Deep in the oceans, where it's dark and hot, primitive life teems

SCRIPPS HOWARD NEWS SERVICE ^ | 21 March 2005 | DAVID PERLMAN

[Ichneumon]

Heat-loving microbes there, called hyperthermophiles, can resist temperatures as high as 750 degrees Fahrenheit at the small, "black smoker" volcanoes.

Holy crap -- 750 degrees F is the temperature at the tip of a good soldering iron.

[narby]

Interesting Post - thanks for the ping.....

[johnb838]

Block Smokairs. Ei 'ahve 'aird of zese. Mais, ze ti-TLE ees mees-leadING, n'est-ce pas? Eeet ees naut 'haut aht zee botTOM of zee zee... eeet ees veRY cold, eh?

[narby]

If the previously held start date left too little time for complex cells to evolve then this is even more too little time.

Since the previously held start date was not too little time, this start date is just fine as well.

And since evolution does not preclude that God could have created life, who are you to say when God was allowed to do His work?

[r9etb]

Diving in the deep submersible Alvin, Haymon and her husband, marine geophysicist....

One wonders if they're members of the "Mile Low" club.... Prolly a far more exclusive crowd...

[r9etb]

This superdeep ocean life thriving on thermal processes is one of the most fascinating scientific discoveries of the past ten years.

Indeed it is ... makes one wonder about what other forms of life are lurking elsewhere -- say, in places where they find oil and/or natural gas.

[b_sharp]

I guess I should have included sarcasm tags. Sorry.

Check my tagline.

[Disambiguator]

Deep in the oceans, where it's dark and hot

where sunlight never penetrates

Viscous rock thrusts up

undersea volcanoes spurt lava

warm and wet and hospitable

I'm wondering what else is on the author's mind. ;^)

[narby]

Check my tagline.

Oops. Well, leave it to me to spout off without paying attention.

[AdmSmith]

from http://www.geol.ucsb.edu/faculty/haymon/

[furball4paws]

"Heat-loving microbes there, called hyperthermophiles, can resist temperatures as high as 750 degrees Fahrenheit at the small, "black smoker" volcanoes. Holy crap -- 750 degrees F is the temperature at the tip of a good soldering iron. " This is most misleading. A "slap" of 400 C can be "resisted", i.e. not all members of a population will die (but most will). AFAIK there are no authenticated reports of ()Growth () above about 105 C. Still, the Archaea are very tolerant of "nasty" environments and these black smokers are great places for life. More importantly, the life os the black smokers thrive off primary productivity that is not driven by light, something that would be very important 3.6 billion years sgo.

[AdmSmith]

from http://www.geol.ucsb.edu/faculty/macdonald/

[Condorman]

Science-based post. I predict a short death.

Off-topic: I've been too busy to post the next links as independent threads, but the gang might be interested...

Censorship of IMAX Films Threatens Integrity of Science, Leader Says
Top 10 Vestigial Organs
Top 10 Intelligent Designs (or Creation Myths)

[js1138]

Holy crap -- 750 degrees F is the temperature at the tip of a good soldering iron.

I'm going to have to run my CPU hotter for Avida.

[curiosity]

Fascinating. Thanks for the ping.

[P.O.E.]

Almost as lascivious a title as "Deep Hot Biosphere"

[RadioAstronomer]

BTTT