|
|
Article: Grazing on the periodic table: some ancient microorganisms lived on a diet of pure sulfur.(This Week)
- Article from:
- Science News
- Article date:
- September 15, 2007
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2007 Science Service, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
Analyses of 3.5-billion-year-old rocks from Australia indicate that some of the microorganisms living when those rocks formed were able to derive energy from sulfur, the first time such a metabolic feat has been chronicled in rocks of that age.
Because bacteria have no hard parts, they don't fossilize well. Nevertheless, signs of ancient life are often recorded in a rock's chemistry. For example, bacteria that extract energy by metabolizing sulfate minerals leave behind sulfides partially depleted of the heavier isotopes of sulfur, says Pascal Philippot, a geochemist at the Paris Geophysical Institute.
To discern the influence of such bacteria on ancient ...