Post by jonsdigs on Dec 19, 2008 20:35:14 GMT -5
Unusual Microbial Ropes Grow Slowly In Cave Lake
This image shows a microbial rope in the
bottom half of the cave lake. (Credit: Penn State)
ScienceDaily (Dec. 19, 2008) — Deep inside the Frasassi cave system in Italy and more than 1,600 feet below the Earth's surface, divers found filamentous ropes of microbes growing in the cold water, according to a team of Penn State researchers.
"Sulfur caves are a microbiology paradise. Many different types of organisms live in the caves and use the sulfur," says Jennifer L. Macalady, assistant professor of geosciences. "We are trying to map which organisms live where in the caves and how they correspond to the geochemical environment."
In this process, Macalady and her team discovered a previously unknown form of biofilm growing in the oxygen-deficient portion of the lake.
Full Story
This image shows a microbial rope in the
bottom half of the cave lake. (Credit: Penn State)
ScienceDaily (Dec. 19, 2008) — Deep inside the Frasassi cave system in Italy and more than 1,600 feet below the Earth's surface, divers found filamentous ropes of microbes growing in the cold water, according to a team of Penn State researchers.
"Sulfur caves are a microbiology paradise. Many different types of organisms live in the caves and use the sulfur," says Jennifer L. Macalady, assistant professor of geosciences. "We are trying to map which organisms live where in the caves and how they correspond to the geochemical environment."
In this process, Macalady and her team discovered a previously unknown form of biofilm growing in the oxygen-deficient portion of the lake.
Full Story
