New Atlas

Environment Audio available

10-year study documents massive, mysterious ecosystem deep beneath our feet

Michael Irving December 10, 2018

A study has taken a census of life in the “deep biosphere” beneath the Earth's surface. Among the finds are bizarre creatures that can survive at record depths, pressures and temperatures, and even “zombie” bacteria that may live (in a loose sense of the word) for millions of years at a time.

Researchers have cataloged the extensive biosphere of life deep beneath the surface of the Earth

Biology

Synthetic organisms engineered to shed light on ancient evolution

Michael Irving October 30, 2018

To peer back in time at certain key steps of evolution, scientists at the Scripps Research Institute have engineered synthetic microorganisms designed to be similar to some that might have lived billions of years ago.

These synthetic microorganisms are made up of yeast cells (blue) with bacteria (pink) inside them, which ...

Health & Wellbeing

Gut microbiome snapshot gives premature babies a better start

Michael Irving October 29, 2018

A new study has now found that a healthier gut microbiome can help premature babies grow faster, reducing or potentially preventing a lifetime of chronic health problems.

New research shows how a better understanding of the gut microbiome could give premature babies a ...

Science Audio available

New study finds oldest evidence of life may just be boring old rocks after all

Michael Irving October 17, 2018

A few years ago, researchers studying stromatolites in Greenland dated them to 3.7 billion years old, making them the oldest evidence of life on Earth. However, a new study has now taken another look at the rocks and found that they probably weren’t biological in origin.

An earlier study found the conical structures (highlighted) appeared to be biological in origin, but a ...

Biology

Could a microbial "Noah's Ark" save good gut bugs from disappearing?

Michael Irving October 8, 2018

Maintaining the right microbial balance is crucial to your health, but antibiotics and poor diet have reduced the diversity of human microbiota. To preserve that diversity before it’s gone for good, a team of scientists is now calling for the creation of a microbial “Noah’s Ark.”

To protect microbiota diversity and, by extension, human health, researchers have suggested creating a microbial "Noah's ...

Biology

How hardy volcanic microbes helped track down an anti-aging "superhero" protein

Michael Irving May 16, 2018

Scientists studying tough microbes called archaea may have uncovered the key to an anti-aging drug. By manipulating a “super hero” protein, the researchers found a way to “trick” cells into acting younger by keeping the DNA repairing process running much longer than usual.

Hardy microbes that make their home in volcanic pools may hold the key to a new ...

Space

Are mysterious dark patches in Venusian clouds microbial life?

Rich Haridy April 3, 2018

A new study from an international team of scientists proposes that microbial life could exist in the clouds of Venus. The exciting hypothesis suggests mysterious dark patches seen in the atmosphere could be something akin to algae blooms seen in oceans on Earth.

A composite image of the planet Venus showing the mysterious clouds that could be home to ...

Biology

How a hungry, hardy bacteria eats toxic metals and excretes gold nuggets

Michael Irving February 2, 2018

If the goose that laid the golden egg had a real-life counterpart, it would be C. metallidurans. This bacterium consumes toxic metals and excretes tiny gold nuggets, but how and why has never been fully understood. Now researchers have peered inside the microorganism and figured out that mechanism.

German and Australian researchers have figured out how a bacteria called C. metallidurans can consume toxic ...

Space

How to turn astronaut waste into food

David Szondy January 26, 2018

How to feed astronauts on long space voyages is a major logistical problem, so researchers at Penn State are studying how to convert solid and liquid human waste into food. That may sound gross, but microbial reactors can break down the waste and convert it into an edible form.

The researchers grew Methylococcus capsulatus that was 52 percent protein and 36 percent fats

Science

Are non-toxic food preservatives having an adverse effect on our gut bacteria?

Rich Haridy December 18, 2017

A new study from a team at the University of Massachusetts Amherst has found that some non-toxic food preservatives, added to food for antimicrobial properties, could be unexpectedly and adversely interacting with out gut microbiome.

A new study suggests that certain food preservatives, previously deemed to be safe, could be having ...