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Hostile volcanic lake teems with life: Microbes thriving in salty, alkali waters containing...
Nature News ^ | 2 April 2010 | Ana Belluscio

Posted on 04/04/2010 8:24:51 PM PDT by neverdem

Microbes thriving in salty, alkali waters containing arsenic.

Laguna DiamanteIt looks peaceful, but Laguna del Diamante's waters are deadly.MARÍA EUGENIA FARÍAS

Argentinian investigators have found flamingos and mysterious microbes living in an alkaline lagoon nestled inside a volcano in the Andes. The organisms, exposed to arsenic and poisonous gases, could shed light on how life began on Earth, and their hardiness to extreme conditions may hold the key to new scientific applications.

In 2009, a team led by María Eugenia Farías, a microbiologist at the National Scientific and Technical Research Council in Tucumán, Argentina, discovered living stromatolites in the Socompa and Tolar Grande lagoons high in the Andes (see 'High window on the past'). Stromatolites — collections of photosynthetic microorganisms and calcareous concretions — are thought to have been common more than 3.5 billion years ago.

After that discovery, scientists in Argentina decided to look at lakes and lagoons in the Puna de Atacama, a desert plateau that sits more than 4,000 metres above sea level, in an attempt to understand what life might have looked like on the early Earth.

Lethal cocktail

But when in February 2010 they explored Laguna Diamante inside the still active Cerro Galán volcano — one of the world's largest volcanic caldera — they found microbes and flamingos flourishing in the extreme conditions rather than stromatolites.

red crystalsResearchers have not yet identified the compound from which these red crystals are made.MARÍA EUGENIA FARÍAS

Farías says that the lagoon is hyper alkaline (pH 11) and contains concentrations of salt five times higher than those of sea water. In addition, the concentration of arsenic in the water is 20,000 times higher than the level regarded as safe for drinking water by the US...

(Excerpt) Read more at nature.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events; Testing
KEYWORDS: andes; catastrophism; cryptobiology; godsgravesglyphs; microbiology; science; stromatolites; xplanets

1 posted on 04/04/2010 8:24:52 PM PDT by neverdem
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To: Mother Abigail; EBH; vetvetdoug; Smokin' Joe; Global2010; Battle Axe; null and void; ...

micro ping


2 posted on 04/04/2010 8:27:24 PM PDT by neverdem (Xin loi minh oi)
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To: neverdem

The organisms, exposed to arsenic and poisonous gases, could shed light on how life began on Earth, and their hardiness to extreme conditions may hold the key to new scientific applications.

Are we talking about a lake in Argentina, or about the US Congress?


3 posted on 04/04/2010 8:27:33 PM PDT by Jack Hammer
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To: neverdem

Water that briny creates an osmotic pressure outward, IIRC. Arsenic would be washed out of the organisms rather than soaking in. And those flamingos have to be getting their drinking water from somewhere else.


4 posted on 04/04/2010 8:31:45 PM PDT by HiTech RedNeck (I am in America but not of America (per bible: am in the world but not of it))
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To: neverdem

Microbes, flamingoes, and no Trailer Parks? Must be an evolutionary progression...(8^D)


5 posted on 04/04/2010 8:36:38 PM PDT by Smokin' Joe (How often God must weep at humans' folly. Stand fast. God knows what He is doing.)
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To: neverdem
"These rocks are made of calcium carbonate associated with little red crystal reefs," says Farías. "But analysis with X-ray diffraction does not show any known or expected mineral."

They may have a newly discovered mineral (not common, but it does still happen).

The arsenic rich water indicates a likely high temperature hydrothermal influence, not unexpected considering the location of the lake. I wonder if anyone is prospecting for gold in the area, too, as those temperature regimes are getting pretty close. I'd be looking for quartz veins...

6 posted on 04/04/2010 8:42:21 PM PDT by Smokin' Joe (How often God must weep at humans' folly. Stand fast. God knows what He is doing.)
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To: neverdem

Thanks for the ping!

Unique life settings that break all the ‘environmental’ rules are fascinating.


7 posted on 04/04/2010 9:00:26 PM PDT by editor-surveyor (Obamacare is America's kristallnacht !!)
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To: HiTech RedNeck

“And those flamingos have to be getting their drinking water from somewhere else.”

.
Ya think?
.


8 posted on 04/04/2010 9:02:00 PM PDT by editor-surveyor (Obamacare is America's kristallnacht !!)
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To: Smokin' Joe

“Microbes, flamingoes, and no Trailer Parks?”

Did you hear about the wealthy flamingo...

He had two pink cast iron Polocks placed on his front lawn.


9 posted on 04/04/2010 9:04:18 PM PDT by editor-surveyor (Obamacare is America's kristallnacht !!)
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To: Smokin' Joe

Being a volcanic area, all kinds of interesting things could be belched forth from the magma.


10 posted on 04/04/2010 9:04:53 PM PDT by HiTech RedNeck (I am in America but not of America (per bible: am in the world but not of it))
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To: Smokin' Joe

Dilithium?


11 posted on 04/04/2010 9:07:33 PM PDT by Redcloak (What's your zombie plan?)
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To: Redcloak

Lithium is a possibility, (usually caught up in micas), it depends on the composition of the magma...


12 posted on 04/04/2010 9:41:42 PM PDT by Smokin' Joe (How often God must weep at humans' folly. Stand fast. God knows what He is doing.)
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To: HiTech RedNeck
"Water that briny creates an osmotic pressure outward, IIRC. Arsenic would be washed out of the organisms rather than soaking in."

Sorry, not true. Any such osmotic pressure is only in effect for a very short period of time before it equilibrates across the cell membranes. Same for the arsenic. Microbes adapted to fresh water and immediately placed in salt will mostly die, and brine microbes immediately placed in fresh water will basically explode. But over generations, osmotic pressure is of zero consequence.

13 posted on 04/05/2010 5:03:51 AM PDT by Wonder Warthog
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To: Redcloak

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2486746/posts?page=12#12

Some people have no sense of humor...


14 posted on 04/05/2010 8:29:34 AM PDT by editor-surveyor (Obamacare is America's kristallnacht !!)
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To: editor-surveyor

You know what they say: “Reality is for those who can’t handle Sci-Fi”.


15 posted on 04/05/2010 8:34:12 AM PDT by Redcloak (What's your zombie plan?)
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To: KevinDavis; annie laurie; garbageseeker; Knitting A Conundrum; Viking2002; Ernest_at_the_Beach; ...
Thanks neverdem, a three-list topic.
 
X-Planets
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16 posted on 04/05/2010 5:16:12 PM PDT by SunkenCiv ("Fools learn from experience. I prefer to learn from the experience of others." -- Otto von Bismarck)
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To: 75thOVI; aimhigh; Alice in Wonderland; AndrewC; aragorn; aristotleman; Avoiding_Sulla; BBell; ...
Thanks neverdem, a three-list topic.
 
Catastrophism
 
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17 posted on 04/05/2010 5:16:32 PM PDT by SunkenCiv ("Fools learn from experience. I prefer to learn from the experience of others." -- Otto von Bismarck)
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To: neverdem; StayAt HomeMother; Ernest_at_the_Beach; 1ofmanyfree; 21twelve; 240B; 24Karet; ...

· join list or digest · view topics · view or post blog · bookmark · post a topic · subscribe ·

 
Gods
Graves
Glyphs
Thanks neverdem, a three-list topic.

To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list.
GGG managers are SunkenCiv, StayAt HomeMother, and Ernest_at_the_Beach
 

·Dogpile · Archaeologica · LiveScience · Archaeology · Biblical Archaeology Society ·
· Discover · Nat Geographic · Texas AM Anthro News · Yahoo Anthro & Archaeo · Google ·
· The Archaeology Channel · Excerpt, or Link only? · cgk's list of ping lists ·


18 posted on 04/05/2010 5:17:09 PM PDT by SunkenCiv ("Fools learn from experience. I prefer to learn from the experience of others." -- Otto von Bismarck)
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19 posted on 05/15/2010 10:06:24 PM PDT by SunkenCiv ("Fools learn from experience. I prefer to learn from the experience of others." -- Otto von Bismarck)
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