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Article: SEND FOR THE SLAYER ARCHAEA
- Article from:
- The Independent (London, England)
- Article date:
- July 28, 1996
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 1996 The Independent - London. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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Is there life on Mars? Why are chemical engineers so engrossed
with undersea volcanoes? Will sugar provide fuel for the vehicles
of the future? Why does Antarctica hold the key to butter-like
spreads that can be used straight from the fridge? The answers to
these and other questions lie in the study of extremophiles -
bacteria that live in extreme environments, including boiling
water, strong acids and alkalis, sub-zero temperatures and salt
lakes.
Microbiologists find extremophiles fascinating because they are
all, or nearly all, archaea - the most ancient division of life on
Earth. Three thousand five hundred million years ago, when life
first appeared on our planet, conditions were ...
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