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Article: Freeze-Dried Mats of Microbes Awaken in Antarctic Stream Bed, University of Colorado at Boulder Study Says.
- Article from:
- Ascribe Higher Education News Service
- Article date:
- August 8, 2005
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Byline: University of Colorado, Boulder
BOULDER, Colo., Aug. 9 (AScribe Newswire) -- An experiment in a dry Antarctic stream channel has shown that a carpet of freeze-dried microbes that lay dormant for two decades sprang to life one day after water was diverted into it, said a University of Colorado at Boulder researcher.
The results showed the resilience of life in the harsh polar environment, where temperatures are below freezing for most of the year and glacial melt water flows for only five to 12 weeks annually, said Prof. Diane McKnight of CU-Boulder's Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research. Such research on life in extreme environments is of high ...