Microbes that can repair their DNA even while frozen!

http://phys.org/news/2013-10-microbes-survive-conditions.html

Not surprised at all. Why should there not be one that could have this ability? An organism that lives in ice it seems. I only skimmed the article. Life everywhere, lot's of it. Earth is old and "things", living "things" have been developing for a looooong time. The most common organism on earth was discovered in either 2005 or 2006, my memory is lacking. This one is living in seawather, very very small bacterias, famous because it's genome does not contain any "intrones", non codeing reagions of DNA. Because producing DNA require energy and building parts. If I remember correctly it is the phosphorus that is the lacking part, only very small abounts avalible, probably beeing rests of DNA from dead cells. There are many strange microbes. I know of two other ones which are very strange beeings. (have to check their names. Perhaps I return and tell you. Perhaps. Well see....

Question: How do you define "microbe"? I mean, The biggest "bacteria" known ( this I also have to check ) is round and about (guessing) 0.2 mm. I think it lives in rice-fields or something, I don't really remember. I have taken "orientation course in micro-biology" at Uppsala University, Sweden. This was in 2008.

1. A microbe that can survive in space ! Quite famous acctually since this one has this ability, famous even among people who do not care about biology in general. (Bringing it out to space is a totally different thing, this does not happen if not someone brings it there). The "trivial" name for this one is (in swedish terminology) "the bear animal" (some scientists thought it looked like a bear when been studied under microscope).

2. A microbe that can survive in stone. !! 🙄 Famous since it does that, quite unique (I beleve, I am no expert, but I am only aware of this one, perhaps there are several with this ability). It is an "Iron eater", get's it's energy from Iron. Don't think it needs air (perhaps wather or something, I mean, it probably require the ability to move, and something to ferment, oxigen in case of wather, but there are anerobic bacterias as well. Anerobic, is latin for, do not require oxigen). My qualified guess is that it is living in captivities in rocks where there are small amounts of wather).

Originally posted by bikingviking
Not surprised at all. Why should there not be one that could have this ability? An organism that lives in ice it seems. I only skimmed the article. Life everywhere, lot's of it. Earth is old and "things", living "things" have been developing for a looooong time. The most common organism on earth was discovered in either 2005 or 2006, my memory is lackin ...[text shortened]... ied guess is that it is living in captivities in rocks where there are small amounts of wather).

It might make water through its metabolism, turning minerals into water by chemical reactions.

sonhouse: I perhaps got carried away a little when talking about the microorganism that was using iron.

This is what I really was referring to. (Long time since my university course).🙂

.......

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microbial_metabolism#Ferrous_iron_.28Fe2.2B.29_oxidation

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferroglobus

http://www.bacterio.net/f/ferroglobus.html

http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs002030050388

.......

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tardigrade#Physiology