Microbes grow in Mars conditions

Iguana writes "A methane-making, oxygen-hating microbe is able to thrive in Mars-like laboratory conditions, according to a researcher who says the experiment raises fresh hope about the possibility of life on the Red Planet. Check the whole story on MSNBC " "And kids, that the story of how hemos grew cmdrtaco". Oh...er.

Comments

Photosynthetic & anaerobic

[Anonymous Coward]

Anaerobic organisms have the ability to live without oxygen. Many (perhaps most or all) of them cannot survive in the presence of oxygen. Byproducts of anaerobic metabolism include ethanol and lactic acid. Anaerobic bacteria are not so uncommon. They live in the guts of humans and many other organisms. They also live in many extreme environments such as hot springs, ocean vents, etc.

Photosynthetic organisms (commons ones, anyway) produce oxygen as a byproduct. They use light energy directly to make their own food molecules. Early photosynthetic organisms were probably also anaerobic, but photosynthetic and anaerobic are distinct concepts.

Possible evolution:
1. Anaerobic organisms live and obtain their energy from molecules in their environments.
2. Some anaerobic organisms gain the ability to photosynthesize, being able to use simpler molecules than their predecessors along with light energy from the sun while producing oxygen as a byproduct.
3. Oxygen levels increase due to the prosperity of photosynthetic organisms.
4. Anaerobic organisms die in large numbers as the atmospheric oxygen level rises.
5. New, more efficient aerobic organisms appear and further the decline of anaerobic organisms.

Although I cannot currently access my password to log in, I am
Yet Another Coward