were actively
degrading oil in the asphalt, suggesting a similar phenomenon could
be used to clean up oil spills.
"For me, the cool thing is I got
into it from an astrobiology viewpoint, as an analog to Saturn's
moon, Titan, where we have hydrocarbon lakes on the surface,"
said Schulze-Makuch. "But this shows astrobiology has also great
environmental applications, because of the biodegradation of oil
compounds."
Schulze-Makuch and his colleagues in
2011 found that the 100-acre Pitch Lake, on the Caribbean island of
Trinidad, was teeming with microbial life, which is also thought to
increase the likelihood of life on Titan.
The new paper adds a new, microscopic
level of detail to how life can exist in such a harsh environment.
"We discovered that there are
additional habitats where we have not looked at where life can occur
and thrive," said Schulze-Makuch.
Analyzing the droplets' isotopic
signatures and salt content, the researchers determined that they
were not coming from rain or groundwater, but ancient sea water or a
brine deep underground.
Contact: Dirk Schulze-Makuch
dirksm@wsu.edu
49-308-058-3028
Washington State University
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