http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/plants_animals/extreme_survival/ Extreme Survival. From ancient life in Antarctic ice to the hundred trillion microbes that live inside the human gut, read amazing articles on life surviving in extreme environments. Photos. en-us Wed, 11 Nov 2009 06:05:01 EST Wed, 11 Nov 2009 06:05:01 EST 60 http://www.sciencedaily.com/images/logosmall.gif http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/plants_animals/extreme_survival/ For more science articles, visit ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091104132658.htm Organisms ensure the survival of their species by genetically adapting to the environment. If environmental conditions change too rapidly, the extinction of a species may be the consequence. A strategy to successfully cope with such a challenge is the generation of variable offspring that can survive in different environments. For the first time scientists have now observed the evolution of such a strategy under lab conditions in an experiment with the bacterial species Pseudomonas fluorescens. Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091104132658.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091102112102.htm Like savvy Wall Street money managers, bacteria hedge their bets to increase their chances of survival in uncertain times, strategically investing their biological resources to weather unpredictable environments. In a new study, researchers describe how bacteria play the market so well. Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091102112102.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091022141121.htm The expansion of oxygen minimum zones (OMZs) affects the processes by which carbon is captured and sequestered on the seafloor. Researchers describe the metagenome of an abundant but uncultivated microbe from a fjord on the coast of British Columbia, Canada that is silently helping to shape the ecology of OMZs worldwide. Fri, 23 Oct 2009 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091022141121.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091001164052.htm Mercury's persistent and toxic presence in the environment has flummoxed scientists for years in the quest to find ways to mitigate the dangers posed by the buildup of its most toxic form, methylmercury. A new discovery, however, has shed new light on one of nature's best mercury fighters: bacteria. Tue, 20 Oct 2009 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091001164052.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091029151437.htm Viruses of soil bacteria (phages) evolve to improve their ability to infect the bacterial hosts that surround them. This is shown in a new study. Phages appear to be better able to infect bacteria from the same small soil sample than bacteria from just a few centimeters away. Evolution can therefore restructure ecosystems on a very small scale. Tue, 20 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091029151437.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091016094047.htm Researchers have identified an unexpected metabolic ability within a symbiotic community of microorganisms that may help solve a lingering mystery about the world's nitrogen cycling budget. Sat, 17 Oct 2009 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091016094047.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091012095533.htm Oxygen deficiency in the Baltic Sea has never been greater than it is now. But it is not an effect of climate change but rather of increased inputs of nutrients and fertilizers. Tue, 13 Oct 2009 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091012095533.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090831213000.htm Researchers analyzed the gene sequences, proteins expressed and physiology of 10 strains of bioremediation microbes called Shewanella. Results showed surprising diversity not seen using traditional microbiology approaches. Mon, 05 Oct 2009 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090831213000.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090930132656.htm Tiny organisms known as archaea play a central role in the planet's nitrogen cycle, according to new research. Experiments show that archaea appear play a key ecological role in both upper and deep ocean ecosystems. This could affect calculations made by global climate models. Thu, 01 Oct 2009 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090930132656.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090928095347.htm Scientists in Canada have found a way to reduce bat deaths from wind turbines by up to 60 percent without significantly reducing the energy generated from the wind farm. TransAlta has already applied the low wind mitigation strategy to the 38 turbines identified in the study area. Mon, 28 Sep 2009 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090928095347.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090925102003.htm Necessity is the mother of invention: Great Tits eat hibernating common pipistrelle bats under harsh conditions of snow cover. This remarkable newly-acquired behaviour was observed by researchers in a cave in Hungary. When the researchers offered the birds alternative feed, they ate it and showed little or no interest in flying into the cave again. Sun, 27 Sep 2009 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090925102003.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090923112547.htm A NASA team is developing a transparent coating that mimics the self-cleaning properties of the lotus plant to prevent dirt from sticking to the surfaces of spaceflight gear and bacteria from growing inside astronaut living quarters. Wed, 23 Sep 2009 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090923112547.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090921091601.htm When a whale dies, it sinks to the seafloor and becomes food for an entire ecosystem. Researchers have discovered previously unknown species that feed only on dead whales -- and have used DNA technology to show that the species diversity in our oceans may be higher than previously thought. Mon, 21 Sep 2009 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090921091601.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090917144119.htm Scientists have detected high numbers of heat loving, or thermophilic, bacteria in subzero sediments in the Arctic Ocean. The bacterial spores might provide a unique opportunity to trace seepages of fluids from hot sub-seafloor habitats, possibly pointing towards undiscovered offshore petroleum reservoirs. The findings could also hold important clues for solving broader riddles of bio-geography. The results also point to the potential use of microbes in offshore oil and gas exploration. Fri, 18 Sep 2009 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090917144119.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090908193444.htm The Lost Orphan Mine below the Grand Canyon hasn't produced uranium since the 1960s, but radioactive residue still contaminates the area. Cleaning the region takes an expensive process that is only done in extreme cases, but a biochemistry professor is researching the use of sulfate-reducing bacteria to convert toxic radioactive metal to inert substances, a much more economical solution. Wed, 09 Sep 2009 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090908193444.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090817190644.htm It appears that bacteria can squeeze through practically anything. In extremely small nanoslits they take on a completely new flat shape. Even in this squashed form they continue to grow and divide at normal speeds. Wed, 09 Sep 2009 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090817190644.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090723081800.htm The ice is melting, the sea level is rising and species are conquering new habitats. The warming of the world climate has many consequences. Researchers now report that climate change influences the size of aquatic organisms. Mon, 07 Sep 2009 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090723081800.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090902151115.htm After more than a decade of inquiry, a team of scientists has turned the tables on a long-standing controversy to re-establish an old truth about nitrogen mixing in the oceans. Fri, 04 Sep 2009 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090902151115.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090820161333.htm A sleep researcher argues that sleep's primary function is to increase the efficiency of behavior when animals are awake by regulating behavior's timing and duration. Sun, 23 Aug 2009 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090820161333.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090811091830.htm A group of scientists have discovered the specific mutations involved in evolutionary adaptation to different environments. Sat, 15 Aug 2009 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090811091830.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090811191649.htm The smallest organisms to use a biological compass are magnetotactic bacteria, however mysteries remain about exactly how these bacteria create their cellular magnets. In a new study, scientists have used genome sequencing to unlock new secrets about these magnetic microbes that could accelerate biotechnology and nanotechnology research. Thu, 13 Aug 2009 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090811191649.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090812035445.htm New research suggests that anthrax-causing bacteria conspire with viruses to extend each other's lifespan. The work reveals a previously unknown relationship between Bacillus anthracis and viruses and opens up new possibilities for the treatment and prevention of outbreaks. Thu, 13 Aug 2009 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090812035445.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090803185832.htm New research provides even more evidence that a previously undescribed, cold-loving fungus is associated with white-nose syndrome, a condition linked to the deaths of up to 1,000,000 cave-hibernating bats in the northeastern and mid-Atlantic states. Since the winter of 2006-2007, bat populations plummeted from 80 to 97 percent at surveyed bat-hibernation caves, called hibernacula. Mon, 10 Aug 2009 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090803185832.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090728083247.htm A new study shows that the stress signaling protein, AMPK, facilitates infection by harmful bacteria. AMPK is chronically elevated in some types of diseases, suggesting that this protein may cause patients with these diseases to be more susceptible to noxious infection. Mon, 03 Aug 2009 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090728083247.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090801185900.htm Infection with Marburg virus and the related Ebola virus can produce severe disease in people, with fever and bleeding. During outbreaks, as many as 90 percent of those infected have died. The natural reservoir for Marburg virus, and its cousin Ebola virus, has been the subject of much speculation and scientific investigation. Sun, 02 Aug 2009 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090801185900.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090729095054.htm A bizarre New Zealand bat that is as much at home walking four-legged on the ground as winging through the air had an Australian ancestor 20 million years ago with the same rare ability, a new study has found. The discovery overturns a long-held held view that the agile walking and climbing skills of the lesser short-tailed bat evolved in the absence of any ground-dwelling mammal competitors or predators. Wed, 29 Jul 2009 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090729095054.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090720191143.htm Arctic springtails (Megaphorura arctica) survive freezing temperatures by dehydrating themselves before the coldest weather sets in. Researchers have identified a suite of genes involved in controlling this extreme survival mechanism. Tue, 21 Jul 2009 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090720191143.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090702080354.htm Researchers have drawn together 200 years' worth of oceanographic knowledge to investigate the distribution of a notorious deep-sea giant - the king crab. The results reveal temperature as a driving force behind the divergence of a major seafloor predator; globally, and over tens of millions of years of Earth's history. Sun, 19 Jul 2009 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090702080354.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090716134903.htm Bacteria know that they are too small to make an impact individually. So they wait, they multiply, and then they engage in behaviors that are only successful when all cells participate in unison. There are hundreds of behaviors that bacteria carry out in such communities. Now researchers have discovered one that has never been observed or described before in a living system. Fri, 17 Jul 2009 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090716134903.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090707142140.htm How do some bacteria survive conditions that should kill them? In groundbreaking research, scientists have used the Advanced Light Source to track chemical changes in individual cells as they adapt to extreme environments. Thu, 16 Jul 2009 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090707142140.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090707093619.htm The Rosetta Stone of bacterial communication may have been found. Although they have no sensory organs, bacteria can get a good idea about what's going on in their neighborhood and communicate with each other, mainly by secreting and taking in chemicals from their surrounding environment. Even though there are millions of different kinds of bacteria with their own ways of sensing the world around them, bioengineers believe they have found a principle common to all of them. Mon, 13 Jul 2009 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090707093619.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090709140815.htm Iron and manganese compounds, in addition to sulfate, may play an important role in converting methane to carbon dioxide and eventually carbonates in the Earth's oceans, according researchers looking at anaerobic sediments. These same compounds may have been key to methane reduction in the early, oxygenless days of the planet's atmosphere. Fri, 10 Jul 2009 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090709140815.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090702080527.htm The Archaea are single-celled organisms and a domain unto themselves, quite apart from the so called eukaryotes (bacteria and higher organisms). Many species live under extreme conditions, and carry out unique biochemical processes shared neither with bacteria nor with eukaryotes. Methanogenic archaeans, for example, can produce methane gas out of carbon dioxide and hydrogen. Fri, 03 Jul 2009 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090702080527.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090630203955.htm Microbes and bacteria were the first living organisms on Earth, and they can be preserved in Archean silica-rich rocks. One such outcrop from western Australia, dated to 3.5 billion years ago, may hold the oldest "microfossils." Thu, 02 Jul 2009 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090630203955.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090630101229.htm Scientists are batty over a new discovery which could lead to the single most important medical breakthrough in human history -- significantly longer lifespans. The discovery shows that proper protein folding over time in long-lived bats explains why they live significantly longer than other mammals of comparable size, such as mice. Wed, 01 Jul 2009 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090630101229.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090618093242.htm Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are spreading to and throughout the environment. The resistance pattern for antibiotics in gulls is the same as in humans, and a new study shows that nearly half of Mediterranean gulls in southern France have some form of resistance to antibiotics. Sat, 20 Jun 2009 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090618093242.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090615093923.htm Scientists have used genetic engineering to tame one of the most deadly food poisoning microbes and turn it into a potential new way of giving patients medicine and vaccines in pills rather than injections.  Tue, 16 Jun 2009 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090615093923.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090614201734.htm A novel bacterium -- trapped three kilometers under glacial ice for over 120,000 years -- may hold clues as to what life forms might exist on other planets. Mon, 15 Jun 2009 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090614201734.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090606110130.htm Scientists have launched an unmanned aircraft to mount the vehicle's first search for ice seals at the southern edge of the Bering Sea pack ice during the Arctic spring, in an effort to learn more about these remotely located species. Thu, 11 Jun 2009 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090606110130.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090604222434.htm Bats use echolocation for more than just spatial knowledge. Bats can use the characteristics of other bats' voices to recognize each other, according to a new study. Sat, 06 Jun 2009 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090604222434.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090601085918.htm The sea floor is strewn with raw materials that could be very important in the future: Manganese and iron, but also rarer and more precious elements such as cobalt, copper, zinc and nickel, are present in great quantities in the form of deep-sea nodules and crusts. Thu, 04 Jun 2009 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090601085918.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090527105715.htm Sulfolobus islandicus, a microbe that can live in boiling acid, is offering up its secrets to researchers hardy enough to capture it from the volcanic hot springs where it thrives. In a new study, researchers report that populations of S. islandicus are more diverse than previously thought, and that their diversity is driven largely by geographic isolation. Thu, 28 May 2009 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090527105715.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090520114703.htm Bacteria are experts at adaptation: as soon as they have infected an organism, they adapt their metabolism to that of their host and produce substances which protect them from the body's immune defenses. How they do this is still unknown in the case of many types of bacteria. Tue, 26 May 2009 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090520114703.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090520140403.htm The bombardment of Earth nearly 4 billion years ago by asteroids as large as Kansas would not have had the firepower to extinguish potential early life on the planet and may even have given it a boost, according to a new study. Wed, 20 May 2009 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090520140403.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090519111550.htm New observations of the reproductive biology of crabs living around hydrothermal vents help explain their distribution and provide clues about the selection pressures prevalent in these hostile environments. Wed, 20 May 2009 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090519111550.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090501203430.htm A student is bringing understanding to the troubling problem of ocean acidification due to increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide. Researchers have examined how mussels have adapted to extremely acidic waters near underwater volcanoes. Mon, 11 May 2009 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090501203430.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090429174822.htm A new species of archaebacteria thriving within a temperature range of 80 to 105°C and able to divide itself up to a hydrostatic pressure of 120 Mpa (1000 times higher than the atmospheric pression), has just been discovered. Mon, 11 May 2009 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090429174822.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090502190016.htm White-nose syndrome, a wildlife crisis of unprecedented proportions, has killed hundreds of thousands of bats from Vermont to West Virginia and continues unchecked. Now, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is asking those who use caves where bats hibernate - called hibernacula - to take extra precautions and to curtail activities to help prevent the spread of WNS. Sat, 09 May 2009 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090502190016.htm