Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Ancient bacteria are lurking in sinkholes off Alpena. In these anoxic patches of Lake Huron cyanobacteria thrive and from thick mats. The conditions in the sinkholes are similar to earth 2.8 billion years ago, before oxygenic photosynthesis polluted the globe. Scientists (from NOAA and GVSU) have only been exploring the sinkholes for about 10 years. Some of the footage in the video looks amazingly alien. You can read more about the sinkholes and the research on Bopi Biddanda's Lab website.
Hat tip L^3
Posted by Ben Connor Barrie at 8:00 AM