I’ve always thought brining was to preserve food. Turns out that it can also be used to preserve (some, not all, but alive and kicking) bacteria.
Previous studies of the brine in Lake Vida from 2002 had discovered the presence of ancient microbes, however these needed to be thawed before life signs were observed. The most recent result showed Vida to contain a diverse and metabolically active bacteria-dominated ecosystem.
In Lake Vida, the microbe’s habitat is isolated. It is a dark (with little or no light), anoxic (without oxygen), slightly acidic and saline world where temperatures stay around -13C.
Peter T Doran, a professor at the University of Illinois’ claims “This provides us with new boundary conditions on the limits for life”
But maybe this research is not aimed to provide us with new boundary conditions of life. Quite the contrary, almost like sending out our explorers to find live on places like Mars. This research is providing us with valuable information about terrestrial cryohabitats (like atmospheres beyond Earths).
But is the pure definition of life not something that would, with a little imagination, could be true for many phenomena yet unseen. Do we really need to set boundary conditions? Or can we expect to find life, in other forms then looked for, closer to home?
Scary – life is like a disease itself!
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Very informative information to the public at large and my only question is; would the average person be in a position to ascertain and utilize the valuable insights you have put forth?
No-one is able to see what remains unseen. No-one is able to feel what can not be felt. But this does not mean that there is nothing to be seen or felt or heart or,.. Nor does this mean that there is. We just need the right tools to be sure.
Science; standing on the edge of the unknown, gathering solid knowledge to support your feet
Those bacteria in the lake are well adapted to the high salt content of the sea. Preservation using brine is against those microbes that can never be adapted to high salt concentration, like the every day bacteria we witness in our kitchen (E.coli, Salmonella, Shigella etc)
Hey there! This post couldn’t be written any better! Reading through this post reminds me of my good old room mate! He always kept chatting about this. I will forward this post to him. Fairly certain he will have a good read. Thanks for sharing!