The Buzz: Microbes in Interesting Places


i-e9f06e0c754e63641610a545932227b0-bloodfalls.jpg

As apex organisms in the scope of Earth's multi-tiered web of life, most of us go about our day-to-day activities oblivious to the fact that bacteria are literally everywhere. Microorganisms can thrive in the most surprising locales—places totally inhospitable to human life. Recently, scientists from Harvard documented a flourishing bacterial ecosystem buried under 400 meters of ancient glacial ice; more common bacteria, Salmonella may lurk on your dinner plate, as a report citing 48,600 infections across ten states in 2008 attests; and if it's any indication from this scientific pursuit, there are loads of odor-causing bacteria on our bodies. Bon appétit and have a nice time in space/Antarctica!

Related ScienceBlogs Posts:

More like this

Antarctica normally conjures images of white and blue, but the frozen continent can sometimes bear more unexpected colours. Take the Taylor Glacier - when geologist Griffith Taylor first explored it a century ago, he found a bizarre reddish stain that seemed to spill waterfall-like from the glacier…
Discovery, by nature, has a ripple effect. When one thing is found to be plausible, testable, or true, a suite of potential other truths and plausibilities tend to follow suit. This is the nature of inductive reasoning, the foundation of the scientific method, and the reason why science–as a human…
It's a diverse melting-pot of different groups, with hundreds of different cultures living together in harmony, many sticking to their own preferred areas. No, not London, New York or any other cosmopolitan city; I'm talking about your skin. It may all look the same to you, but to the bacteria…
A recent article in MMWR Weekly with the unassuming title of "Preliminary FoodNet Data on the Incidence of Infection with Pathogens Transmitted Commonly Through Food --- 10 States, 2008" is incredibly disturbing. The incidence of reported (more about that in a bit) Salmonella was 16.20 cases per…