Posted on 05/27/2008 4:53:13 PM PDT by neverdem
The lost civilization of Atlantis may just be legend, but way down below the ocean (to quote the folksinger Donovan) there are some things that are very real — namely, bacteria and archaea. By some estimates, sub-seafloor prokaryotes may account for two-thirds of the biomass of these types of organisms on Earth.
The latest evidence for such a huge undersea biosphere, and a depth record of sorts, is reported in Science by R. John Parkes of Cardiff University and colleagues. They have found living prokaryotes 5,335 feet below the ocean floor off Newfoundland, about twice as deep as the previous record.
Intact cells were found in cores drilled through sediments up to 111 million years old, although the age of the prokaryotes themselves is an open question. The researchers were able to amplify genetic material, which strongly suggests that the cells are living, feeding on trapped methane, other hydrocarbons and organic carbon...
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Sub-sea-floor sediments may contain two-thirds of Earth's total prokaryotic biomass. However, this has its basis in data extrapolation from ~500-meter to 4-kilometer depths, whereas the deepest documented prokaryotes are from only 842 meters. Here, we provide evidence for low concentrations of living prokaryotic cells in the deepest (1626 meters below the sea floor), oldest (111 million years old), and potentially hottest (~100°C) marine sediments investigated. These Newfoundland margin sediments also have DNA sequences related to thermophilic and/or hyperthermophilic Archaea. These form two unique clusters within Pyrococcus and Thermococcus genera, suggesting unknown, uncultured groups are present in deep, hot, marine sediments (~54° to 100°C). Sequences of anaerobic methane-oxidizing Archaea were also present, suggesting a deep biosphere partly supported by methane. These findings demonstrate that the sub-sea-floor biosphere extends to at least 1600 meters below the sea floor and probably deeper, given an upper temperature limit for prokaryotic life of at least 113°C and increasing thermogenic energy supply with depth.
So what? I had Sea-Monkies when I was a kid. None of them wore a crown like on the box but they were sweet!
That was a great episode!
I actually ran into a pet loss support website for owners of them. It HAD to be some kind of a joke, beause users were listing dozens and dozens of names of pets lost in Marine Tragedies. (Kid Brother dumped them down the toilet, etc.)
Sponge Bob Squarepants has made the NY Slimes!
These “scientists” have made a horrid blunder, that will DOOM US ALL!
They better stop their irrational, meddlesome, misguided tinkering before it is TOO LATE!
Those are NOT “prokaryotes”; THEY ARE GAEA'S BRAIN CELLS!
They are lobotomizing Mother Gaea!
They will KILL US ALL!
DOOMED! We'll all be DOOMED, I tell you!
I guess the good thing is Life TM will survive on Earth until the red giant Sun cooks everything in 3 billion years or a 200 km wide comet hits the planet. Otherwise, Life will survive just about everything else even if we don’t.
And pooping pure petroleum by any chance?
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So what?
Well, for one, the thermophilic bacteria live in really, really hostile hot environments.
Because of that, they have all sorts of tricks up their sleeves for DNA repair and homeostasis.
Those slimy little hot bacteria might hold the key to immortality.
PCR technology (Polymerase Chain Reaction) has been used to multiply DNA segments. That’s why alot of folks lately are getting off after being convicted years ago for something, because PCR can make trace DNA samples much more identifiable.
And PCR owes it’s very discovery and existence to Thermus Aquaticus Polymerase, an enzyme that comes from a lowly bacteria in Yellowstone - a bacteria that lives in water well over 150 degrees F.
But Sea Monkies lived on my dresser!
Lol!!
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