Fire Bug Eats Iron!

[Japher]

It east's Iron!

Iron-eating bug found to thrive in 121C heat
By Steve Connor Science Editor
15 August 2003
If microbes could scoff, this one would certainly laugh at the people who complained about the searing temperatures last week, which reached a record 38.1C (100.6F) in Gravesend, Kent.
The microbe in question has been found to thrive at 121C (249.8F) - some 8 degrees Celsius higher than the previous recorded maximum temperature that a living organism could survive.
The newly discovered micro-organism does not yet have a scientific name but its finders call it "Strain 121". The researchers, Kazem Kashefi and Derek Lovley from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, found the tiny creature in a deep-sea volcanic vent on the bed of the Pacific Ocean, where temperatures reach 400C.
They put Strain 121 in a hot oven to find that it enjoyed the experience - colonies continued to double in size at 121C.
Dr Lovley, whose study is published today in the journal Science, said Strain 121, which eats iron, might give an insight into the conditions that led to the evolution of the first lifeforms more than 3.5 billion years ago.


---

I am sure many of you have seen this, but I just thought it was strange... what does it have to do with evolution though?

[Dr Strangelove]

A Marvel Comics character?

[st_swithin]

A variant of the strange orange creatures growing with thousands of other strange orange creatures near the mid-Atlantic ridge, gaining their energy from the thermal vents rather than the sun?

[MrFun]

What's the source -- The Sun, or the National Enquirer?

[MichaeltheGreat]

Re: Fire Bug Eats Iron!

Originally posted by Japher
I am sure many of you have seen this, but I just thought it was strange... what does it have to do with evolution though?

That just adds to the list.

So far, besides boring Oxygen and CO₂ organotrophic critters, we have ecosystems with lots of methane-eating organotrophs, and ecosystems of lithotrophic critters whose metabolism involves:

Ammonia
Hydrogen Sulfide
Sulfur Dioxide
Iron (cold, aerobic)
Iron (cold, anaerobic)
Iron (hot and presumably aerobic)

The only thing they have in common is the basic organic chemistry at the molecular level (DNA for those that have it, and RNA).

One thing it shows is that life will occur from organic molecular components pretty much anywhere there's active chemistry.

Another issue is that those vent conditions are much more similar to primordial earth conditions than more typical ocean regions, let alone land.

[st_swithin]

Damnable nucleic acids. What's the crustimony proseedcake to determine genetic similarity?

[Odin]

GO ARCHAEBACTERIA!!!

[Japher]

I am just thinking that our stupid biologist (no offense) only hypothosize (speeling? me drunK) that life would exist on what E-class? planets (what is that class), yet we are finding strange a$$ oragnisms here on earth that survive at temperatures and on substances we never thought possible... Maybe they should rethink some things...

me happy

[Odin]

Originally posted by Japher
I am just thinking that our stupid biologist (no offense) only hypothosize (speeling? me drunK) that life would exist on what E-class? planets (what is that class), yet we are finding strange a$$ oragnisms here on earth that survive at temperatures and on substances we never thought possible... Maybe they should rethink some things...

me happy

They are rethinking some things. Microbes are now thought to be very common in the universe. heat-loving Archaea are thought to resemble some of the earths first organisims 3.9 billion years ago. Some Exobiologists now suspect that procaryotic organisms may be widespread IN the icy moons of the outer solar system, living in subterranian oceans like on Europa. Even PLUTO might have a subterranian ocean!

[Dr Strangelove]

But could multicellular life evolve from some of these exotic critters? The energy demands are much different.

[Odin]

Originally posted by Dr Strangelove
But could multicellular life evolve from some of these exotic critters? The energy demands are much different.

Nope. Multicellular life can only evolve on an earth-like planet because earths have plenty of sunlight for photosythesis that Europas do not have. That photsynthesis must also be able to release oxygen as a waste product. the oxygen content must reach at least 5% of the leven on earth today for multicelularity. One earth this occured about a billion tears aho when animals, plants (read and green algae), true fungi, and chromophytes (brown seaweeds and unicelular relatives) evolved from primitive protozoans acording to DNA data (although animals with hard parts did not apear until 550 million years ago).

[MichaeltheGreat]

Originally posted by Dr Strangelove
But could multicellular life evolve from some of these exotic critters? The energy demands are much different.

They don't necessarily need to be multicellular - Caulerpa is an example of a complex single cell plant.

Anaerobic multicellular organotrophs exist on earth without significant levels of free oxygen - in fact, the hydrogen sulfide metabolizers are poisoned by oxygen, and include primitive worms and spider like creatures. They're apparently adaptations of normal oxygen metabolizers to a very slowly and progressively H₂S rich and oxygen poor environment.

[Japher]

Nope. Multicellular life can only evolve on an earth-like planet because earths have plenty of sunlight for photosythesis that Europas do not have. That photsynthesis must also be able to release oxygen as a waste product. the oxygen content must reach at least 5% of the leven on earth today for multicelularity. One earth this occured about a billion tears aho when animals, plants (read and green algae), true fungi, and chromophytes (brown seaweeds and unicelular relatives) evolved from primitive protozoans acording to DNA data (although animals with hard parts did not apear until 550 million years ago).

That's what they need to rethink... Why can't it be possible that intelligent life exists that does not fit these requirements?

[Gatekeeper]

That explains my penchant for popping iron pills.

[Az]

I still no idea what holds that little POS together at 121.