Some Chilean scientists have reported finding over 300 new types of microorganisms during a recent expedition to the Antarctic. Not necessarily that interesting you might say except that some of the species they found were pretty damn cool: Microorganisms that can survive in extreme environments!
They found microbes that can survive in temperatures of below -15C and even above 95C. Microbes that can survive in high levels of salt and at extreme pH levels.
Microbes resistant to UV light was a particularly interesting one. The mechanisms behind that may provide an insight into protecting us from sun burn and consequently skin cancer.
It all doesn't seem that ground breaking but it left me pretty impressed with the utterly extreme conditions in which some microbes can survive, and certainly makes the idea of life on other planets not that hard to comprehend.
PS: the two papers that were published on Alzheimer's the other day were pretty important. They found several new genes linked to the disease. Finding genes such as these is the first step in discovering whether there are any therapeutic treatments are possible.
the links to the two papers are below:
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