New way of life discovered in deep-sea vents
- added August 21, 2008
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- rwylie
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Studies of viruses found around deep-sea hydrothermal vents, where seemingly alien ecosystems independent on the sun's energy have been observed, have revealed a completely new way of reproducing.
The viruses which infect bacteria first infect the hosts, before dividing, and "bursting them like balloons."
Ouch...
The viruses which infect bacteria first infect the hosts, before dividing, and "bursting them like balloons."
Ouch...
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These hydrothermal vents are weird places: they can support whole ecosystems while being totally out of reach of the sun. It's entirely possible and plausible that life itself could have originated in the deep, completely independently of the sun.
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Cool! I love these kind of random facts!
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Wow really interesting, life will find a way to exist almost anywhere.
Here's David Attenborough, taking us on a guided tour of these vents. I think that the most amazing thing is that these occur in different places on the planet, where unique ecosystems have evolved in similar environments completely independent of each other.
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