Extreme Survival News

October 9, 2024

Top Headlines

New Insights Into How Mars Became Uninhabitable

Oct. 7, 2024 — NASA's Curiosity rover, currently exploring Gale crater on Mars, is providing new details about how the ancient Martian climate went from potentially suitable for life -- with evidence for widespread liquid water on the surface -- to a surface that ...

A Compost in the Sea That Produces Oxygen

Oct. 7, 2024 — Researchers studied the fate of the material produced by Posidonia seagrass meadows. This study, carried out in the Mediterranean Sea at STARESO, shows that the dead leaves of what is commonly known as Neptune grass accumulate in shallow areas, ...

Nanostructures in the Deep Ocean Floor Hint at Life's Origin

Sep. 25, 2024 — Researchers have discovered inorganic nanostructures surrounding deep-ocean hydrothermal vents that are strikingly similar to molecules that make life as we know it possible. These nanostructures are self-organized and act as selective ion channels, ...

Syrian Hamsters Reveal Genetic Secret to Hibernation

Sep. 30, 2024 — A gene that limits cellular damage could be the key to surviving prolonged cold ...

Latest Headlines

updated 10:19am EDT

Deep-Sea Discovery Shines Light on Life in the Twilight Zone

Sep. 25, 2024 — A new study could change the way scientists view microbial processes in the deep ocean. The unexpected findings expand our understanding of the impacts of climate change, including how and where the ...

How the Oceans' Most Abundant Bacteria Impact Global Nutrient Flows

Sep. 11, 2024 — If you were to collect all the organisms from the ocean surface down to 200 meters, you'd find that SAR11 bacteria, though invisible to the naked eye, would make up a fifth of the total biomass. ...

With AI, Extreme Microbe Reveals How Life's Building Blocks Adapt to High Pressure

Sep. 9, 2024 — An assist from a Google Artificial Intelligence tool has helped scientists discover how the proteins of a heat-loving microbe respond to the crushing ...

Hijacking the Command Center of the Cell: Nuclear Parasites in Deep-Sea Mussels

Sep. 6, 2024 — Researchers now reveal how a bacterial parasite infects and reproduces in the nuclei of deep-sea mussels from hydrothermal vents and cold seeps. They ...

Photosynthesis in Near Darkness

Sep. 4, 2024 — Photosynthesis can take place in nature even at extremely low light levels. This is the result of a study that investigated the development of Arctic microalgae at the end of the polar night. The ...

How Earth's Most Intense Heat Wave Ever Impacted Life in Antarctica

Sep. 4, 2024 — An atmospheric river brought warm, moist air to the coldest and driest corner of the planet in 2022, pushing temperatures 70 degrees above average. A new study reveals what happened to Antarctica's ...

Bats Are Surviving and Thriving on Nothing but Sugar

Aug. 28, 2024 — New research may enable potential solutions to metabolic disease by turning to evolution and to bats. 'Our study reports blood sugar levels that are the highest we have ever seen in nature -- what ...

Oxygen Produced in the Deep Sea Raises Questions About Extraterrestrial Life

Aug. 26, 2024 — Rocks are generating 'dark oxygen' in an area being explored for deep-sea ...

Bacteria in Lakes Fight Climate Change

Aug. 12, 2024 — Methane-oxidizing bacteria could play a greater role than previously thought in preventing the release of climate-damaging methane from lakes, researchers from Bremen report. They also show who is ...

The Race to Discover Biodiversity: 11 New Marine Species and a New Platform for Rapid Species Description

Aug. 6, 2024 — A new paper describes a ground-breaking experiment that united 25 independent taxonomists from 10 countries. The initiative boasts the discovery of ...

Ancient Antarctic Microorganisms Are Aggressive Predators

Aug. 2, 2024 — Antarctic dwelling single-celled microorganisms called archaea can behave like parasites, new research ...

Climate Change May Lead to Shifts in Vital Pacific Arctic Fisheries

Aug. 1, 2024 — Commercially important marine fish and invertebrate species will likely shift northwards under a warmer climate, according to new ...

New Groups of Methane-Producing Organisms in Yellowstone

July 24, 2024 — The team verified that microbes found in Yellowstone National Park hot springs produce methane to ...

Reef Pest Feasts on 'Sea Sawdust'

July 17, 2024 — Researchers have uncovered an under the sea phenomenon where coral-destroying crown-of-thorns starfish larvae have been feasting on blue-green algae bacteria known as 'sea ...

Discovery of a New Defense Mechanism in Bacteria

July 10, 2024 — When confronted with an antibiotic, toxic substance, or other source of considerable stress, bacteria are able to activate a defense mechanism using cell-to-cell communication to 'warn' ...

Researchers Listen to the Hearts of Bats in Flight

July 10, 2024 — Unique recordings show that bats can ramp up heart rate from 6 to 900 b.p.m within ...

New Way for Beneficial Microbes to Survive Extreme Conditions and Space Exploration

July 9, 2024 — Investigators sought to help figure out how to send materials like probiotics into space and to better treat a variety of gastrointestinal (GI) and metabolic diseases. The team's formulations ...

Study Reveals Environmental Impact of Artificial Sweeteners

July 8, 2024 — A recently published study demonstrates how sucralose affects the behavior of cyanobacteria -- an aquatic photosynthetic bacteria -- and diatoms, microscopic algae that account for more than 30% of ...

Engineers Find a Way to Protect Microbes from Extreme Conditions

July 5, 2024 — Researchers have now developed a new way to make microbes hardy enough to withstand extreme conditions such as heat and the manufacturing processes used to formulate the microbes into powders or ...

Retreating Glaciers: Fungi Enhance Carbon Storage in Young Arctic Soils

July 3, 2024 — Melting Arctic glaciers are in rapid recession, and microscopic pioneers colonize the new exposed landscapes. Researchers revealed that yeasts play an important role in soil formation in the ...

Bacteria Detected in Tattoo and Permanent Makeup Inks, Study Finds

July 2, 2024 — A new study detected both aerobic and anaerobic bacteria in tattoo and permanent makeup ...

Researchers Identify Unique Survival Strategies Adopted by Fish in the World's Warmest Waters

July 1, 2024 — A team of researchers have identified unexpected ways coral reef fish living in the warmest waters on earth, in the Arabian Gulf, have adapted to survive extreme ...

This Desert Moss Has the Potential to Grow on Mars

June 30, 2024 — The desert moss Syntrichia caninervis is a promising candidate for Mars colonization thanks to its extreme ability to tolerate harsh conditions lethal to most life forms. The moss is well known for ...

Under Pressure: How Comb Jellies Have Adapted to Life at the Bottom of the Ocean

June 27, 2024 — Researchers have studied the cell membranes of ctenophores ('comb jellies') and found they had unique lipid structures that allow them to live under intense ...

Scientists Unlock Secrets of How Archaea, the Third Domain of Life, Makes Energy

June 11, 2024 — An international scientific team has redefined our understanding of archaea, a microbial ancestor to humans from two billion years ago, by showing how they use hydrogen gas. The findings explain how ...

Giant Viruses Found on Greenland Ice Sheet

June 4, 2024 — Giant viruses found on the Greenland ice sheet probably regulate the growth of snow algae on the ice by infecting them. Knowing how to control these viruses could help us reduce the rate of ...

Small, but Smart: How Symbiotic Bacteria Adapt to Big Environmental Changes

June 4, 2024 — Lucinid clams, inconspicuous inhabitants of the seafloor and one of the most diverse group of animals in the ocean, rely on symbiotic bacteria for their survival. Researchers now reveal the ...

Researchers Improve Satellite Surveillance of Emperor Penguins

May 29, 2024 — New phenological and behavioral models will help scientists collect more accurate counts of emperor penguins. Emperor penguins are at the top of the food web. They are a reflection of how lower ...

Key Role of Plant-Bacteria Communication for the Assembly of a Healthy Plant Microbiome Supporting Sustainable Plant Nutrition

May 23, 2024 — In an interdisciplinary study, researchers discovered that symbiotic bacteria communicate with legume plants through specific molecules and that this communication influences which bacteria grow near ...

Researchers Find Unique Adaptations of Fungus Associated With Bee Bread

May 21, 2024 — The past attempts of honey bee researchers to inventory the fungal diversity in honey bee colonies revealed that Aspergillus flavus is frequently found in hives. In a new study, researchers have ...