Saturday April 18, 2009
Microbes that 'breathe iron' are found in Antarctic
Steve Connor
Independent
Unique organisms have developed from more than a million years in isolation
A community of microbes that have lived cut off from the rest of the world for more than 1.5 million years has been discovered beneath a vast glacier in the Antarctic.
The organisms have survived in total darkness on nothing but the minerals and long-decayed organic matter that were also trapped at the base of the glacier. Instead of breathing oxygen, they have learnt to "breathe" iron to produce energy.
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