Friday January 14, 2011
That Which is Not Dead Can Eternal Lie:
34,000 Year Old Bacteria Discovered
A scientist has discovered 34,000 year old bacteria still living inside salt crystals.
As their DNA would have been damaged over the years, the discovery could shed light on how DNA repair takes place.
From Yahoo News:
"It was actually a very big surprise to me," said Brian Schubert, who discovered ancient bacteria living within tiny, fluid-filled chambers inside the salt crystals.
Salt crystals grow very quickly, imprisoning whatever happens to be floating - or living - nearby inside tiny bubbles just a few microns across, akin to naturally made, miniature snow-globes.
"It's permanently sealed inside the salt, like little time capsules," said Tim Lowenstein, a professor in the geology department at Binghamton University and Schubert's advisor at the time.
Posted in: Science by bubblejam at 07:21 PM | Comments (0) | Email This Entry