“You might not expect bacteria living in Antarctic ice to be well suited to life in a boiling kettle, but that is what Chilean scientists discovered during an expedition last year. The researchers have turned up more than 200 new species of microorganisms adapted to living in extreme environments.”
This is a really cool report on bugs that were found in the South Shetland Islands. Though I wouldn’t call them simply scientists, as these folks were indeed prospecting for practical microbes. They found extremophiles of all sorts: psychrophiles, halophiles, acidophiles, alkaphiles, and a new Deinococcus. The scientists are excitedly starting to envision potential applications. They even were able to find a ton of strains of actinomyces, suggestion they might find new antibiotics, too.
Bookmarked in Delicious.